Tokyo Weekender - December 2017 - January 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

BRAZIL CELEBRATES 195 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE 1. Uruguayan Amb. Eduardo Gabriel Bouzout Vignoli, Nobutake Odano 2. Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, Brazil Amb. André Aranha Corrêa do Lago 3. Yuko Narasawa, Maria Ignez Barbosa, the hostess Beatrice Corrêa do Lago 4. Brazil Amb. Corrêa do Lago, French Amb. Laurent Pic 5. Staff members Paolo Antonio Viana and Ivan Carlo Padre Seixas 1 2 7 3 4 5 6 8 11 9 10 14 15 12 13 AT THE GERMAN EMBASSY DAY OF UNITY RECEPTION 6. German Institute for Japanese Studies administrative director Joachim and Barbara Rohr 7. Kenyan Amb. Solomon Maina, his wife Rose 8. The host, German Amb. Hans Carl Freiherr von Werthern and El Salvador Amb. Martha Zelayandia Cisneros 9. German embassy staffers Claudia Muller, Ulrike Erdmann 10. Kimono designers Nobumichi Tejima and Yoshimasa Takakura with Amb. and Mrs. Werthern 11. Mary Katayama and Elisabeth Werthern BRAHMS REQUIEM AFTER PARTY 12. Nikkei’s Stefan Wagstyle, his wife Anna, Cecile Click 13. Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie, HIH Princess Takamado, noted conductor Robert Ryker 14. Thierry Porte and Franciscan Chapel’s William Grimm 15. German Amb. von Werthern, his wife Elisabeth, Robert Ryker, Michael A. McRobbie 56 | DEC 2017 - JAN 2018 | TOKYO WEEKENDER
doctor sometimes sees as many as 500 patients a day and performs 1,000 operations a year. The awards ceremony took place in Armenia, and actor/philanthropist George Clooney made the presentation. I have some great memories of George. I first met him in Hollywood at a Batman premiere and got to know him better when I went to Osaka with him to promote a Warner Brothers film. One day we were driving to a promotional event, and he started to sing “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. He was surprised I knew the song and insisted I sing a duet with him. That was fun, and I feel so lucky that through friends like Bill Ireton, who ran Warner Brothers here for 27 years, I have enjoyed so many unusual showbiz experiences. THE MERICS RETURN TO TURKEY After three and a half years in Japan, Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Bulent Meric and his Japanese wife Kumiko have returned to Turkey for a new assignment. Proof of their popularity was a butt-bumping crowd when they hosted a sayonara at their Kenzo Tange-designed embassy and garden near Harajuku. It was several hours of short and sweet speeches, pleasant music, a superb Turkish buffet, and the Merics’ wonderful hospitality. Bulent and Kumiko were really good friends and I, as well as everyone who has had the privilege of getting to know them, will miss them dearly. So long my friends, and thank you so much for many kindnesses. Take care, and all the best back home. Hopefully I’ll see them one of these days in Turkey, a country I have been to several times and always enjoy visiting. AMBASSADOR AND SENHORA CORRÊA DO LAGOS’ GALA Back in September, Brazilian Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago and his dynamic wife Beatrice hosted an elegant evening at their beautiful embassy in Kita Aoyama. The occasion was to celebrate the 195th anniversary of their country’s independence. Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso was a special guest, and after the ambassador’s welcome speech, he made a short and very informative speech on Brazil and Japan’s long, strong, and mutually beneficial relationship, and the many human ties and exchanges between the two countries. Brazil has the largest Nikkei (Japanese emigrants and their descendants who have created communities throughout the world) community in the world (around 1.9 million people), and in 2018 will celebrate the 110th anniversary of Japanese immigration in Brazil. In addition, this year, they’ll celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first visit of the Imperial Majesties to Brazil. The photo exhibition honoring the visit, which had been inaugurated at the embassy that day, was immensely interesting and informative. FASHION HAPPENINGS Thanks to Steve Haynes, I had the opportunity to be a judge for the Mrs. International Global 2017 competition in Shinjuku. A group of nine Japanese women took part – the youngest contestant was in her mid-30s and the oldest in her mid-50s. As you can see by the photo on the previous page, they all looked fabulous. The show’s main sponsor was a cosmetics company from Osaka called 727. Former beauty queen Diana, along with Steve and friends, organized the event. I also had a front row seat to some of the shows at Amazon Fashion Week, held at the many boutiques on Omotesando Street. I bumped into the very cool Miss Supranational Emily Shimizu, whom I first met when I was a judge at the Miss Supranational Japan Show. She’s a busy lady and was leaving in a few days to attend a contest in Albania. Modeling agencies here don’t seem to be too affected by the new rules and regulations in Europe and the US, and often bring in very young girls from Europe. Over in Europe and some cities in America, the bigger companies have all kinds of new regulations, like no more size-zero models. I’ve also heard that regulations such as not bringing in models under 16 are being enforced and have already caused problems on the runways. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this in Japan. TO DO As this month’s column comes to a close, it’s mid-November and Tokyo is getting more beautiful for the holidays every day. Be sure and take your family and friends to check out Ark Hills’ lighting and the Grand Hyatt’s lobby. Midtown Mall is really very special as well, and Tokyo Tower is so cool this time of the year. I’ve had a 50-year relationship with the Hilton hotel here, and over the years I’ve worked with their dynamic PR and food and beverage departments on fashion shows, cultural events, movie promotions, and orphans’ holiday parties. They sort of spoiled me. And they like to spoil their guests too. If you take your kids to their big – and I do mean big – Cinderella promotion in the lobby, you’ll see what I mean. The décor, the food and the ambiance are really fantastic. By the way, I will be at what I think is my 20th Christmas party for less fortunate kids at the Hilton’s St. George’s Room from 3pm to 6pm on Tuesday, December 5. The kids are six to 15 years old and are all very sweet. If you’re interested in joining a group of community minded people to help out, call me on 090-3200-6767 or Gonohe-san at the Hilton on 03-3344-5111, and we’ll assign a child for you to take care of during the party. I guarantee you’ll have a good time. Thanks on this. Steven Haynes and Iona at the Mrs. International Global 2017 beauty competition Filipino photographer Pawee and Yoh Miyazoe, President of 727 Cosmetics Bill, Miss Supranational Emily Shimizu, Raymond Johnson TOKYO WEEKENDER | DEC 2017 - JAN 2018 | 57
Page 1:
December 2017 - January 2018 WAYS T
Page 4 and 5:
DEC 2017 - JAN 2018 Publisher Presi
Page 6 and 7: PLAY STRONG! Strong, healthy bodies
Page 8 and 9: AREA GUIDE UNCOVER THE REAL IKEBUKU
Page 10 and 11: STYLE JIMMY CHOO PUMPS ’Tis the s
Page 12 and 13: TRENDS JAPANESE CRAFTSMANSHIP MEETS
Page 14 and 15: Looking for a great place to eat, s
Page 17 and 18: AS WE BID FAREWELL TO ANOTHER YEAR
Page 19 and 20: RACIST TWEET OVERSHAD- OWS SATO’S
Page 21 and 22: TOKYO WEEKENDER | DEC 2017 - JAN 20
Page 23 and 24: The PyeongChang Winter Olympics is
Page 25 and 26: EVEN THOUGH IT’S A CITY OF 13 MIL
Page 27 and 28: the case, but often it’s not. The
Page 29 and 30: 33 WAYS TO EXPERIENCE THE BEST OF J
Page 31 and 32: experiences ACTIVITIES TREAT YOUR I
Page 33 and 34: experiences TRAVEL TRAVEL LIKE A VI
Page 35 and 36: experiences STAY STAY AT A SEASIDE
Page 37 and 38: experiences STAY HOSHI ONSEN CHOJUK
Page 39 and 40: Where to find TOKYO WEEKENDER MAGAZ
Page 41 and 42: Brand New Suites (27F) Oakwood Resi
Page 43 and 44: experiences CRAFT “DIVE” FOR PE
Page 45 and 46: experiences ART TRY TRADITIONAL NIH
Page 47 and 48: experiences FOOD STALL 3: SHABU SHA
Page 49 and 50: Satomi Kondo, Sometimes people don
Page 51 and 52: Ai Shinohara, To the Bright - Nobit
Page 53 and 54: 11 9 10 12 9 DEC 1-25 CHRISTMAS MAR
Page 55: ARMENIAN 26TH INDEPENDENCE DAY CELE
Page 59 and 60: TOKYO WEEKENDER | DEC 2017 - JAN 20
show all

Tokyo Weekender - December 2017 - January 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?