INTERVIEWS

If they are interested in tea, they would be interested in Japanese tea.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Ian Chun (USA) Tea Merchant Ian at the symbolic starting point of all roads in Japan at the Nihonbashi bridge in Tokyo.“We all have a starting point on the road to discovering Japanese culture.” My Eyes Tokyo welcomed the 2nd guest speaker for MET Morning Interview at the end of 2013. Ian Chun is the founder of Match Latte Media, and has introduced Japanese tea to people in about 50 countries around the world. We met him at a small entrepreneurial event in Tokyo in 2012. There were many entrepreneurs

INTERVIEWS

Tokyo doesn’t need to be like anybody else. Tokyo doesn’t need to be like New York or London.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Loren Fykes (USA) Entrepreneur   We have been organizing asakatsu (literally “morning activities”) meetups since early 2013. Initially, we focused on bringing people together for discussions on hot topics in English with English learners and native English speakers. From these meetings, we had the idea to start a new project. Because My Eyes Tokyo does regular interviews with both local and international artists and business, we thought it would be interesting to do bring these interviewees to asakatsu and conduct the interview openly in English with meetup participants. We have

INTERVIEWS

Orphans need people who would love them, care for them like their moms would do.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   K.M (She’s been in Japan since October 2011) She is studying at a Japanese university, and she is an orphan. She made a speech at a charity party which was held by PLAS (Positive Living through AIDS Orphan Support), a Japanese NGO who gives aid to AIDS orphans, and told us her story; how she grew up in her country after she lost her dad and how she came to Japan. It was a short speech, but we were really moved. So we wanted to hear her stories more. How

INTERVIEWS

I always want to know something that I don’t know. I couldn’t have come this far without curiosity.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Tomoko Komatsuzaki PR Producer She looks lily, but actually she is very energetic and passionate. Her target is mainly Asia and has introduced 1000 million people to services and products from Japan. And she challenged a big international project – selling Japanese “Night views” to Hong Kong. We met her at an event which was held by “GTIC” (Global Techno Innovation Cafe) in the summer of 2012. GTIC is an entrepreneurial group led by Tomo Akiyama, a startup accelerator, and she joined his meetup as a presenter. We felt empathy

INTERVIEWS

To know the differences between Japanese and English is the best way to learn English.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Mike Cadman (Canada) Educator (He’s been in Japan since 2004) Nowadays, My Eyes Tokyo is engaged in English-related projects because we’d like to encourage people who want to be able to speak English well. Today’s interview will help them a great deal. It is with Mike Cadman, an English educator here in Tokyo. He came up with the word “Janglish”, which means “Japanese-English”. He researched how it differs from natural English and turned it into a book. He tells us that a good way to learn a language is “to

INTERVIEWS

My goal is to spread fake food replicas originating from Osaka around the world.

                                                                                  Justin D. Hanus (USA) Founder/CEO of Fake Food Japan (Resident in Japan since 2001) Have you seen “fake food replicas”? Ones that are made out of plastic and sculpted to look like actual dishes? The fake food items we’re referring to are the ones in display cases of restaurants or cafes throughout Japan. Mr. Hanus started the “Fake Food

INTERVIEWS

Cooking is not something to teach.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Munshi R. Sultana (Bangladesh) Bangladesh cuisine instructor (She’s been in Japan since 1976) She conveys an extremely gentle atmosphere which embraces her students, so they totally became like her daughter. They were charmed by her gentle way of talking, her smile which seems like it accepts everything and of course her cuisine. They lost track of time talking to each other with laughs. It was already candle-night when they looked at a clock and hastily cleared off the dishes and washed them. Once you step in her classroom, everyone becomes

INTERVIEWS

I feel my activities connect Vietnam and Japan so I’m really happy now.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Hai Trieu (Vietnam) Singer (He’s been in Japan since 2001) We met him for the first time at the event called “Love Asia Vol.18” which was held in Shibuya in October 2012. Its slogan is “Unify Asian nations through music” and Hai sang songs with his band. He looked a little bit small in stature from a distance, but we were really amazed with the incredible strength of his voice and his commanding performance. After his show, we were called by Ayaka Sugiyama, MC/organizer of the event who is the

INTERVIEWS

To eliminate cultural and economical segregation – that’s my dream.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   DongYol Lee (S. Korea) Social entrepreneur/Chief organizer & Global facilitator of Startup Weekend Tokyo (He’s been in Japan since 2005) This is the interview for those who are interested in bootstrapping. DongYol Lee organizes the event called “Startup Weekend Tokyo”, It’s a Tokyo version of Startup Weekend, which originated in Seattle and is now held in about 300 cities in the world. Things participants do are forming a team, making a product or service and pitching in 54 hours during the weekend. You pay only $75 per event and join

INTERVIEWS

There is no person who is unworthy. All humans are valuable.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Ruiko Monda Representative of AIDS Orphan Support NGO Do you know about “AIDS orphan“? We had little idea of that, but we learned that its definition is “a child under 18 who lost his/her parent(s) to AIDS”. Today we introduce you to Ruiko Monda, a woman like a caring sister for them. According to her organization called “AIDS Orphan Support NGO PLAS (Positive Living through AIDS orphan Support)”, many AIDS orphans are adopted by their grandparents. But they cannot work due to old age, so some of them are forced to