INTERVIEWS | My Eyes Tokyo

I wouldn’t trust other people at all for the rest of my life if I gave it up.

May 16 2008

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi & Hisa Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Eriko Yamaguchi Part1 Bag designer/CEO We bring you the interview with Eriko Yamaguchi, a young Japanese entrepreneur who manages her own bag brand called “Motherhouse“. Her bags are made in Bangladesh and made from jute, a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber. Jute bags are sold at other shops, too, in Japan but the features that differentiate her bags from others are cute, fancy and functional quality. Motherhouse declares on their brochures proudly: “We want to show to people that there are wonderful resources and possibilities in the places lumped together

Gagetsu

April 17 2008

Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Chinese restaurant (Kunitachi, Tokyo) We introduce you to a wonderful Chinese restaurant! Look at the pictures. All-you-can-eat! You can enjoy a delicious lunch buffet for only US$10! This is Fu Chen‘s favorite restaurant. This restaurant is very popular among university students around there. Gagetsu 1-14-5 Naka, Kunitachi-shi, Tokyo Japan Phone (from overseas) +81-42-571-0007 (from other areas in Japan) 042-571-0007 *Edited by Daniel Penso 校正協力：ダニエル・ペンソ

I’m able to use a lot of knowledge and experience to my career as a geisha now.

April 06 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Sayuki (Australia) Geisha *Photo by Kerry Raftis Before Japan’s economy took off, foreigners conjured up an image of Japan represented by such Japanese things like geisha and Mt. Fuji. The feeling was that traditional Japanese culture was mysterious and exotic, and the world of the geisha seemed irredeemably closed to outsiders. But now a non-Japanese has finally opened a crack into this very closed world: Sayuki, the first foreigner to be a geisha in Japan. Japanese and foreign media are paying close attention to this Australian woman who debuted in

Rakugo is a way of expressing myself which I found at last.

March 22 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Mizirakli Halit (Turkey) Rakugo performer/Graduate school student (He’s been in Japan in 2001-02, 2004-) The second interview from the Kansai region is with Mizirakli Halit, a rakugo performer from Turkey. He talks quietly and gently, like he is trying to choose the right words. When he came to Japan for the first time in 2001, he experienced rakugo. Three years later, he came to Japan again and started his activities as a rakugo performer in the Osaka area. After he started learning rakugo, he got interested in his roots. “Meddahlik“, a Turkish

One rakugo performer is holding very simple tools and create anything by themselves. That’s the magic of rakugo.

March 21 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Spence Zaorski (USA) Graduate student/Rakugo researcher (He’s been in Japan since 2006) My Eyes Tokyo went west to Osaka and Kyoto (cities in Kansai region, western Japan) then we had interviews with two foreigners. Both of them really loves one of the traditional Japanese art called “rakugo”（落語）. Rakugo is a Japanese verbal entertainment. Look at a picture above. A guy wearing kimono sits on a cushion and tell comedic stories to the audience. “Raku” means “fall”, “Go” means “Words” then “rakugo” means “punchline”. (see more → Click) . Rakugo has a very long history and people

Ocharaka

March 10 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Japanese tea shop/cafe (Kichijoji, Tokyo) There is a very unique Japanese tea shop in Kichijoji, one of the most popular places among young people in Tokyo. It sells “flavored tea” such as orange flavor, chocolate-mint flavor, natsumikan (lit.”summer tangerine”) flavor and baked apple flavor. The storekeeper, Stephane Danton, is a French man. Green tea is a typical part of traditional Japanese culture and people feel there are high walls between foreigners and Japanese traditional culture. But he got over the walls. He created a healing place which is full of

What I hate in Japan is that people don’t make much of their own history.

March 10 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Stephane Danton (France) Japanese tea merchant (He’s been in Japan since ’92) Stephane Danton has been offering unique products with his fresh ideas. You can relax yourself with a cup of fragrantly-scented tea and delicious cakes there. Also you can buy adorable gadgets at a shop. He created such a relaxing space, so you may think he is a calm person. But actually he offers harsh words about Japan and Japanese people. This healing space was created by his adversarial quality. *Interview at “Ocharaka” (Kichijoji, Tokyo) *You can learn his business

To live in Japan is a very good education for all Westerners.

February 11 2008

Interviewed by Hisa Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Alec Harris (UK) President of New Worlds Theatre (He’s been in Japan since ’96) The first place that he lived in in Japan was Iwate prefecture (Northern part of Japan) as an University professor. After the experience, he moved to Tokyo and established his theatre company. He is a person who hopes Tokyo becomes an international community including in the theatre area. He is cool to see the social issues and accept a “lesson” of being a foreigner in Tokyo. *Interview in Azabu-juban I had never related to theatre play.

My goal in Japan is to show people,”if you try hard enough, you can achieve anything”.

January 28 2008

Interviewed by Hisa Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Nelson Babin-Coy (USA) Singer-songwriter (He’s been in Japan since 2005) Nelson is an American singer-songwriter who writes songs in Japanese and sings in Japanese. He started studying Japanese and playing music kind of late, when he was mid-teen. But he speaks Japanese like a native Japanese speaker. Also he is making a bid for a debut in the major Japanese music scene this year instead of taking a big, big risk. *Interview in Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku Don’t touch my mustache! I came here about almost seven years ago when

My company would be delivered a damaging blow because of me.

January 13 2008

Interviewed by Hisa Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Fu Chen (China) Marketing Manager of the Advertising agency (He’s been in Japan since September ’99) This is the first interview in 2008 and the first interview with Chinese national since we started this website. Fu Chen is from Shanghai and he can speak Japanese really, really well. If he didn’t say he was Chinese, you would think he might be Japanese. He talks in a gentle tone. He made a favorable impression on us. He is very polite. He is like the way Japanese people used to be.

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams