INTERVIEWS | My Eyes Tokyo

I felt I was not accepted by either Japanese society or by mainstream American society.

April 30 2007

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Yuri Kageyama Tokyo Correspondent for The Associated Press (Born in Japan and educated in the U.S.) Today’s interviewee is very, very experienced journalist. Ms. Yuri Kageyama is a Tokyo correspondent for The Associated Press, or AP, a world-famous news agency. She has grown up in a bicultural environment, Japan and the U.S. She’s been transmitting what’s happening in Japan to rest of the world for a long time. *Interview in Kichijoji *Photos by Mari Sakamoto 日本語 “You’re not an assistant. You’re a reporter.” I have been with The AP

Be open to people in Japan and their culture. Don’t think everybody is against you.

March 17 2007

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Anastasia Korobtsova (Russia) University student & international center staff (She’s been in Japan since 2004) Spring has come! We met a Russian woman who brought a warm and calm spring wind. Anastasia Korobtsova is studying very hard at a university in Tokyo. And she works at the international center almost everyday to help foreign people in Tokyo. Her smile bloomed nicely during this interview and cherry blossoms also have begun to bloom now in Tokyo. *Interview at the international center in Tokyo *Edited by Daniel Penso 校正協力：ダニエル・ペンソ Coming to

If you read the newspaper, you’d get the feeling that foreign people commit all of the crime.

February 17 2007

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Raymond Crosiar (USA) High school teacher (He’s been in Japan since January 2002) We met a calm, but very energetic American guy. Raymond Crosiar came from a small village in the state of Oregon. It was a journey from a village to the megalopolis. How did he feel about that? How does he enjoy his daily life in Tokyo? *Interview in Yokohama From a small village to the metropolis I came from a very small town in Oregon. Its population is 2,500. I flew to Japan, I got on

It seems that Japanese people are proud to be Japanese.

January 27 2007

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Jeffrey Hirsch (USA) Police Department Officer of the railway company We usually meet and talk with people who live in the Tokyo area. But Mr. Jeffry Hirsch lives in Los Angeles, US, not in Tokyo, nor even in Japan. Why is he in Japan? …You will see. *Interview in Yokohama A Spartan training This is my fourth trip to Japan. On the first trip, I got a little bit confused because I had to get a bus from the Narita Airport to Yokohama Station by myself. So I was a

I don’t like rude foreigners that don’t care about Japanese customs and traditions.

January 10 2007

A mail from our 1st interviewee (Holland) We got a mail from Giuliano Garau, the first interviewee from Holland. At that time, October 2006, it was his fifth day in Japan. Now he is in Holland. He had been in Tokyo for three months. While he was in Japan, how did he feel about Tokyo and Japan? Let’s take a look. *Previous interview with Giuliano… Click here. 日本語 Have you felt differences between Japan and your country? If so, what kind of differences? I’ve explained before that there are a few differences between two countries. But let me add a few

I’m not trying to be a Japanese. I just try to adjust to Japanese culture.

January 03 2007

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Bhim Boyer (Holland) Copywriter (He came to Japan in fall 2006 *Now he’s in his country) A Happy New Year 2007! The first interview of this year… with a nice guy from Holland. “I came to Japan because I’ve already learned some Japanese. I thought that I would test my Japanese skill here.” Boyer said strongly. His attitude toward the language and his life in a differnt cultural environment were totally cosmopolitan. The talk with him was really significant. We felt we could learn from his experiences. *Interview in Shibuya

I was looking through some apartments and one had “No foreigners allowed”.

November 03 2006

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Lyle Warren (Australia) Manager of homestay company (He’s been in Japan since 2002) A wonderful guy from Australia. He has been in Japan for four years and works every day very hard. He is the manager of a home-stay company, an English teacher for Japanese business persons and a science teacher for kids. He doesn’t stay at one place. He always moves around Tokyo. Now he might be in your town! *Interview in Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku I don’t even know what the “Japanese way of life” is I

I was very surprised at how much Japanese dedicated themselves to their assignments, how hard they worked and how responsible they were.

October 31 2006

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Eduard Talman (Holland) CEO of online hotel booking company *At that time (He’s been in Japan since 2002) Eduard Talman is from Holland and he came to Japan to start his own business. He says that nobody else in Europe wanted to have the business in Japan so he tried to do that. Now he is successful in the online-booking field but used to have a tough time. *Interview in Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku *Edited by Daniel Penso 校正協力：ダニエル・ペンソ日本語 Launching business in Japan I came here for the first time

I want to be a refugee who lives an independent life.

October 30 2006

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com N.Y Refugee (Has been in Japan since ’92) Refugee – You may have heard this word many times. Its definition is: “a person who’s owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”. N.Y has been in Japan as a refugee for about 20 years. There are many people

Tokyo gives me a big sense of freedom.

October 23 2006

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Charlotte Warren (UK) Translator (She’s been in Japan since ’99) The second person is from the United Kingdom! Ms. Warren has been in Japan for almost seven years. She can speak Japanese like a native speaker! She says you have to use the language or you’ll never learn to speak it. *Interview in Shibuya 日本語 “Why not Japan?” Before I came to Tokyo, I used to be in Kanagawa Prefecture, next door to Tokyo. And then I have been in Tokyo for a couple of years. I wasn’t

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams