China | My Eyes Tokyo

Every time I say “Thank you,” it makes me happy. I want to say “Thank you” from the bottom of my heart to my customers and to this town.

October 25 2023

日本語 Interview by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Jennifer A. Hoff info@myeyestokyo.com Arutan Kobayashi (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China) Restaurant manager One day we were browsing through our Facebook feed when we came across a captivating post. It was from a participant of an event we once organized, who visited a “Silk Road Cuisine” restaurant in Yokohama. A quick Google search revealed that the restaurant serves cuisine from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Hearing that the restaurant offers Xinjiang food culture, which is considerably rare in Japan, we decided to visit the restaurant on the day of our upcoming meeting

I chose to “ignore” my other roots because my background was not something I could proudly talk about.

August 24 2021

Interviewed & Written by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Daniel Penso info@myeyestokyo.com Ryuta Hayashi (Japan/Fourth generation of overseas Chinese) Film Director Finally, the day has come for My Eyes Tokyo (MET) to introduce this person to you—Ryuta Hayashi, a film director. MET editor-in-chief Isao Tokuhashi met Hayashi about 20 years ago when he was working for a Japanese-language TV station in Orange County, California, and Hayashi was an international student at a local college. They lived with the same host family and spent their days talking about the American music scene, gossipy stories, and girls they saw on the street

Tell me, Japanese people! @ Company Vol.3

November 28 2018

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Daniel Penso Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com A series of interviews called “Tell me, Japanese people! @ Company”, which highlights foreign staff working at Japanese companies, has been done with a long-established company and a startup so far. Our third interview was conducted with one called Prime Assistance Inc. Prime Assistance (PRA) is a group company of SOMPO Holdings, a holding company that owns Sompo Japan Nipponkoa, one of the “Three Mega Non-life Insurers” in Japan. SOMPO Holdings launched a new company in 2012 with the aim of enhancing customer support by building a contact

Tell me, Japanese people! @ Company Vol.2

August 14 2018

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com We’ve started with a new series of interviews that highlights foreign staff working at Japanese companies in 2017 to learn about their unique perspectives on Japan and its corporate culture. Our second interview was conducted with one Japanese startup company called Table Cross. The company was founded in 2014. Kaoru Joho, founder and CEO of Table Cross, was just a 21-year old college girl when she released the app (also named Table Cross), which would enable people to give school meals to children in developing countries by booking seats at restaurants, bars,

What does “MARU” mean? – Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.16

November 06 2017

Produced by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Kelly Sun Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Yokohama The second largest city in Japan by population, after Tokyo. Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan’s prominent port city following the end of Japan’s relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports. *Yokohama. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 6, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama Yamashita Park A public park which was opened in 1930. It’s famous for its waterfront views of the Port of Yokohama. *Yamashita Park. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 6, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamashita_Park Students from Taiwan We are sisters

Why don’t you hug more? – Tell me, Japanese people! Vol. 13

August 30 2017

Produced by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Daniel Penso Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Ueno Park The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the Kan’ei-ji Temple. The home of a number of major museums, Ueno Park is also celebrated in spring for its cherry blossoms and hanami (cherry blossom viewing). *Ueno Park. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 30, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ueno_Park 日本語 Young Americans Woman: My boyfriend and I came here from Pennsylvania and we’ve been here for 10 days. We went to Kyoto and Osaka. I’m actually a teacher and he’s going back to school. We’ll

Why is everyone in such a hurry? – Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.10

June 13 2017

Produced by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Daniel Penso Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Tokyo Imperial Palace The primary residence of the Emperor of Japan, which is right in the middle of Tokyo. It was built on the site of the old Edo Castle. *Tokyo Imperial Palace. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 13, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Imperial_Palace 日本語 Girls from the US We’re from Denver, Colorado. We came here yesterday. I will stay here two more days and she will leave here for China tomorrow to attend my friend’s wedding ceremony. This is our 1st trip to Japan. It’s very developed. We

Ceremony of the 10th Japan International MANGA Award

March 03 2017

Reported by Isao Tokuhashi Photos by Yutaka Toyama Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com The season of “Nobel Prize of manga” also came this year. The Japan International MANGA Award was set up in 2007, a desire of Mr. Taro Aso, the Foreign Minister then. Mr. Aso thought, “We want to give a ‘Nobel Prize for Manga’ as people from its birthplace to the young standard-bearers of Manga abroad”. In 2017, they marked the 10th anniversary of the award. 296 works were submitted from 55 countries/regions – the largest number ever. Moreover, works were exhibited from Estonia, Kuwait, Democratic Republic of Congo,

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

October 01 2013

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

No one will ever be able to destroy the relationship between us and people in China.

November 01 2012

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com GYPSY QUEEN Musical group When we heard that they call themselves “Asian band”, we wondered why they didn’t say they are a Japanese band. But they said with a laugh. “Japan is part of Asia, isn’t it?” Absolutely! But it’s not the only reason for it. They’ve performed in 10 countries so far, such as China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia and Japan. Such an “Asiatrotting” band has tons of stories but we were limited in time so they picked the stories of their first tour in China.

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams