JULY 2017 Japan’s number one English language magazine BREAKING THE RULES OF KIMONO A NEW BOOK SHATTERS ANTIQUATED VIEWS OF THIS TRADITIONAL GARMENT PLUS: The Boys for Sale in Shinjuku, Best Sake of 2017, Japan's New Emperor, and What Really Goes on Inside "Terrace House" To all investors and customers of e Parkhouse series: e Mitsubishi Jisho Residence overseas sales team is on hand for all your needs For the most up-to-date information about Mitsubishi Jisho Residence's new real estate projects, please visit our English website at www.mecsumai.com/international/en For inquiries, please email [email protected] Live in a Home for Life. e Parkhouse 34 26 32 36 JULY 2017 radar in-depth 36 BOYS FOR SALE THIS MONTH’S HEAD TURNERS COFFEE-BREAK READS A new documentary brings to light a particu- lar kind of sex trade in Shinjuku Ni-chome. 8 AREA GUIDE: YURAKUCHO 26 BREAKING THE RULES OF KIMONO This old-school neighborhood has a few A new book shows off the different person- modern surprises up its sleeve. alities of this very traditional garment. guide 14 STYLE 30 THE LIFE AND LOVE OF JAPAN'S CULTURE ROUNDUP Ready for a summer romance? Get your NEW EMPEROR 40 ART & FICTION spark back with some flirtatious swimwear As Emperor Akihito prepares to step down, Julian Lennon shows off his photography, all eyes are turning towards his son. and a new spy novel wends its way into 18 BEAUTY North Korea. Shake up your make-up with a full kit of 32 THE MISUNDERSTOOD CROWS organic, natural cosmetics. OF TOKYO 42 AGENDA Love or hate them, the city's gigantic crows An art aquarium, a dynamic percussion per- 20 TRENDS cannot be ignored. We look at their bond formance, and a Showa-era beer garden. We stop by Japan's Sake Competition to find with Japan, and what they can teach us. out which are the top tipples for 2017. 44 TRAVEL 34 WHAT IT'S REALLY LIKE INSIDE A new market brings Niigata to Tokyo. 22 THE CONCIERGE "TERRACE HOUSE" Editor's picks from our roundup of top res- We chat with the stars to get the inside 46 PEOPLE, PARTIES, PLACES taurants, salons, and services in the city. scoop on this mundane yet addictive show. Tokyo's longest-running society column. JULY 2017 Publisher ENGAWA Co., Ltd. President Takanobu Ushiyama Executive Producer Naoya Takahashi Editor in Chief Annemarie Luck Senior Editors Alec Jordan Lisa Wallin Creative Director Liam Ramshaw Features Writer Matthew Hernon Contributors Vivian Morelli Paul McInnes Stephan Jarvis Bill Hersey Bunny Bissoux Sales Director Takaaki Murai Sales Executives Hirofumi Ohuchi Kahori Terakawa Ayane Sugawara Azusa Yoshida Mari Saito Marketing Director Jessica Yumi Idomoto Media Consultant Mary Rudow Media Producers Claudia Sun Yuda Chou Cover illustration (Ride on times), Model: Ryoko, Photographer/Stylist/Makeup/Editor: Akira Times Direction: Kimono Times EST. Corky Alexander, 1970 SSU Bld. 1F 4-12-8 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku Tokyo, Japan 151-0051 (03) 6432-9948 / (03) 6438-9432 (fax) [email protected] To subscribe to the Tokyo Weekender, please call (03) 6432-9948 or email: [email protected] For ad sales inquiries, please call (03) 6432-9948 or email: [email protected] 広告に関するお問い合わせ先 電話：(03) 6432-9948 メール：[email protected] Opinions expressed by Weekender contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher Published by ENGAWA Co., Ltd. 4 | JULY 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER @bapawn: Annemarie, your story about the @bapawn: I think it’s good that the film touches on topics documentary Boys for Sale [page 36] was gutting, but I that are often kept out of public discussion in Japan. couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end. How did you find out about the project? @mizrama: Agreed. Hopefully it will encourage people to examine their opinions about homosexuality, and @mizrama: Yes, it’s a very distressing film to watch, but also put a spotlight on the need for sex education. a very important topic to bring to light – these young boys who are being paid to sleep with older men in @bapawn: In a very different way, as this month’s cover Shinjuku. The director of photography is a friend of goes to show, perceptions have shifted on a topic that’s mine so I knew about it from the start, when he and the quite out in the open in Japan: the kimono [page 26]. executive producer were first exploring the topic. I’m glad to see that the garment is being taken down from its pedestal a little, and becoming a bit more @bapawn: Emotionally, was it a difficult piece to work on? democratized. @mizrama: It has definitely stayed with me, and I @mizrama: Me too. In our interview with Dr Sheila do find myself thinking of the boys and wondering if Cliffe [author of the book The Social Life of Kimono], they’re okay. But I think it was far more difficult for it feels almost like she’s giving us permission to wear the film makers. They spent three years on the project, the kimono as we would everyday fashion, rather than and hours interviewing each urisen (rent boy). Some reserve it for special occasions. of the stories the boys told are truly heartbreaking. But hopefully by making a documentary like this, they can @bapawn: Well then, I know what I’ll be wearing to our help to shift certain perceptions in and of Japan. next office party… VISIT OUR WEBSITE JOIN US ON FACEBOOK FOLLOW US ON TWITTER FIND US ON INSTAGRAM WWW.TOKYOWEEKENDER.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TOKYO.WEEKENDER @TOKYO_WEEKENDER TOKYOWEEKENDER TOKYO WEEKENDER | JULY 2017 | 5 6 | JULY 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH... It's the perfect time to explore Yurakucho as a new performance theater opens its doors with a dramatic show. Plus: flirtatious summer swimwear, and the best sake of 2017. TOKYOTOKYO WEEKENDERWEEKENDER || JULYJULY 2017 | 7 AREA GUIDE UNDER THE TRACKS IN YURAKUCHO Surrounded by the extravagance of areas such as Marunouchi, Ginza, Hibiya and Shimbashi, this old-school neighborhood is something of an island extending in a nar- row strip beneath the Yamanote line. But it does have a few modern surprises up its sleeve… Words by Paul McInnes. Photos by Stephan Jarvis GRUB’S UP Yurakucho is a foodie’s paradise. There are chain Shake Shack serves up all kinds of plenty of cafés, bars and restaurants catering juicy goodness, shakes and treats at its newish for those with both tight and expansive budg- restaurant. Lines are to be expected but if the ets. Under the tracks there is the (in)famous thought of hamburger juice running down Yakitori Alley serving up chicken skewers your chin and arms turns you on then it’s a and watered down beer to locals and tourists no-brainer. alike. You can even indulge in authentic Kore- The slightly more refined diner should an barbeque, cheap ramen from ramshackle head to the legendary Shin Hinomoto (aka huts and pick up some fruit and veg from the Andy’s) izakaya run by an Englishman who wee market stalls that dot the area. prides himself on supplying an authentic The really good stuff in the form of sweaty Japanese dining experience. Booze, fish and and gargantuan burgers, however, can be traditional dishes are enjoyed by those in the found just outside Tokyo International Forum know and greedy tourists searching for the (more on TIF later). American hamburger foodie Promised Land. 8 | JULY 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER INDULGE IN AUTHENTIC KOREAN BARBEQUE, OR CHEAP RAMEN FROM RAMSHACKLE HUTS TOKYO WEEKENDER | JULY 2017 | 9 FOR THOSE WITH A DEEPER INTEREST IN THE ARTS, HEAD TO THE BRAND-NEW ALTERNATIVE THEATRE ALL SAY PROST! Although no-one seems to know why there are so many German bars in the area (and even more German/Japanese-style beer halls opening soon), they have huge after-work pulling power for salarymen and women. Not cheap but selling traditional German brews such as Bitburger, Hofbrau and Franziskaner alongside sausages and sauerkraut, pubs Baden Baden and JS Lennep are magnificent if looking for an electrifying atmos- phere and good ol’ knees up. Even better is that they’re located right next to each other so there’s no excuse for not missing your last train home. HAVE MONEY TO BURN? For those passionate about all things electronic, Yurakucho has a huge Bic Camera branch choc-a- bloc with cameras, smartphones and pretty much everything savvy urbanites require to function in this day and age. Lumine department store caters for elegant and fashion-forward ladies (brands include Alexander Wang, Tomorrowland and Marc by Marc Jacobs) while Hankyu Men’s focuses on the Tokyo dandy (and is one of only two depart- ment stores in Tokyo providing fashion solely for men). If you’re a fashionable gent then the likes of Comme des Garcons, Junya Watanabe, Undercov- er and Thom Browne will have you reaching for 10 | JUNE 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER your gold card in no time. The area also tions. Serving as an exhibition, conference plays host to the Muji flagship store, which and arts center, the space is huge and looms incorporates a restaurant and an outpost of over Yurakucho and surrounding areas. the Loft stationery shop. Muji is the go-to Visitors are free to have a peek around and brand for the low-key and toned-down yet marvel at its magnitude and brilliance. For stylish Tokyoite. those with a deeper interest in the arts, the brand-new Alternative Theatre will be up FAMED ARCHITECTURE AND your street.