Happy Hour International

09/06-09/07. Great Japan Beer Festival in Osanbashi Hall, Yokohama.
It’s less crowded than the Tokyo version of the festival, with unlimited samples of beers from around Japan and the world for your Y4100 admission price (Y3600 in advance)….

New - 82 Ale House: Akihabara
Very close to Akihabara station, this bustling bar from the ubiquitous Hub chain is a convenient place for a casual drink and snack after a day of electronics shopping or manga browsing….

09/19-09/21. Vietnam Festival 2008 in Yoyogi Park.
This year’s Vietnam Festival promises a full-lineup of entertainment, with some two dozen popular recording artists performing on the main event stage….

Article - Chic Hotel Bars
If you’re looking for a change of scene, a bird’s-eye view of the city, or a Bond-worthy martini at 3pm, Tokyo’s design-savvy luxury hotels are just the ticket. Forget brass-studded Naugahyde chairs and watered-down highballs. These days, the hotel bar experience is more fun than merely funny. Internationally acclaimed designers have injected the stodgy hotel bar with real style, and skilled bartenders have revived the art of the properly mixed cocktail.

Brews News #87
Reviews of Karuizawa Kogen ESB, Kobe-area bars in the July/August issue of our Japan beer newsletter.

1908 Olympics, Tokyo drunks and a hot summer
London, July 14. — America and Great Britain captured most of the laurels in the first real business day of the Olympic sports. Twice the Stars and Stripes fluttered to the top of the staff in the Center of the arena, and the American enthusiasts who monopolized a section of the stadium, waved their flags and broke out in cheers, which, in a smaller field, would have been deafening. The honors were nearly even, for of the four events finished, the United States and the United Kingdom each won two gold medals. Great Britain, however, took three silver medals, while America got only one. Canada, Australia, Great Britain and Belgium each obtained a bronze medal. The Yankees had the hammer throw to themselves, as had been expected, and the performance of John J. Flanagan of the Irish-American…

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Article - Chic Hotel Bars
If you’re looking for a change of scene, a bird’s-eye view of the city, or a Bond-worthy martini at 3pm, Tokyo’s design-savvy luxury hotels are just the ticket. Forget brass-studded Naugahyde chairs and watered-down highballs. These days, the hotel bar experience is more fun than merely funny. Internationally acclaimed designers have injected the stodgy hotel bar with real style, and skilled bartenders have revived the art of the properly mixed cocktail.

Standing Bar S
Sorry, chaps, Standing Bar S is a bar for ladies only. More like the interior of a Mariko Mori installation than a watering-hole, the aesthetic is sleekly minimal, tempered here and there by strategically placed potted plants. As the name suggests, it is a standing-room only affair…

08/07-08/28. Chef McKee’s Signature Dishes at NY Grill.
The New York Grill on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel will be presenting a seven-course dinner showcasing signature dishes from Chef Andrew McKee….

Geeks I have known
The meeting itself is not unusual. I have had students seek my consul before — on all kinds of topics. Like the girl who wanted me to excuse her long list of absences because of the death of her pet parrot. “That bird was like my brother,” she wept. It remains the second most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

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New - 82 Ale House: Akihabara
Very close to Akihabara station, this bustling bar from the ubiquitous Hub chain is a convenient place for a casual drink and snack after a day of electronics shopping or manga browsing….

Standing Bar S
Sorry, chaps, Standing Bar S is a bar for ladies only. More like the interior of a Mariko Mori installation than a watering-hole, the aesthetic is sleekly minimal, tempered here and there by strategically placed potted plants. As the name suggests, it is a standing-room only affair…

Re’Cue
Rub shoulders with Japan's smart-set in this temple to chic in the Far East. Thanks to it's dark interior, artfully dimmed by table-top lamps, and a labyrinthine layout, it's all-too-easy to get lost. But who cares when you can sip on sake, or nurse a mighty beniotome to clear even the most jaded of palettes in readiness for a wooden bowl of tofu…

Review - Touzan - Kyoto
Ceramics, sake bottles and patterned tiles embellish the minimalist modern Japanese design at Touzan. Private tatami rooms have been reinterpreted as dining alcoves created by suspended blinds, while the main dining area looks out onto a wide Japanese rock garden. On the Grand Menu, perennial favourites like tempura, nishin soba and Kobe beef sit alongside more exotic fare like seared sea cucumber entrails….

Sake labels
Learn how to decipher the Japanese labels on sake bottles.

Sake labels
Learn how to decipher the Japanese labels on sake bottles.

“Harry Potter” translator Yuko Matsuoka Harris
Yuko Matsuoka Harris, age 64, is the translator of the “Harry Potter” books in Japan and the president of the series’ Japanese publisher, Say-zan-sha. Similar to the series’ Hermione, Matsuoka has always been exceptional: As one of the best simultaneous interpreters in Japan, during her 30-year career she has specialized in intellectual property and patent law and regularly worked for the United Nations. The perfect match for the genius of J. K. Rowling, whose books have sold 400 million copies worldwide, Matsuoka creates masterpieces equal to their originals. Her flawless texts were penned during a 10-year sentence that she spent under virtual house arrest in Harry’s world — but she still managed to stay sane in the process, a feat only one with magical powers could have achieved….

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New - 82 Ale House: Akihabara
Very close to Akihabara station, this bustling bar from the ubiquitous Hub chain is a convenient place for a casual drink and snack after a day of electronics shopping or manga browsing….

New - Ichariba En: Akihabara
The menu here features Okinawan standards and gourmet Sangenton pork dishes, along with a big selection of awamori spirits, all at reasonable prices….

Bar Bourbon Street
One has to admire a bar that aims to offer a 'taste of New Orleans in Tokyo.' But this quirky, cozy bar with its homely, accessible atmosphere really pulls it off. Ideal for those feeling a tad lost in translation, those who want to slow down and chill out after a spell in the frantic Japanese capital…

Make or break for the nation’s youth
The recent spate of random attacks carried out by young adults has made more and more people wonder what on earth is traumatizing our children. Committing murder is bad enough, but the motives of some of the culprits appear incomprehensible. To vent anger at parents, they assault complete strangers — which is what occurred July 22 at a bookstore in Hachioji City, western Tokyo, bringing the total number of random-assault cases so far this year to eight.

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Engineering a historical oblivion for soldiers of the wrong wars
My dad was a lucky man. Born in 1903, he was just too young for service in World War I and a bit too old for the same in World War II. Not that he couldn’t have volunteered for the latter. He certainly could have, but decided not to. Many years ago, he gave me some papers associated with what was then called the Selective Service. I never took a close look at them, until now.

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Some look forward to a harmonious future
The following is from the text of an e-mail sent to Jeff Kingston from Cindy Zhang, a Chinese university student. What disappointed me most about the memorial was that I had expected the exhibition to be condensed and focused, but, things were just the opposite. Although disappointed, I had to give the memorial the right to be huger than necessary — were it not so, it would have been politically incorrect in some sense. After the visit, I often wondered why I was not the least touched or moved by the exhibition. One reason is that I was already familiar with that history, so nothing on display made me feel aghast or strike me as particularly overwhelming. The second reason is that my family have not much, if not nothing, to do with the city. For me, the massacre is like a legend — I…

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Celebrity rules as the Olympics strays far from its ideal
The big story this year in competitive swimming is the LZR Racer swimsuit, which was developed by the British sportswear manufacturer Speedo. At least six world records have been set by swimmers wearing the suit. Studies have shown that its drag-diminishing properties lower racing times by 1.9 to 2.2 percent, which is significant in a sport where victory is measured by hundredths of a second. There is no doubt that the suits are helping swimmers. The real question is: Do they provide their wearers with an unfair advantage over swimmers who don’t wear them? The answer seems to be “yes,” with even the official blog of the National Collegiate Athletics Association wondering if the LZR Racer constitutes “technology doping.” What’s the difference between gaining an advantage with a swimsuit…

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‘Hyakunin’ translations capture commission prize
In the same way that few British people have read all of Shakespeare’s sonnets but many can quote at least a few lines of the lyric tradition, any adult who has gone through the Japanese school system is familiar with the Ogura “Hyakunin Isshu.” This collection of 100 waka — a classic poetic form written in lines of 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7 syllables — has been translated into English before. The first who dared was a British naval officer stationed in Yokohama in the Meiji Period who studied Japanese purely “out of personal desire.”

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Review - Spice Cafe: Sumida-ku
Oshiage, in the northeast corner of Tokyo, isn’t exactly a food-lover’s destination, but we think it deserves a spot on the gourmet map simply because it’s the closest station to Spice Cafe. The chef here is a veteran of a hotel restaurant in Kerala, India, and he prepares authentic, first-class curries in this cozy little hideaway. Word is out, though, and most tables are reserved for both lunch and dinner every day….

New - 82 Ale House: Akihabara
Very close to Akihabara station, this bustling bar from the ubiquitous Hub chain is a convenient place for a casual drink and snack after a day of electronics shopping or manga browsing….