INTERVIEWS | My Eyes Tokyo

Japanese society is more welcoming to foreigners than Switzerland or US.

2010-04-05

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Sibylle Ito (Switzerland) Businessperson Today we introduce you to Sibylle Ito, a businessperson originally from Switzerland. She is working for a global company and is solely in charge of developing the Japanese market. Ms. Ito came to Japan after a 7-year stay in the U.S. and this is now her eighth year in Japan. She told us how she perceives Japan, and additionally the reasons why she has been living in several countries so far. We believe she is different from a “typical” foreigner, because she looks at things from

I couldn’t go back home. Some of my acquaintances perished, which has been very difficult for me.

2010-03-16

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Carlyn Yamada (Haiti) Special Advisor of a Haiti assistance NGO/actress （She’s been in Japan since ’96） At 9:53PM on January 13, 2010 (UTC), a big earthquake hit Haiti, a small country floating in the Caribbean Sea. This incident raised public interest in the country. And there was a woman in Tokyo who received an endless array of information sent from the quake area. Her name is Carlyn Yamada and she’s been in Japan for more than 10 years and has been involved in assistance activities for Haiti also. Also she

I feel I’m really happy because I’ve been working on what I love.

2010-02-12

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Weerasakreck Wongpasser (Thailand) Muay thai gym owner (He’s been in Japan since ’93) We introduce you to a man who has experienced the “Japanese dream”. Weerasakreck Wongpasser, who has built up many muay thai fighters. When he left his country, Thailand, he brought only a bag and small amount of money. But now he owns nine muay thai gyms in the Greater Tokyo area and Southern Japan. He had an abundance of energy and a strong will to fulfill his dream. Also his love for his parents powered the success of his

They are not working as Jews, not working as Palestinians. They are tackling conflicts just as “human beings”.

2010-01-27

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Kenji Sekine (Part 2) Social entrepreneur My Eyes Tokyo is bringing you the interview with Kenji Sekine, a young social entrepreneur who manages the click-to-donate website called “ekokoro!” (It means “Good heart). In this part, we tell you about his method of balancing social action work and profit-making business, and the vision of his ideal world. *You can go to the first part from here! *Kenji Sekine (1976-) Born in Kanagawa, Japan. After graduating Beloit Collage, USA, he worked for several IT companies. He established his own company in 2002 and launched “ekokoro!” in May 2003. He changed

What I’m working on as a BUSINESS is to solve conflicts, poverty, a ban on land mines and so on.

2010-01-27

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Kenji Sekine (Part1) Social entrepreneur We bring you the story of a young Japanese social entrepreneur today. Kenji Sekine, who manages the click-to-donate website called “ekokoro!“, a Japanese counterpart of Care2. The words “ekokoro” significants “Good heart” (the pronunciation of “E” is the same as the one of “ii”, which means “good” in Japanese). At ekokoro!, you donate automatically as soon as you buy something. You don’t need to give any donation because its sponsor companies pay that. Also the companies who sell goods or services can widen their range of

Bengal Curry Huma (Ota-ku, Tokyo) *Closed

2009-12-28

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Bangladeshi cuisine restaurant (Ota-ku, Tokyo) There are many restaurants that are run by Bangladeshis but “Bangladeshi restaurants” that serve only Bangladeshi cuisine are but a very limited number. “Bengal” in the name of this restaurant means the place where MD Humayun, a managing chef of this restaurant, was born and raised in. Humayun put the name of his birthplace in the restaurant because he wanted to serve a taste of home with pride. Curry which is cooked by Humayun is very mild. He cooks and serves Bangladeshi home-style dishes.

I didn’t want to close my business because I’d worked hard for 20 years to have my own restaurant.

2009-12-28

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com MD Humayun (Bangladesh) Managing chef of a Bangladeshi restaurant (He’s been in Japan since ’87) Have you enjoyed a great New Year’s vacation? My Eyes Tokyo wishes you and your families the best during the year 2010. We bring you the first interview in this year with a guy from Bangladesh. He is MD Humayun, who is managing a Bangladeshi restaurant in Tokyo. Humayun has been living in Tokyo for more than 20 years and he speaks Japanese very fluently. He doesn’t uncap his toque blanche even at lunchtime. He

Delhi Durbaar　*Closed

2009-12-16

Interviewed by Chinatsu Suzuki Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Indian restaurant (Chuo-ku, Chiba) There are many Indian/Nepali restaurants in the Tokyo area. Restaurants run by Nepalis are even in a place far from the heart of Tokyo. Now we introduce you to one of them, an Indian eatery called “Delhi Durbaar”, which is managed by Nepali brothers. They serve a menu de jour, many kinds of curry served at five different levels of spice, many single items and combination meals. The choices are endless. This restaurant is kind of new but local people are getting turned

I felt Japan was better than I expected. But everything is more expensive than I expected.

2009-12-16

Interviewed by Chinatsu Suzuki Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Dilnath Sapkota (Nepal) Indian restaurant manager (He’s been in Japan since 2008) This is the first interview with a guy from Nepal, a landlocked country which is surrounded by two big powers, China and India. Dilnath Sapkota is a chef at an Indian restaurant in Chiba, east of the Tokyo Megalopolis. He is running a shop with his younger brother. Sapkota has been in Japan for only a year and he is still struggling with the Japanese language. But his smile soothes his customers. His smile leaps over any language

Futaba *Closed

2009-10-31

Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Japanese & Costa Rican restaurant (Kamata, Ota-ku) We introduces you to the only restaurant in Japan in which you can enjoy both Japanese and Costa Rican food at one time. It’s called “Futaba” which is on a alleyway behind a main street. A Japanese chef and his Costa Rican wife run their small eatery here. This restaurant was established by the chef’s grandfather in 1952. It had been cooking only Japanese cuisine for a long time and the chef’s wife started to serve her taste of home around 2001. Her dishes

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams