Former USSR | My Eyes Tokyo

Happy Birthday to Georgia!

2018-05-26

Open air cafes in Old Tbilisi. Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia. *Photo from Wikipedia May 26 is Georgia’s Independence Day, commemorates the day of the First Republic in 1918. It commemorates the 26 May 1918 adoption of the Act of Independence, which established the Democratic Republic of Georgia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Georgians adopted Christianity in the early 4th century. A unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early

Even just seeing the ocean was a new experience.

2017-01-17

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi, Emma Withrow Edited by Emma Withrow Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Fariza Abidova (Uzbekistan) CEO & President of SOPHYS Corporation / Trusted Corporation Earlier last December just as the holiday season began showing itself here in Tokyo we were fortunate to have the chance to sit down with Fariza Abidova for a cup of tea and a chat on referral from Verena Hopp. Over the course of our talk her tenacity and dedication was evident in her journey from Uzbekistan to Tokyo, and in the hopes and plans she has for her future. To best understand

Voice of the Day Vol.4 – Alesya Nakagawa (Belarus)

2016-07-03

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com This interview series celebrates each national day in the world through an interview. The fourth episode is brought to you from Belarus, which celebrates the independence of the country from the USSR on July 3. In commemoration of the day, we bring you a life history of a Belarusian homemaker who lives in Tokyo. *Edited by Daniel Penso 校正協力：ダニエル・ペンソ Photo provided by Alesya Nakagawa 日本語 My sister brought me to Japan I came to Japan from Belarus 10 years ago. My younger sister was already here at that time. She’s

I don’t want to associate my activities with the anti-nuclear movement.

2012-06-20

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Kateryna (Ukraine) Bandura player/singer (She’s been in Japan since Dec.2006) We interviewed a foreign musician in Tokyo for the first time in ages – introducing Kateryna from Ukraine. A friend of ours took us to a piano concert. She knows that we’ve been interviewing foreigners so she provided us the chance to meet Kateryna. It consisted of two parts and she performed in the beginning of the second part. A woman in a colorful costume beautifully plucked an Ukrainian instrument called “Bandura“, which has dozens of strings, and began to

I’ve learned Japanese culture while I taught Russian culture.

2012-04-01

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Averiyanova Lyudmila (Russia) Trading farm staff/Russian Cafe organizer (First visit to Japan in 1998, Returned to Japan in 2006) One day we were invited to a Russian language salon by our friend. It’s called “Russian Cafe”, which is held near JR Urawa Station in Saitama Prefecture on the first Sunday of each month. It was amazing! 90% of the participants are Japanese, but they were talking to each other in Russian really fluently. And our friend introduced us to Averiyanova Lyudmila, one of the participants in the salon. We’ve met

Dance like yourself.

2010-04-30

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Elina Kalita (Ukraine) Belly dancer/instructor (She’s been in Japan since mid 90s) Today we introduce you to a beautiful belly dancer. Elina Kalita from Ukraine is a born artist. Her career as a belly dancer spans about two decades and she’s been raised on many kinds of performing arts since she was a child. Now she is both a performer and an instructor of belly dancing. She always tells her students, “Do not copy me”. What does she mean? Is there a teacher who says you do not need to take him/her

I believe Japanese songs must reach Russians.

2009-06-05

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Ekaterina (Russia) Singer/Pianist (She’s been in Japan since ’95) Ekaterina, a wonderful diva from Russia! She sings Russian folk songs, Japanese songs in 80s and J-POP (Japanese popular songs after 90s). She lives for promoting exchange between Japan and Russia through singing. Her songs were aired on TV and she has sung the Russian anthem at international soccer matches. But she is always friendly, not haughty and spontaneous. She is very flexible, enough so to perform at both big halls and small live houses. Her smile is really friendly. Such

“Hey, I would be dead if I tried to achieve that sales figure.” But he said that he wouldn’t care if I died.

2009-04-29

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Barysiuk Viktoryia (Belarus) Belarussian restaurant manager (She’s been in Japan since 2001) Long time no see! We’d been writing my book “My Eyes Tokyo” for six months (If you want to learn details of the book, click here!). We will keep on interviewing expats strenuously. BTW, we would like to introduce you to Barysiuk Viktoryia, a manager of a Belarussian restaurant in the central Tokyo. She speaks Japanese very fluently and it sounds really gentle. But she is not just sleek. She has sparkling eyes. As a manager, as a woman,

New York people welcome so many cultures and they treat you like others.

2007-10-11

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Arina Kuznetsova (Russia) Sales & Marketing Manager of a Japanese jewelry shop (She’s been in US since spring 2007. She’s been in Tokyo for 5 yrs) We interviewed Arina Kuznetsova after she finished her work that night. Now she is working at Kyoto-based Jewelry company in SoHo, Manhattan (*It has newly opened on 5th Avenue, Manhattan in November 2007). Before coming to New York, she worked for the company in Tokyo and she joined their activities of supporting foreign women’s life in Japan. She’s from Russia and has lived in three

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

2007-03-17

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

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams