 Once
you arrive in Tokyo, you'll want to find out what's
happening. Most travel guides are out of date even before
they arrive in bookstores. Fortunately, there are four
English language newspapers, several magazines, internet
sites and other sources for information.Newspapers:
Though
none of these are the kind of thick newspapers you get
back in the states, Japan features four daily newspapers.
While the Japan Times costs 160 yen ($1.20) a day,
the others cost 120 yen ($1.00). Generally, the JT
is the most complete, but still it rarely contains more
than a single 20-25 page section. All papers are
published seven days a week, but the Sunday paper is
pretty much the same as every other day. Once a month
there is a newspaper holiday, on which all four dailies
suspend publication, to give the delivery people a rest.
Japan
Times: The biggest newspaper in Japan has a Help
Wanted section every Monday, and lists events that
are happening throughout the week. They employ a lot of
staff writers and columnists, so there's usually
something interesting inside. But it's more expensive
than the other three. Wayne Graczyk's Baseball
Bullet-in appears every Friday.
Daily
Yomiuri: A step down in quality from the JT,
the Yomiuri has a good classifieds
section on Wednesday, and lists events on other days of
the week. They also run a special Washington Post
"Outlook" section on Friday and an
insert from England's The Independent on Sunday.
Ken Marantz does a good job of covering baseball.
Although the paper tends to trumpet the Giants at the
expense of other teams, they provide the most in-depth
daily coverage of Japanese baseball.
Asahi
Evening News: Hits the newsstands at 3:00 PM every
day. A high quality paper but it's usually pretty thin.
The Asahi runs a lot of editorials from the New
York Times, including a 4-6 page section every
Friday. Late in the week, they announce events going on
in Tokyo and outlying areas. Their sports coverage is
really good, and they run a lot of columns from America.
John De Bellis and Masayoshi Suga cover Japanese baseball
and provide a lot of great profiles. Last summer they
wrote two ten-part series on imported baseball players
called Foreign Focus. Some of the guys were
obviously disillusioned but De Bellis and Suga carefully
crafted the pieces to sound upbeat.
Mainichi
Daily News: The most barren of Japan's four English
dailies, the Mainichi is occasionally worth a
look, particularly on Wednesday which features sports
columnist Dave Wiggens.
Magazines:
Tokyo
Journal: Going through a state of transition, the Tokyo
Journal gives a pretty complete run-down on what's
happening in Tokyo, including movies, plays, festivals,
events, nightclubs and anything else you might be
interested in. It used to be a pretty mainstream
magazine, then after it was sold the new owners basically
ran it into the ground by directing attention to more
controversial topics (S&M and so forth). After
advertisers bailed out and folks stopped buying it, the Tokyo
Journal has resumed publication in a much tamer form.
The
Alien: The funniest and most entertaining
English-language publication in Japan, The Alien
is a Kansai-based monthly publication that includes
articles about living in Japan, restaurant and night club
guides, movie reviews, announcements of upcoming events,
and a lot of eclectic pieces from contributing writers.
Though the focus is on Osaka, they've recently been
extending their coverage of Nagoya and Tokyo. You can
find The Alien at most bookstores that sell
foreign publications.
Tokyo
Classified: A few years ago, the weekly Tokyo
Classifieds was a pretty bare-bones publication. But
recently the editors have broadened it to include movie
and restaurant reviews while also offering profiles on
foreign residents and short articles on other topics.
Their classified section is the best available, and
they've got a pretty extensive personals section.
Tokyo
Notice Board: The poor gaijin's Tokyo Classified,
the Tokyo Notice Board is a less glossy but nearly
as valuable resource. From "sayonora sales" to
personal ads and employment information, you'll find it
all in the Tokyo Notice Board. And like the TC,
it's free at most foreign bookstores and other places
gaijin tend to congregate.
Tokyo
Weekender: Geared primarily toward the inside the
beltway-crowd, the Tokyo Weekender chronicles
what's happening among the upper crust. They've got some
good articles for the rest of us and it's definitely
worth a look.
Internet:
Most
of the publications listed above have sites on the
internet. Other web sites may contain important information
about Japan and Japanese baseball not available in print.
Radio:
FEN
(Far East Network): The Armed Forces Radio Network is
on the air 24 hours a day, at 810 on the AM dial. Most of
the announcements are of course for those who wear khaki
for a living, though the rest of us can enjoy the music,
sports programs, talk shows and hourly news updates.
J-Wave
(81.3 MHz) and InterFM (76.1 MHz) are two radio
stations with mixed formats that are somewhat bilingual.
InterFM occasionally broadcasts in English, but many of
its programs are in Chinese, Portuguese and other
languages.
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