Great news this month on the transportation front for central Tokyo residents. It was announced that a new breed of Keisei Sky Liner, the ‘Narita Sky Access’ will cut the time from Nippori Station to Narita Terminal 2 from 51 minutes to a mere 36 minutes. That’s a 15 minute improvement, for those of you averse to counting.

This makes for great press because Tokyo is widely seen as being inconveniently far away from it’s airport. But it doesn’t change the fact that Nippori is still pretty far North, although I suppose you could technically call it central Tokyo (if you really wanted to). But it’s still 23 minutes from Shinjuku and 30 minutes away from Shibuya by train, so you’re still looking at a full hour to get from the airport to the true heart of central Tokyo.

The fact remains that Tokyo is just really, REALLY big. And for the vast majority of people who live here, long trips to the airport are going to be a fact of life. If you live outside of the city’s 23 special municipalities, it’s going to be even longer. Consider the chart below which shows the distribution of most of the city’s population. Tokyo has about 13 million people, 8 million of which live in the 23 ‘ku’. Even for those in the center, the train ride is still quite long.

But every little bit helps, right? ’36 minutes’ does make for great headlines though! Ah well. There’s always Haneda…

Keisei.co.jp

Dear Parents: Our Summer Soccer Camp schedule has been finalized and we’re offering our young super stars the opportunity to attend 4 different camps during the holiday period – all of which promise to be jam-packed with football fun, games, skill/technique development, competition and more fun, under the guidance of Head Coach Dave Callaghan. ALL abilities, boys & girls, English speakers or not will be catered to. We hope that the dates of our camps will fit into your vacation plans and fully understand if you have to cancel your vacation in order to send your kids to one or all of our camps (!) Here is the BFA Summer Soccer Camp schedule in brief.

For full details (including times/prices) please check out:
http://www.footyjapan.com/bfat/e/pages/camp.html

To register online (it takes 32-seconds!), please visit:
http://www.footyjapan.com/bfat/e/pages/campreg.php

CAMP 1: Tokyo International School, Tamachi, Tokyo: July 22nd – July 26th (5-days)

CAMP 2: Miyashita Park (Koen), Shibuya, Tokyo (behind Tower Records on Meiji Dori – super-convenient location): July 29 – 31st (3-days)

CAMP 3: Yokohama Country & Athletic Club, Yamate, Yokohama: August 4th – August 7th (4-days)

CAMP 4:Yokohama Country & Athletic Club, Yamate, Yokohama: August 13th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 19th (5-days)

REMEMBER* – players are welcome to come on a per day(s) basis if schedules don’t allow for a full 3 or 5-day camp.
REMEMBER* – although they have to pay a wee bit more NON-BFA members are allowed to attend any of our camps – we hope that YOU will pass the word onto YOUR friends, colleagues and neighbours – in fact why not print out this flyer (.pdf or .jpeg) and help us ensure healthy numbers?
TEAMWORK – it’s one of the key points we teach your kids – go on, lead by example!! We would really appreciate it.
*NOTE* – There are NEWLY designed official BFA Summer Camp T-shirts & Certificates for those attending full 3, 4 or 5-day camps – as if you needed any more incentive! BFA Summer Soccer Camp – a healthy, productive and enjoyable way for 3-15 year olds to spend some of their time this summer.

We look forward to seeing you…

Happy Birthday Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower, one of the iconic symbols of Tokyo, turned 50 years old on Tuesday December 23rd. Of course there is the obvious similarity to the Eiffel tower, but instead of being a monument to cast iron and steel, Tokyo Tower celebrates Tokyo’s post war boom. And in the process has somehow captured a special place in the hearts of the Japanese and tourists alike. Not soon after it was built in 1958, it claimed landmark status – popular for not only its great views of the city, but as a spot for couples seeking a little “romance”.

To celebrate the big day, the city threw a large event with a rock concert and a talk show at the plaza under the tower while some 20,000 visitors enjoyed the view from the observation deck above.

At night, over 100,000 bulbs made Tokyo Tower really shine. It was literally “lit up like a Christmas tree”.