festival - the japan times...2009/06/19  · the japan times pubdate: 6/19/2009 page: 22c m y k...

The Japan Times PUBDATE: 6/19/2009 PAGE: 22 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 16:4:20

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22 THE JAPAN TIMES FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2009 (3)

SAORI YANO Sapporo City Jazz-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yung-Hsiang KaoSTAFF WRITER

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S apporo will be jampacked withlive music for nearly a monthfrom July 13 through Aug. 9 —with its biggest jazzextravaganza yet.

Gracing the city with her presence July30 will be 22-year-old Saori Yano. She’sthe alto saxophonist behind the themesong for TV Asahi’s ‘‘Hodo Station’’ newsprogram. Though she may look a bit likeJ-pop star Kumi Koda, especially inrecent promotional images, Yano hasundeniable talent. With her sultry sound,nuanced phrasing and confident delivery,she’ll be a knockout.Also check out: On Aug. 9, Japanese popsinger Juju, who a few months ago hadher big break with the single ‘‘What’sLove?’’; the same day, soulful divaMarlena Shaw; Aug. 1, legendary,trailblazing saxophonist Sadao Watanabewith his six-piece band.The setting: The city is a treat as summerin Sapporo is beautiful since it’s not as hotor humid as is the rest of the country. The

main, central park that runs through thecity leading to the iconic Sapporo TVTower will host several performances.The other main venue is an outdoor stageabout 30 minutes from downtown Sapporoat the Artpark, where the three-year-oldfestival’s predecessor, Sapporo JazzForest, was held from 1999 to 2006.-------------------------------------------

When/where: For a schedule of events,information about venues and ticket prices inEnglish, visit http://sapporocityjazz.com/2009/en.html------------------------------------------------------

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Nano-Mugen Festival-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Philip BrasorSPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMES

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T here are few success stories inJapanese rock as satisfying asAsian Kung Fu Generation’s.Formed at Yokohama’s KantoGakuin University in 1996, the punkquartet slowly garnered a following in theTokyo metropolitan area beforeappearing at both Fuji Rock and SummerSonic in 2003. That same summer, thegroup hosted its own festival,Nano-Mugen, with like-minded punkbands at the tiny Shinjuku Loft club. Sincethen, Nano-Mugen has become one of theyear’s major rock festivals, havinggraduated to the gargantuan YokohamaArena in 2005.Also check out: AFKG’s support acts onboth days are Manic Street Preachers,Ben Folds, Nada Surf, Hard-Fi andannual favorites The Young Punx. OnJuly 19 you can also enjoy local rockersStraightener, Hiatus, Ogre You Assholeand Kiyoshi Ryujin. Guests on July 20include Spitz, Unicorn and Sakanaction.The setting: Yokohama Arena is one of the

biggest venues in Japan, meaning it’spretty much a barn (though not as muchof a barn as Makuhari Messe).-------------------------------------------

When/where: The shinkansen stops next doorat Shin Yokohama Station, as does theYokohama Subway line. Tickets for each dayare ¥9,600 and are available at all major ticketsites, or by calling Disk Garage at (03)5436-9600, but you’d better hurry. For moreinformation in English see nano-mugen.comDoors open each day at 10:30 a.m. and showsstart at noon.------------------------------------------------------

LILY ALLEN Fuji Rock Festival-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simon BartzSTAFF WRITER

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J apan’s most famous festival is itsbest, for music quality and diversity— rock, techno, folk, vintage soul:you name it, Fuji’s got it. And thepleasure of escaping from stressful city lifeto languish in a lush green valley in NiigataPrefecture for the weekend is priceless. I’vebeen to every single Fuji Rock (this is the13th) and have learned that it’s simplyimpossible to do everything you want —such as visit all of the 201 stages and watchevery one of the 43,157 artists. So I setmyself five goals: (1) See Lily Allen at theintimate Crystal Palace stage. (2) Swim inthe river and drink its water. I do it everyyear, never had a problem. (3) Do anotherduet with the one-man band guy who popsup all over the festival site. (4) Light acandle for Fuji Rock stalwart KiyoshiroImawano, who sadly passed away this year.(5) Not end up in hospital at any point, whichhas happened to me a few times in the past.But, at Fuji, something always happens thatyou never expect.Also check out: Oasis, Guitar Wolf, Ida

Maria, Tokyo Ska Paradise, FranzFerdinand, Dinosaur Jr., The Birthdayand Friction.The setting: Trees, rivers, fields, a bit ofmud, sunshine, polite security, total fun.-------------------------------------------

When/where: July 24, 25 and 26 at Naeba Skiresort, Niigata Prefecture. Take theshinkansen to JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station, thena free bus ride to the site. Three-day ticketscost ¥39,800; one-day tickets are ¥16,800.Camping and parking OK. Checkwww.smash-uk.com/frf09 for info------------------------------------------------------

Looking for a dream holiday home in Hawaii?Owning a time-share resort condominium opens the door to a flexible, luxury and affordable vacation lifestyleMany people are so beguiledby Hawaii’s pristine beauty,fresh ocean air and warm hos-pitality that they return to theIslands year, after year, afteryear.

If you go often enough, youmight have considered buyinga property there, but housesand condominiums in Hawaiidon’t come cheap, and the pur-chase price and maintenancecosts are a major outlay ifyou’re only going to be able touse the property for a limitednumber of days each year.

One solution is time sharing— a system for sharing theownership of a vacation homein which each of the joint pur-chasers may occupy the unitduring a specified period eachyear — which is starting to be-come popular as a new vaca-tion style among Japan’s Ha-waii-lovers.

Although time shares haveonly been on the market for afew years in Japan, they are awell-established vacationstyle among Western Europe-ans and North Americans whowant to enjoy the ‘‘resort life’’economically and efficiently.The time-share idea is said tohave originated at a Frenchski resort in the mid-1960s,when 12 people began to sharea chalet, with each one using itfor one month each year.

In the early 1970s, the time-

share business enjoyed aboom in the United States andrapidly developed, replacingrental condominiums in manyresorts. In the 1980s, major ho-tel chains such as the Hiltonand Marriott entered the sec-tor in earnest, allowing peoplearound the world to enjoy theadvantages of time sharing.

The system was first intro-duced to the Japanese marketby Hilton Grand VacationsClub, which runs time-shareproperties in 47 resort loca-tions around the world.

Hilton Grand VacationsClub began promoting the sys-tem in 2001, targeting Japa-nese people who were on vaca-tion in Hawaii, for its newlyopened Lagoon Tower time-share property at Hilton Ha-waiian Village Beach Resort &Spa in Waikiki Beach on OahuIsland. As a result of the posi-tive sales response from Japa-nese clients, the companyopened a sales office in Tokyoin 2003 and began a domesticpromotion in line with theopening of The Kalia Tower inthe complex. The number ofJapanese owners, which was6,000 group members at thattime, had increased to over22,000 group members by thisMay. As demand increased,the company added the HibiyaVacation Gallery in Tokyo inMarch to its Shinjuku, Yoko-

hama, Osaka and Nagoya gal-leries.

‘‘Management didn’t expectsuch a good response fromJapanese people. But withfree individual travel and spe-cial interest tours becomingmainstream instead of grouptours, Japanese vacationstyles have changed,’’ saysShiho Sugimoto of the compa-ny’s PR department. ‘‘Even ifyou are not on a group trip, Ha-waii is safe, secure and youcan communicate in Japa-nese. Hawaii remains highlypopular among Japanese peo-ple because it satisfies all ofthese needs.’’

In Hawaii, Hilton Grand Va-cations Club’s time-sharingprogram offers condomini-ums in the best locations inWaikiki Beach and WaikoloaBeach, including The GrandWaikikian, the latest additioncompleted at the end of lastyear. By sharing ownership bythe week, you can buy a high-grade Hilton condominium foran outlay of just ¥4 million to¥5 million, which is the mostpopular price range. ‘‘The con-dos are spacious and fullyequipped, so staying at a time-share resort will make youfeel like you are living there,rather than traveling,’’ saysSugimoto.

The program divides oneyear into 52 weeks and sells

one week as a unit. Once youpurchase a unit, you can usethe property for a week everyyear, forever, with just a year-ly maintenance fee. In addi-tion, with the program’s pointssystem, you can flexiblychoose to stay at 47 other Hil-ton time-share resorts or 8,200Hilton and Hilton alliance ho-tels all over the world, insteadof staying at your ‘‘home re-sort.’’ Or, in years when youcannot take a long vacation,you could use your points tostay at a Hilton hotel in Japanfor just a few days and savethe rest of the points for the fol-lowing year. The ownershiprights are registered in thestate of Hawaii, like ordinaryreal estate properties, and canbe inherited by your offspringfrom generation to genera-tion.

At the Vacation Galleries,detailed explanations on theprogram are provided, but forthose who wish to stay at aproperty before making a de-cision, a range of trial accom-modation plans is available,which combines stays in atime-share unit, program ex-planations and visits to modelrooms.

Concentrating on after-sales care, Hilton Grand Va-cations Club holds orienta-tions for owners on how to usethe points system, etc. At its

Shinjuku Gallery, VacationCounselors are on hand to helpowners to plan their vacation.Quarterly newsletters coverpractical and detailed tips onhow to enjoy your vacation, aswell as service and campaigninformation. The official Website features blogs by high-profile writers well versed onHawaii about their island life-style. ‘‘We try to provide mem-bers with practical and inter-esting information that canenrich their vacation experi-ence. Enhancing member sat-isfaction is the best way topopularize the time-share sys-tem in Japan,’’ says Sugimoto.-------------------------------

For more information, visitwww.hgvchawaii.com or call(0120) 805-817 (Japanese only).---------------------------------------

High life: (Left) The chic wooden-floor living room of a time-share condo at The Grand Waikikian. Fully equipped, spaciousrooms provide the comfort and relaxation rarely found at a hotel. (Right) Splendid night views of Waikiki Beach can be enjoyedfrom the balcony of a time-share resort condo at The Grand Waikikian in Hawaii.

Festivalfever

We present ourguide to the best ofJapan’s summermusic events,encompassingrock, jazz, classicaland other genres —here and continuedon Page 18

Time-share gallery: Hibiya Vacation Gallery opened in March in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. As demandincreases, Hilton Grand Vacations Club is expanding its time-share resort business in Japan.

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