The Tokyo Weekender On Tokyo Stories

"...painfully delightful..."

by Jim Merk
Co-PublisherTokyo WeekenderJapan's premiere community newspaper

The executive ex-pat community is something we like to think we know something about. Here at Tokyo Weekender, it has been our life's blood since 1970, when my father-in-law decided that the community was sufficiently large to warrant its own newspaper.

Nearly from the moment I started at Weekender in 1992, I reveled in the stories that floated around the office whether they were old or happening at the moment. I say the same thing today as I did then: "Why on earth would anyone want to live or work anywhere else on the planet?" Is anything as entertaining as a bunch of foreigners finding their way through the craziness that is Tokyo?

Where else does the CEO of a major company order pizza for his family by calling the local film developer? What about the newlyweds who decided against having a stripper perform, well, the full Monty, at their reception, but who forgot to pass that information on to the entertainer in question? Then, of course, there was the gorilla-masked thief who got caught retrieving his bicycle after completing a hit.

Many of these stories have found their way in print, too. Bob Collins (Max Danger, Tanaka and the Outsiders et al), Don Maloney (Raw Fish, Son of Raw Fish et al), Jack Seward (pick one), Earl Norman (Kill Me in Roppongi) are just some of the authors who have plumed the ex-pat life for books through the years. Christine Cunanan-Miki has managed to pay tribute to those who came before her, yet with her fantastical ending, also add a new twist to the genre.

If you are part of the community, part of the fun is trying to see yourself or your friends in these pages. Almost certainly you will. If you are new, this is a good step of preparation. If you are neither, let me assure you that things happen very nearly as described in these pages. When are you coming?

There is no question ex-pat life has changed over the years. Yet as long as we continue to have new working visitors, we will continue to supply writers with fodder for painfully delightful books such as this one.

Read another review in the Tokyo Weekender, March 5 2004 issue

Read an interview with Christine Miki in The Japan Times, March 6 2004 issue

See other readers' comments on Tokyo Stories