Place your wager on Macau
Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20081228a1.html

Portugal, Venice meet Las Vegas, Disney in new megaresort built on filled sea strip

A charitable take on Tokyo's landfill projects would have them simply extending the city's alluvial plains into Tokyo Bay. Given another millennium or two, natural siltation might end up doing the same thing.

High flyers: The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel gleams on the Cotai Strip, a newly developed stretch of man-made land in the Macau Special Administrative Region. below: A model of what the Cotai Strip will look like in about 10 years' time.

By comparison, it's hard to think of any natural phenomenon that would result in the emergence of a trampoline-flat, 5-sq.-km plateau, filling the stretch of sea between what used to be two separate islands.

Welcome to the Cotai Strip, in the Special Administrative Region of Macau.

The name Cotai is as artificial as the man-made land to which it refers — it's a combination of Coloane and Taipa, the names of the two islands it joins. (The third island that makes up the Macau S.A.R. is called Macau.)

Cotai is a very odd place: in the middle of the ocean and yet as flat and as barren as Nevada. In a few years' time, it will have almost as many casinos as that U.S. state. I went at the end of November, and stayed at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the third of about 12 mega casino-hotel resorts scheduled to open in the area over the next decade — although the current financial crisis is already delaying some of the construction work.

The Venetian is a behemoth of a building. The latest listing on Wikipedia says it's the third-largest in the world in terms of area, more than 1.5 times larger than the Pentagon. And yet, for such a soaring 40-story edifice there is something about this pastel-colored palace that makes it seem utterly unreal, like a film set. If I hadn't actually stayed in one of its 3,000 suites, I would have sworn it was nothing but a wooden facade tacked onto a scaffolding frame.

There are many things about the Venetian that seem bent on loosening one's grip on reality.

The St. Mark's Campanile tower and Rialto Bridge that stand out the front of the hotel almost had me forgetting which hemisphere I was in — until the hotel's public-relations representative reassuringly explained they are "just imitations" of the historical attractions in Venice.

And, of course, everything from the Venetian's hotel to its restaurants, bars, shops, 15,000-seat entertainment arena and casino are all housed within a single climate-controlled environment. Yes, you could survive in there for days without breathing fresh air or feeling the sun's rays — or even seeing a clock, because, as in most casinos, there are none to be found here. But the assault on one's sense of reality comes in more subtle ways as well.

The mix of nationalities in the staff almost had me thinking I was back in Epcot Center at Disney World in Florida. My Nepalese waitress at breakfast told me that more than 50 nationalities are represented. I thought I had gone back in time, or into some weird dream at least, when I arrived at the casino. I'd only managed about 10 strides into the place when my arm was grabbed and I was presented with the bountiful bosom of a young woman offering me a massage. About ¥12,000 was apparently all she — or her half-dozen colleagues who quickly gathered around — would charge to provide me with an hour of, ah, massaging. The same PR representative from the Venetian said the staff couldn't distinguish these — to my eyes, at least — unmistakably short-skirted and magnificently made-up beauties from other patrons, and thus had no policy of curtailing their solicitations on the casino floor.

Atop Macau Tower, you can take in the view from 230 meters and strap up for a bungee jump.

Then there was the gambling. Compared with Las Vegas, there is something otherworldly about the way that the Macau clientele (which is reportedly 60 percent mainland Chinese) bet.

Games like poker, which are popular in Las Vegas, test the skill of the players, thus heightening rather than relaxing one's grip on our current dog-eat-dog, capitalist brand of reality. But watching the Macau gamblers throw money at games of luck — such as the dice game "big and small" — was nothing short of surreal.

Take, for example, roulette. It had never occurred to me that the table part of this refined form of entertainment could be made to resemble a scale model of Manhattan — albeit minus Central Park. The first time I played, I realized too late I had placed my chips too early. By the time the dealer said "no more bets" my modest stake had been surrounded on all sides (including above) by 30- and 40-chip-high towers.

Invariably, of course, the croupier managed to hit the one plot of land overlooked by these would-be property tycoons, meaning he had to do the job of an earth-mover to shunt all the house winnings into the bank.

It's thus not surprising to read that Macau's casinos overtook Las Vegas' for gambling revenues back in 2006 — when their takings topped $6.9 billion (compared to Vegas' almost $6.7 billion).

According to the Japan Association of Travel Agents, Macau is one of the only overseas destinations that have seen increases in Japanese visitors over the last two years. In fact, it is expected to lure more than 360,000 from these islands this year, compared with 85,000 in 2003.

It's no coincidence that it was in 2004 that the first of the foreign-owned casinos opened in the region. Up until then, Macau businessman Stanley Ho had enjoyed a monopoly on the market with his Hotel Lisboa, which opened in 1970 and had the sole gambling license.

Old and new: Gamblers enjoy the casino floor at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, which opened last year. Below: The Lisboa Hotel, once the only casino in Macau, boasts an interior unlike that of any casino in Las Vegas.

The Lisboa was and still is on the main island of Macau. It has now been joined by properties including the Sands Macao, Wynn Macau and MGM Grand Macau, which opened on the island between 2004 and 2007. The rush of development on the man-made strip of Cotai only began in 2006.

But as an official from the Macau Tourist Organization who recently visited Tokyo was very keen to explain, Macau has more going for it than casinos. Her enthusiasm prompted one fellow hack to wonder out loud why they "bother trying to attract noncasino visitors when the casinos are already giving the hotels 95 percent occupancy rates?"

One reason to visit or for Macau to attract nongambling tourists is that the World Heritage-listed former Portuguese area of Macau island is astoundingly beautiful. For Japan residents, its cobbled streets, stone and brick buildings, town squares and churches are the closest thing you will get to Europe this side of Greece.

Not that mere verisimilitude with faraway lands is a virtue in itself (witness The Venetian's Venice). But the almost 500 years of Portuguese presence has resulted in a truly fascinating blend of everything from the architecture to the food to, I dare say it, the gene pool. One wonders if it will take 500 years for Japan's increasing foreign population to make its citizens as ethnically complex as the Macanese.

Another attraction for which it is worth extricating yourself from the Venetian or your choice of casino-resort is Macau Tower, which offers a quick means to get your bearings, but also has several types of high-flying attractions for thrill-seekers. Not only can you launch yourself headfirst from the tower in a conventional bungee jump, but you can put yourself in a harness and free-fall — feetfirst — for about 50 meters before being lowered the remaining 180 meters to the ground.

If you're not interested in flying, but nevertheless feel compelled to breathe the air 230 meters above Macau, you can also walk around the top of the tower while chained to a harness. Despite what tourism officials would have you believe, it is still the gambling that makes Macau such a popular destination, and no trip to the place would be incomplete without a stop at the casino that started it all: the Hotel Lisboa.

Where the foreign-owned casinos offer only slightly China-ized versions of the formula they have perfected in Las Vegas, the original Lisboa is something different altogether.

Its black marble floors, gold balustrades, mirrors, fountains, its jade sculptures, peacock sculptures in gold, mother-of-pearl tiles on the walls and lights held up by dragons make it one of the most intense interiors you're likely to come across, anywhere.

Built almost 40 years ago, the Lisboa also has the smaller, more intimate gambling rooms that were in vogue at the time. Compared with the convention-center layouts of more recent casinos, it is a far more ingratiating environment in which to, well, lose your money.

This month, Lisboa opened its Grand Lisboa across the road from the original venue. It takes all the gaudy ostentation of the first hotel and multiplies it by about the same odds to 1 against being dealt a straight flush.

If there's anything which signals the direction that this strange little cluster of islands on the edge of mainland China is heading in the future, it's this: a 250-meter-high skyscraper shaped to resemble a lotus flower spreading its petals in bloom.

Christmas Day is really Valentine’s Day in Japan
Metblogs

http://tokyo.metblogs.com/2008/12/23/christmas-day-is-really-valentine%e2%80%99s-day-in-japan/

From where I come from (Singapore), Christmas Day is a time to drink and party way too much, with the occasional obligatory gift to colleagues and family. Unless you’re Christian or Catholic, Christmas is just another public holiday.

In Japan, it’s similar in that respect — religion has no presence on December 25. In fact, you don’t even get a day off and I think it seriously affects expats who are used to celebrating it seriously. They feel kind of sad and lost in this strange land that doesn’t see it as a day for bonding with family.

And the weirdest part about Christmas in Japan is it’s really Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day exists, too, but it’s not really for lovers. In Japan, it’s associated more with corporate culture where the women are expected to give chocolates to the men.

 It’s always the opposite here. Then, there’s White Day, which is March 14, when the men have to return the favor, so the chocolates go back to the ladies in the kaisha (office).

When I taught English to Japanese adults a year ago, all my students complained of this tiresome ritual and chocolate jumps twice in price the day before. Most penny-pinching folks will buy boxes two weeks before the actual day to save money and it’s not too early so that the chocolate goes bad.

But Christmas Day is a time for unicorns, violin playing, diamonds, and marshmallows to come out in great big grand gestures. Even then, only the young and starry-eyed think it’s an important occasion.

Tokyo's population may top 13 million in '09
Kyodo News/Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081228a3.html

The population of Tokyo might break 13 million as early as next year, five years earlier than estimated by the national population research institute and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, because the capital has become a magnet for people fleeing sluggish economies in the rest of Japan.

According to estimates made in May 2007 by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the population of Tokyo will climb to 12.9 million in 2010 and peak at 13.1 million in 2020 before sliding back to 13.04 million in 2025.

In March, the government of Tokyo predicted the population would grow to 13.08 million in 2015 before falling to 12.94 million in 2020.

But the actual population has been increasing at an annual rate of around 100,000 since 2000. As of Dec. 1 this year, it stood at 12.9 million, the same as the institute's earlier estimate for 2010, due to a net yearly increase of some 70,000.

"We may have underestimated the pace of the population growth," said a statistician at the Tokyo government.

While Japan's overall population is decreasing with the aging of society and a fall in the birthrate, the accelerating concentration of people in Tokyo could sap local economies of vital energy.

Okinawa, located far from the four main islands, used to attract a significant number of new residents from the rest of Japan, including baby boomers born in the late 1940s, because of its unique culture and for other reasons.

But the prefecture saw a net decrease in its population in 2006.

In light of this, Moritake Tomikawa, president of Okinawa International University, believes that the population of Okinawa will decline after peaking in 2010, 15 years earlier than forecast by the national institute.

Because of the high unemployment rate in Okinawa, young people are leaving, Tomikawa said.

New Year’s ornaments, called “mayudama,” are displayed at Kinomiya Shrine in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture. The ornaments, which cost up to 10,000 yen, are believed to bring good fortune at home and work. They will be sold at the shrine from December 31 to January 3.

 

Happy Moo Year as Japan prepares to usher in 2009

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081226/lf_nm_life/us_japan_newyear_1

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) – With Christmas over, Japan on Friday began preparing for its biggest celebration of the holiday season, the start of the New Year, with moos and squeaks as well as paws and hooves.

While most of Asia remains faithful to the Chinese lunar calendar to mark the Chinese New Year, Japan ushers it in according to the Western calendar, making New Year's Day the start of both 2009 and the Chinese New Year.

On December 31, Japan will bid farewell to the current Chinese Year of the Rat and welcome the Year of the Ox, or the Cow, as locals call it. Other Asian nations are due to mark the lunar new year toward the end of January.

In an annual event, animals representing the incoming and outgoing years took part in a handover ceremony at a local animal park while human guests took stock of the past year and expressed hopes for the next.

"I usually change the New Year decorations to match the animal but this is the first time I see it in the flesh," said 65-year-old Yorio Hitomi, a Tokyo resident.

The event at the Sunshine International Aquarium saw a calf filling in for the cow and a hamster -- the park's only rodent resident -- taking the place of the rat.

Using paws and hoofs, the animals signed over responsibility for the outgoing and incoming years.

"At the end of 2008, Japan and the world lost its luster. I hope that with the new year and the new animal representing it, both Japan and the world will regain some of its prosperity," Tsunekiyo Miyajima, assistant manager for the Sunshine City corporation which owns the park, told Reuters.

According to the Chinese calendar, the Ox, or Cow, is an animal that brings prosperity through hard work. The outgoing Rat symbolizes wealth.

Tokyo Disneyland enjoys a recession boom
Associated Press

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_MICKEYS_MAGIC_ASOL-?SITE=YOMIURI&SECTION=HOSTED_ASIA&TEMPLATE=ap_national.html

URAYASU, Japan (AP) -- Sony and Toyota are struggling. Job cuts dominate the headlines. But one brand name is thriving in Japan amid the economic slowdown - Mickey Mouse.

According to the company that runs Tokyo Disneyland, Japan's busiest theme park will be more packed than ever over Christmas and New Year's. Despite the bad economy, it's already been a record year for an escape that's cheaper than the average night out in pricey Tokyo.

"Here, recession seems a world away," visitor Namie Katsunuma said as she munched on a bowl of caramel popcorn. "This is the only place where I can totally forget the economic worries and hardship of my life."

The single mother's salary at an auto dismantling factory was cut in November but, with her $500 yearly pass in hand, she makes the 60-mile (95-kilometer) trek from her home to Tokyo Disneyland every couple of months.

The park's operator, Oriental Land Co., estimates a record 26.5 million people will visit Tokyo Disneyland and its nearby sister park, Disneysea, during the fiscal year ending in March. The company is forecasting sales of a record $4.2 billion, up almost 10 percent.

"In a way, the slumping economy works well for Tokyo Disneyland," said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Tokyo-based Daiwa Research Institute. "Because of the recession, people have stopped buying cars and houses or going to Hawaii, and Tokyo Disneyland offers an affordable and pleasant alternative."

Around the world, Disney's theme parks have been a bright spot for the brand this year as people seem to look for an escape from bad times.

Consumer confidence is the lowest the company had seen in more than three decades, The Walt Disney Co.'s chief executive told analysts last month. Even so, revenue from parks and resorts worldwide was up 8 percent for the year, to $11.5 billion, according to the company's fourth-quarter earnings report.

Disney's park in Paris is doing a brisk business as well.

"The Christmas season at Disneyland Paris is very popular," said Stephanie Cocquet, a spokeswoman for Disneyland Paris.

But she added, "We don't consider that we are immune from the (economic) crisis."

Because her company is publicly traded in Paris, park projections will not be made public before its next earnings release on Jan. 29, she said.

Tokyo Disneyland was the first Disneyland outside the United States when it opened on the outskirts of Tokyo in 1983. It is the world's third most successful theme park after the Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California, according to an annual ranking by the U.S.-based Themed Entertainment Association and Economics Research Associates.

Tomonori Tanaka, a 32-year-old computer engineer, and his girlfriend chose Tokyo Disneyland over a weekend at a hot spring resort in northern Japan.

"It's much cheaper to come here," he said. "Even though Tokyo Disneyland is only 15 minutes from Tokyo, we feel like we are making a big trip because the place seems so detached from reality."

His girlfriend, Hatsue Ishizuka, did say she will buy fewer Disney souvenirs.

"I love Mickey. But I need to save money right now," the 30-year-old office worker said as she looked at a giant glittering Christmas tree and Disney characters dressed as Santa Claus.

Including admission, the average visitor spent $105 at Tokyo Disneyland in the April to September period, up 2.9 percent from the same period last year, according to an Oriental Land financial statement.

The entrance fee is $64 - cheaper than a night out to most concerts or dinner shows in Tokyo.

"I come to Disneyland almost every day after work," said Tae Morioka, a 24-year-old government worker and annual pass holder from Yokohama, a city just south of Tokyo. "Everyone here is smiling. Can you find a place like this anywhere else in Japan?"

But economist Watanabe warned that if the recession worsens, Tokyo Disneyland may start to feel the pinch.

"The brand value of Disney and its popular characters remains strong, but demand for the theme park could be fragile in the face of a deepening recession," he said.

Tetsuya Kubo, a spokesman for Oriental Land, attributed the brisk business this year to an advertising campaign marking Tokyo Disneyland's 25th anniversary.

"We are gravely aware that a prolonged recession could hit us hard," he said. "It's a big challenge for us, and we will continue to offer new attractions to keep growing."

Hokkaido Railway Co (JR Hokkaido) said 34 train services including those linking Sapporo city and New Chitose Airport were suspended as of 9:30 a.m. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said they have cancelled all their flights. In fact it is snowing blizzards all across Japan esspecially in Hokkaido but still not one snowflake in Tokyo at all this year... 

My hardisk drive on my personal Sony Vaio Laptop had a serious failure after I tried to install service pack 3 and the system unexpectedly shutdown yesterday! I went all over searching for a new computer but couldn't find one that compares with my Viao at all. Strangely enough, I came home and surprisingly found that my Vaio has a built-in recovery compass that recovers everything! And my Vaio is now up again except for a few keys I lost when I spilt liquid all over it a few months ago, I love it all over again...

By the way, I think this Vaio T VGN-T37GP is the best laptop ever with just the right combination of everything so I don't think I can ever leave it, just like yuzu! Yesterday I went all over the used shops looking for something better or equal but could not find any of the same 80 G, Intel Centrino Mobile chip and stylish silver model like mine at all anywhere... Must be everyone who has this model loves it just like me too!

There were a lot of 40G-60G, blue models and even newer carbon fiber blue and black models all around 80,000 yen ($800) but mostly with the Intel Celeron chip which must not be a good chip like the Intel Centrino Mobile Technology, Pentium M Processor Ultra Low Voltage 753 (1.20GHz) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection & Bluetooth 855GME Chipset in my silver model because there were so many of them for so cheap but the ony one that had the same chip as mine but with only a 60G Hardisk was about double the price even though it had no OS in it! I love my Vaio and guess it will be with me for long time.

I bought it in 2004 and it is still the optimal model in every way except for this Microsoft flaw and me spilling a jug of juice all over it, it's the best thing in my life! After its stupid Microsoft sstem shutdown I was even considering moving to MAC already but nah, Sony is the best in every way and it is Japanese after all, I love it!

Actually I think this Vaio T VGN-T37GP 80G, Intel Centrino Mobile, Pentium M, PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection & Bluetooth 855GME Chipset, frosty silver model is the best model Sony ever built...

Really!

http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/vgn-t37gp/style_statement.html

Japanese consumers enjoy benefits of strong yen
Associated Press

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081219/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_yen_boon_1

Money traders watch monitor screens during the morning session in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008.

TOKYO – Supermarkets are having "strong yen sales" on imported food. Travel agencies are offering discounted trips abroad. Ordinary people are playing the currency market.

The yen's recent surge against major currencies — including to a 13-year high against the dollar — is battering Japan's vital exporters, but consumers here are enjoying some of the benefits that come with a strong currency, snapping up bargain deals on everything from French wine to designer handbags.

Natsuko Ouka recently converted some of her yen savings into dollars — even though she has no plans to go overseas — betting that the weakened dollar will eventually recover.

"It's so low right now, I'm doing it as an investment, though I'm not telling my husband," said Ouka as she ate lunch with her young daughter at a restaurant in Tokyo.

As the scope of the U.S. financial crisis became clear over the last few months, investors scrambled to sell dollars and jump into yen as a safe haven, because Japan's banks and economy looked comparatively solid. Other investors bailed out of so-called yen carry trades that involved borrowing the yen to invest in other, higher-yielding assets in Australia and elsewhere. Repaying those yen loans also lifted the Japanese currency's value.

Since mid-September, the yen has gained about 23 percent against the dollar. The U.S. currency earlier this week fell to 87.11 yen, its lowest since July 1995.

Over the same three months, the yen has also gained 22 percent against the euro and 35 percent against the South Korean won.

That's dealt more pain to exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. — suffering from waning global consumer demand — because a weaker dollar erodes their foreign income.

Toyota, for example, says its operating profit falls 40 billion yen ($450 million) for every yen the dollar declines. Overall, it's a big drag on the country's economy, already in recession.

Still, Japan's consumers are taking advantage of the yen's gains.

Shoppers at Aeon department store in central Tokyo are greeted by huge "Strong Yen Sale!" signs, with a large display of discounted foreign wines and champagne near the entrance.

It has also marked down items like foreign-made business shoes, Australian beef and imported tuna by 25 percent.

Major travel agency HIS says the strong yen and lower fuel surcharges have helped lift the number of year-end holiday trips overseas despite the weakening economy. Tickets and tours booked through November are up 3 percent, with tickets and trips to South Korea up 50 percent from last year.

Motohiro Kato, 31, recently browsed travel flyers outside of an HIS shop in Tokyo. He is planning a year abroad in Australia from next September, but having watched the yen gain over 40 percent against the Australian dollar over the last three months, said he won't wait and soon plans to convert about 100,000 yen into Australian dollars.

"I love to travel, and this is a big chance," he said.

Long lines have formed at currency changers throughout Tokyo as locals convert their newfound wealth into other currencies.

Chizuru Watabe, who has worked in the city exchanging currency for the last five years, said she has never seen anything like it. People appeared carrying envelopes stuffed with cash, looking to exchange 1,000,000 yen ($11,000) or more.

"Some said they were planning to travel in the next few months, but others were changing over their personal savings," she said, adding that on several occasions her company completely ran out of euros.

While companies are benefiting from the extra buying power for oil and raw materials, that's not enough to offset falling sales. And economists warn that the slowdown in Japan's economy bodes poorly for consumers as companies cut jobs and freeze wages.

"There are some positives from a stronger yen, including imported good prices. But it doesn't raise the disposable income for Japanese people," said Masafumi Yamamoto, the head of foreign exchange strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland in Tokyo.

Yamamoto expects the dollar to fall to 85 yen in the next few weeks. It was near 89 yen Friday.

Still, Kato, who is planning the trip to Australia next year, said the yen's strength is an opportunity whichever way it goes in the short term.

"I still remember when my sister was in San Francisco 20 years ago and it was 270 yen to the dollar."

Strong yen hits Kyushu tourism