“London boasts a history dating back to the Roman Empire. But, with its having hosted the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this city has displayed its continuing hunger to pursue change.
“New trends are being spawned on a daily basis and, with restaurants that capture the public’s interest springing up here and there, they belie the old stereotype that ‘London’s grub is tasteless’. Armed with overwhelming pride in its traditions and the passions of the people who flock there from around the world, London continues to grow”.
So reads the introduction to the special March 2015 issue of the Japanese-language magazine BRUTUS, which is devoted to London. The English title on its cover, with the Japanese translation barely in sight, is “101 Things to Do in London”. And, at ¥680, it is an indisputable bargain.
With BRUTUS’ readership mainly being young adult males, the selection featured is clearly intended to give a very strong impression of London as a place where they can revel in the hedonism the city affords—in a way not so different from the free-spirited urban lifestyles many of them enjoy in Japan.
Nearly half of the special issue’s content, covering 42 pages, is devoted in part or entirely to food and drink. That is not to say that London’s historical and cultural attractions are glossed over, but the emphasis is clearly on eating, drinking and making merry. Traditional English fare is mentioned, of course, but there are also plenty of concessions to ethnic cuisine, including Israeli, Vietnamese, Turkish and Peruvian food.
There are also numerous other attractions: items 13–19 on the list offer a potpourri of information about weekend markets, from Alfies Antique Market in Marylebone to the Columbia Road Flower Market near Shoreditch. Item 21 introduces four celebrated tonsorial establishments where one may receive a trim and a shave. One is the Rocket Barber Shop on Stoke Newington High Street, which features 1950s American graffiti-style décor, complete with a functioning jukebox.
For the most panoramic view of the city, item 26 suggests that readers spend a night in the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, where they can luxuriate in a bath while gazing out the window on the 45th storey. It won’t come cheap—a suite can cost from £1,250 a night—but to those who can afford it, the outlay may seem well worth it.
In preparing the special issue, BRUTUS recruited 14 people (11 of whom appear to be Japanese who are familiar with London) and invited each of them to name their three favourite London destinations. One contributor was TV personality Harry Sugiyama, son of veteran newsman Henry Scott Stokes, whose recommendations are the Fortnum & Mason department store in Piccadilly; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the Beagle restaurant in Hoxton.
To introduce parts of the city, a “London Area Story” section provides short profiles of 15 areas from Soho and Marylebone to Brixton and Shoreditch. In addition, there is a pull-out “to do” map that identifies 26 areas of interest, with their nearest tube stations clearly marked.
Brighton and Rye in East Sussex are featured prominently in item 84, titled “Short trips you can take within two hours”. Turn the page to item 85 and there are “Take-out lunches recommended by taxi drivers”. It seems that fish and chips wins the day here.
Items 54–60 provide an imaginative listing of “places to go when the weather is bad”. Not surprisingly, the first suggestion is to purchase an umbrella at the city’s oldest umbrella shop, James Smith & Sons on New Oxford Street.
Items 73–79 are devoted to services and goods, from firms belonging to the Royal Warrant Holders Association, similar to, albeit somewhat more commercialised than the Japanese warrant system, goyotashi. Among the seven vendors introduced are Farlows on Pall Mall for outdoor and sporting goods; the supermarket chain Waitrose in Marylebone for groceries; and H.R. Higgins on Duke Street for coffee.
For further perusal before boarding the plane in Japan or after arrival in London, the editors have thoughtfully included the URLs for most of the establishments introduced in the articles.
Certainly inbound tourism promotes mutual understanding and contributes to a country’s international balance of payments. On another level, however, one cannot disregard the fact that the efforts by the contributors and editors of this issue of BRUTUS may underscore the potential for short-term travellers to absorb culture and attempt to transplant it upon returning home.
Certainly not all the Japanese who visit the UK are anglophiles in search of new business ideas to take home with them. But some do travel abroad with that purpose in mind, while others may be inspired by an unexpected encounter or experience.
For example, there is a page and a half devoted to Bootstrap Company Ltd., a home to 300 creative businesses that “aims to unlock local potential”. Located on Ashwin Street, the building complex is eco-friendly and filled to the brim with new-age concepts, creative studios and dining spots.
While scant content of the issue was devoted to sport, a separate, 12-page pull-out booklet is devoted entirely to rugby, specifically the Rugby World Cup scheduled this year at venues in London and elsewhere and, four years hence, in Japan which will play host in 2019.