TOPICS-FACILITY INFORMATION-COMMUNITY INFORMATION JAN.-DEC. 2003 FACILITY INFORMATION "TAKARA"- new-style restaurant opens A new-style restaurant called"Takara", offering lunches, bar time, and dinners, has recently opened on the B1 Concourse of the Tokyo International Forum. In a space that combines both traditional and international elements, the layout offers 62 seats at European-style tables, 12 seats at designer tables in private rooms, 20 floor spaces in an open mat room, and 20 more in the "Maru-no-Ma" room presented in the atmosphere of a castle. For lunch, Takama offers boiled rice with seasonal dishes, a rotating daily menu of "donburimono" (rice bowl with various toppings), business lunches in "Maru-no-Ma" (reservation required), Okinawa soba noodles, and others. At bar time, you can choose from cava, local beers, and tapas. And at dinnertime, the menu includes healthy and variety-rich Japanese meals, original cuisine, and Spanish tapas side-dishes. Not to mention all your favorite brands of sake shochu, Spanish cava, wine, sherry, and 100 local brews of beer. All you need to do is make your choice. Takara, a new-style restaurant in the Tokyo International Forum, Marunouchi, is adaptable to the style of the user - whether for convivial dinners and parties, or a solitary drink at the bar. ��Opening hours: Lunch - 11:30-14:30 / Bar - 16:00-17:30 / Dinner - 17:30-23:00 (weekends and holidays - 11:30-22:00) ��Tel: 03-5223-9888�@Fax: 03-5223-9889 ��Customers arriving after 17:30 with a copy of FORUM FORUM will receive a discount of 1,000 yen per group (until May 31st). COMMUNITY INFORMATION "Edo 400th Anniversary Events" in Chiyoda Ward Aiming to create an urban culture full of attraction Symbol mark of the "Edo 400th Anniversary Events". It combines the "chi" character of "Chiyoda" with the number "4" for "400", with the Ward flower "cherry blossom" depicted in the center. Artist's impression of the "Edo Tenka Matsuri Festival" As introduced here in the previous issue, various events are being held around the metropolitan area, lasting one year from January to December 2003, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Edo. In this additional report, we introduce events organized by Chiyoda Ward for this undertaking. In Chiyoda Ward, three themes will be taken up: "Symbolic Projects", "Historical and Cultural Experience and Discovery Projects", and "New Chiyoda Creation and Exchange Projects". These themes will be divided into five types of project, based on the concept of "Creating and conveying the attraction of the Edo 400th Anniversary through various exchanges", and will be developed under the auspices of the "Edo 400th Anniversary Event Promotion Committee" (consisting of 21 representatives from various sectors related to Chiyoda Ward). Eight main projects are scheduled to be organized by the Committee. They include the opening event "Sakuraza (Sakura)" on the theme of cherry blossom (the Ward's designated flower) on March 29th; the "Edo Tenka Matsuri Festival", recreating a procession of floats and palanquins from Edo times (Nov. 22nd-24th); "Edo Culture Hands-On Learning", offering participatory learning experience of Edo's culture (Aug. 29th - Nov. 8th); and "Chiyoda City Art 2003", an installation-space event on the theme of environment and peace (Aug. 21st-25th). Look back over the history and culture amassed by Edo and Tokyo, and aim to create a new urban culture! We heartily invite you to take part or assist in the "Edo 400th Anniversary Events", to further enhance the appeal of Chiyoda Ward. ��Inquiries: Edo 400th Anniversary Event Promotion Committee Secretariat (c/o Chiyoda Ward Community Promotion Corporation) Tel. 03-5275-0123 NOTICE Tokyo International Forum to be privatized �@The Tokyo International Foundation, the body that operates and manages the Tokyo International Forum, is to be privatized in July. The aim will be to give greater satisfaction to the Forum's users and to enhance the amenity and attraction of its facilities. The new company, "Tokyo International Forum Co., Ltd.", is expected to be capitalized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, East Japan Railway Co., Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., Suntory Ltd., Dentsu Inc., the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc., East Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. The company's management will also be recruited largely from the private sector. In future, the Tokyo International Forum will continue to transmit culture and information as a general convention and arts center. We hope you will continue to use its facilities at your convenience and leisure. Cultural Information Lobby is now closed Owing to changes in the use of our facilities, the Cultural Information Lobby on the 1st Floor of the Tokyo International Forum was closed on Thursday, March 20th. Thank you to all those who used this facility over the years.