By Wesley Wong
REALTOKYO is the urban hipsters guide to culture in Tokyo. The site
is a 'cultural search engine' allowing its visitors to locate upcoming
events in Tokyo and greater Japan. Immediately upon loading the page,
it is clear the site is targeting the younger and trendier elements
of Tokyo's local and expatriate populations. The events are subdivided
into six categories: art, music, cinema, design, stage and other.
Browsing through the categories, there are very few listings of the
more traditional Japanese sort such as Kabuki performances. Rather,
the site is loaded with listings for raves, electronic music releases,
computer-based art shows, and independent films.
This type of site is not new to anyone familiar with the web, and
certainly not the only of its sort in ultra-wired Japan. However,
a few features make this site stand out from the rest. The first is
its focus. The site does not try to cover every type of event in Tokyo,
but rather is devoted to modern, experimental and hip events. This
is a guide to Tokyo for the twenty-something web designer who wears
black-rimmed glasses.
The second successful element of this site is its design. The interface
is well thought out. On the left hand side, there is a navigation
menu that takes the user between different event categories. Running
along the bottom is a calendar bar that allows users to view the event
listings for a particular day by clicking on a date. It is simple
yet very functional. The overall graphic design is excellent, and
complements the types of events they are promoting.
The best part of REALTOKYO is that it is a service rather than just
a listing. Users can log in, and when they see an event they like
a simple click adds it to their personal calendar. The 'Scheduler'
is presented in pop-up window and is a Java applet. Users can remove
events by dragging them out of the window. For multi-day events, users
can mark the day they want to go by clicking on the date. When you
register an event, the 'Scheduler' also shows you what day tickets
go on sale. Finally, if you request it, the 'Scheduler' will email
you before the event as a reminder. If you are an artist or promoter,
you can also register your own events into REALTOKYO's listings. However,
the editorial staff at REALTOKYO first approves all listings before
they are posted. This is actually a good idea, because it can prevent
the clutter that could cripple the site if anything could be listed.
All in all REALTOKYO is an excellent site. I wish I had known about
it when I was in Tokyo a year ago. Unlike many other Japanese sites,
the quality of the English is superb. "Tokyo, 4 weeks",
a section written by the editorial staff, provides recommendations
each month. For young locals, REALTOKYO appears to be a great service
to locate events and manage busy schedules. For the expatriate unfamiliar
with the Japanese art scene, REALTOKYO is a very useful and accessible
tool. I wonder how long REALTOKYO is going to stay in business though,
since there are no ads or subscription fees. I just hope its lasts
until I get to Tokyo again.