Yasunori Suzuki, who joined Rion in 2000, has spent over 20 years traveling around the country and the world as a sales representative for particle counters. He’s mainly been active in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand and has also worked in other re-gions of the world where he’s experienced rsthand different people and their cultures. There’s a beer bar he considers to be home for his soul, where he spends his time off—the Lighthouse-Tokyo in Kokubunji. Owned by Hana Sculpher, a Dutch-British woman, it’s located three minutes’ walk from the South Exit of JR Kokubunji Station. Descend-ing the stairs and opening the door to the semi-basement bar takes you to a foreign country. The walls are covered with photos of lighthouses from around the world. To the rear, you’ll find posters of works by Dutch artists like van Gogh and Vermeer.“I play darts as a hobby. It was through a friend of mine who shares this hobby that I was introduced to this place. He works as a translator. When I was telling him about how I often had to go abroad on business trips, he told me there was a perfect English café he knew of and took me there.”The Lighthouse-Tokyo hosts an English conversation café every afternoon from Tuesday to Saturday. On the day of our inter view, we found seven or eight people, enjoying their conversations over soft drinks with the foreign staff. Drawn from all age groups, they included an elderly man, a housewife, businessman, female student, and others, reecting the diverse population of Kokubunji, where the commercial district adjoins residential areas.“I grew up in Funabashi City in Chiba and currently live near the Musashi-Koganei Station, one station away. But I was often away on business trips. I’d never spent much time in Kokubunji, although our head ofce is located here. But after I started to play darts and began to hang out at a darts bar called Black-R and here at Lighthouse-Tokyo, I gradually became aware of the appeal of the people here and the town of Kokubunji.”Many universities have campuses in Kokubunji. Kokubunji Station is a transfer station between JR and the Seibu Line, so it’s long been known as a students’ town. Light-house-Tokyo also has several students from abroad.“Suzuki-san is a very popular guy!” says Hana, the owner. Suzuki and Hana are team-mates on a futsal team. She’s an energetic businesswoman who operates a share house nearby. Her open, friendly character attracts many to her bar.She opened this bar in hopes it would offer a place where people could drop by at the end of the day—a place that would light up hearts like a lighthouse. As she had hoped, this place has become a place where Suzuki can relax and feel at ease.“I find that overseas, people are more open and plain-spoken. And because I spend a lot of my time abroad on business trips, I feel more at home in such environments. I’ve made friends here from other countries, I’ve been invited to eat with them at their friend’s restaurant in Kokubunji or to join the futsal team. I like how my circle of friends is grad-ually expanding. With the Covid pandemic, I haven’t been able to travel abroad. This place has given me a much-needed taste of being abroad. I’d describe the appeal of this place as never boring. That’s how business should also be, shouldn’t it?”Lighthouse-Tokyo gives you a taste of being abroad while here in Kokubunji. It’s an extraordinary place that lets you take time out from a busy day.One of the lasting appeals of Kokubunji is the abundance of opportunity for cultural exchange17OUR FAVORITE TOWN, KOKUBUNJI—RION STAFF SHOW YOU AROUNDStrolls Around KokubunjiHometown! This issue’s theme ［Cultural Exchange at a Beer Bar in Kokubunji!］In this new collaborative series of articles, each of our staff members will take turns giving their unique take on Kokubunji, Rion’s hometown.In part 5, we’ll visit the Lighthouse-Tokyo, a beer bar in Kokubunji that one of our staff members who has traveled around the world for many years as a sales representative for particle counters calls “home for his soul.”Yasunori SuzukiSales Section, Sales Department, Particle Counter Division. Since joining Rion in 2000, he’s been busy travelling back and forth in Japan and abroad, mainly Southeast Asia, including Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand. His favor-ite pastime is darts.Lighthouse-TokyoA beer bar located on the south side of the Tonogayato Garden, a three-minute walk from the South Exit of Kokubunji Station (JR Chuo Line). Its appeal lies in its multicultural atmosphere. It comes highly recommended by the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for its traditional Dutch cuisine.Kayo-Kokubunji Green Heights 1F, 2-15-6 Minami-cho, Kokubunji-shi, TokyoMy Favorite❶Ms. Hana Sculpher, owner of the Light-house-Tokyo (left) and Mr. Yasunori Suzuki (right)❷The bar was opened in hopes that it would light up the hearts of patrons like a lighthouse. The bar is filled with light-house-themed decorations.❸After the interview, we ordered glasses of draft beer recommended by Hana, which we enjoyed with sh and chips and some Dutch meatballs—fried meatballs coated with breadcrumbs.❶❷❸
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