On Tuesday 23 April, 29 C&O members and guests (30 registrants, less one nefarious no-show) made the now-annual pilgrimage to the delightful Nambutei restaurant on the southern edge of Hibiya Park in central Tokyo.

Of those attending, no fewer than five were new members participating in their very first C&O event, as follows: Dr Yoshie Itani (St Hilda’s, Oxford, 2000~2006), Rev. Kevin Maddy (Selwyn, Cambridge, 1981~84), Dr Etsuo Morishita (Hughes Hall, Cambridge, 1980~82), Max Neuberger (Christ Church, Oxford, 2000~2003) and Sam Vardy (Jesus, Cambridge, 2001~2004).

The restaurant had laid on an excellent buffet dinner featuring a varied menu with a distinct continental theme. The food was accompanied by copious amounts of excellent wine, and the conversation flowed freely as members and guests congregated on the restaurant’s roofed patio.

After half an hour or so of convivial conversation and consumption, Terry Nakamura said a few words and introduced the new members. David Turner then gave the loyal toast, and Julian Culliford pointed out that, as well as being St George’s Day, it was also Shakespeare’s birthday (as well as the day that he died—possibly from a surfeit of birthday cake).

In any event, the food and wine would doubtless have given the Great Bard a new lease of life, and he would certainly have waxed lyrical about our choice of venue for the evening. The charm of this secluded restaurant is that you are liable to totally forget that you are still in the heart of the huge metropolis. The surrounding greenery and gentle ambiance dull the noise and stress of the city, and make for an extremely relaxing and convivial environment.
The evening drifted effortlessly on, as old friendships were renewed and new ones forged, and all too soon our time was nearly up.
There was just time for the cabaret entertainment, starring Alex Williams, before the assembled company said their goodbyes to one another and drifted out of the restaurant and into the warm spring night.

Friday, May 11th, 2007 (18:30 – 21:00)
By kind invitation of C&O President and British Ambassador to Japan, Sir Graham Fry, and Lady Toyoko Fry

Footage of the 2007 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race will be shown at 20:30.

Dress: Lounge suits
Charge: 3,000 yen for one person/5,000 yen per couple (to be paid in advance—account details will be sent to those who register; no-shows will not be refunded.)

As numbers are limited for this event, members are allowed to invite only one guest each; applications will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. If you would like to attend, please contact Tim Minton (t[dot]minton[at]Camford[dot]org) by 25th April. Please supply the following information: your name and that of your guest if you wish to bring one; your university/college; your daytime telephone number.

Oxford draw level in varsity competition

On Saturday March 31st, twelve C&O members exhibiting a wide range of golfing prowess gathered once again at the Hodogaya Country Club in Yokohama to take part in the varsity competition and enjoy a day at one of Japan’s oldest and most exclusive courses.

Conquering a tricky breeze, Yasuzo Takeno (Worcester, Oxford) scored a net 75 that secured him first place by one stroke over Alex Miller (Somerville, Oxford), while in the varsity competition a strong all-round performance by the dark blues gave them a clear 14-stroke victory. The varsity competition now stands at 15 wins apiece since 1989 (the period for which records are available).

The fairways and greens were in good condition and the competition was held against a fine backdrop of early-flowering cherry trees and the usual friendly welcome from all at the Hodogaya club. Rain threatened at times but the weather stayed fair throughout the round. During morning play Simon Dalby (Trinity Hall, Cambridge) shot an inspiring 38 (gross) but during the afternoon, as the breeze freshened and the temperature dropped, for most players the greens became a little harder to find and scores fell off a little.

As ever, Terry Nakamura ensured that all arrangements went smoothly and we would also like to particularly thank Hodogaya members Takashi Uyeno and Peter Itoh for inviting us to their club for the day.

The next C&O golf tournament is scheduled to take place at the Windsor Park Golf and Country Club in Ibaraki Prefecture on Saturday 20th October.

John Sunley

Golf Outing to the Izu Peninsula
Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th October

Accommodation at Ryokan Renaissance Ochiai; golf match at Izu Ohito CC.

A seated dinner was organised at The Tokyo Club on Thursday, 19th October. The bar opened at 6:15 pm, an hour before dinner. Twenty-five gentlemen and six ladies enjoyed a full-course French dinner, accompanied by good Claret, Châteaux Cadillac 2003, the Club’s house wine, lasting 2 hours. Three new members were introduced: Pedro da Costa (Balliol, Oxford, 2000 and Wolfson, Cambridge, 2006), Daniel Gallimore (Christ Church, Oxford, 1984 and Linacre, Oxford, 1997) and Alex Miller (Somerville, Oxford, 1997).

Menu
Hors-d’Oeuvre Variés
Consommé Madarilène
Filet de Daurade poêlé Beurre blanc
Tournedos Nichette, Légumes
Salade de Saison
Dessert
Café

Cost: 6,500 yen

The above dinner was just one of the Society’s monthly events organised as part of the 2nd half programme for 2006, i.e. it was not a special event, and no VIPs or senior visitors from the Universities were present. However, I think a few words about the Society’s relationship with The Tokyo Club would be appropriate.

The Tokyo Club, which was founded in May 1884, was in fact the birthplace of The Cambridge & Oxford Society, Tokyo. In the late 19th century, both Japanese and British graduates of the Universities used to get together in the Club’s bar, and at the turn of the century (probably in 1905) they agreed officially to found a joint club and to name it The Cambridge & Oxford Society. (If you would like to know why Cambridge came before Oxford, please read the history page of the Society’s website: www.camford.org). Subsequently, The Tokyo Club became the main venue for the Society’s Annual Dinners and other informal activities until January 1942.

After the War, in February 1950, the C&O Society was reconstituted, and it was decided that its activities would take place at various locations in Tokyo. The membership at that time was relatively small and predominantly male. Since then, the Society has grown dramatically in size and now numbers almost 300 members, many of whom are, happily, lady graduates of both Universities. When Tokyo Club moved to new premises in Roppongi in June 2005, the rules were relaxed to allow ladies access as guests to the Club’s dining room and certain other function halls in the evening. The C&O Committee decided to take advantage of these changes in the rules to organise two dinners a year at this historical venue.

The society decided to have an August event in 2006, in the form of a climb up Mount Fuji (3776m).

The group congregated at the Shinjuku Chuo bus terminal just before 11am and boarded the bus in good time. In spite of some traffic on the route (particularly on the approach to Mt Fuji) we arrived at the Yoshidaguchi 5th station just a little behind schedule at 1:45pm or so. The weather was intermittently sunny and cloudy, but we could see far up the mountain during breaks in the clouds.

Phil Robertson had taken another route and we decided to have some ramen for lunch while we waited for him to arrive.

After meeting up we set off from the 5th station at around 3pm. The weather started to close in as passed the 6th station and became rather unpleasant for an hour or so as we moved past the 7th station. Visibility dropped to a few feet with quite a fall in temperature too. There were some murmurs about whether the climb was really a good idea, but as the weather cleared up and we could see again everyone became happier. There was quite a crowd climbing the mountain so we had to queue up in several places which slowed down our ascent considerably.

After several hours of climbing it started to rain again just as we reached our mountain hut – the Fuji-san Hotel, between 8th and 9th stations somewhat after dark. The accommodation was basic but following a simple curry rice meal with some sake we all retired to the communal hut bunk beds.

The hut staff woke everyone up before 1:30am in the morning and we kitted up for the final climb to the summit. The weather was still difficult with scattered showers and mist. We left the hut for the top and joined the huge crowd for the final ascent. At times it seemed like Shibuya crossing, but eventually the summit was in sight and suddenly the cloud lifted giving a spectacular view across a clear sky to the horizon. There were cheers from the crowd as everyone took in the sunrise.

Special Event: Trek up Mt Fuji (overnight trip)

August 26/27 Sat/Sun

Party at Roppongi Hills Club
Arrangements made by Mr Ian Powell.

22 June 2006

Outing to Mt. Takao and Dinner at Ukai Toriyama

May 27 Sat, (12:00 – 20:00)

Dinner at Nambu Tei restaurant in Hibiya Park

Wednesday, 19 April 2006