Tag Archives: Japan

Toyota may be one of the world’s leading car brands but, in Japan, it is one of the country’s most popular surnames. Kozo Toyota is a talented flute-player and founder of the Toyota Ceílí Band in Tokyo. The band was founded in June 2011, in response to an increasing demand for regular céilís in Japan. The band is the first céilí band comprised of Japanese musicians, who host these dances on a regular basis. The members are keen to explore the best way to play for set dancing and have also learned to dance some sets themselves. In September 2015, they won the first prize for the unofficial céilí band competition, organised by Comhaltas Japan. In June of this year, they were awarded first place in the céilí band category of the competitions during the first Féile Tokyo and qualified to enter Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Ennis. The nine members of the band play a range of instruments, including two flutes, three fiddles, button accordion, …

Executives of a leading hotel group in the Far East travelled to Shannon College of Hotel Management this week to learn the ‘Irish way’ of hotel-keeping. The senior Gloria Hotels & Resorts Group executives spent a week undergoing an intensive course at the renowned college, which has educated some of the leading hoteliers in the world. The rapidly growing group has 63 four and five star hotels, which are mainly located in China but also in Malaysia and Japan, and employs 15,000 people. It is adding up to 20 new hotels to its portfolio each year. It is the latest international education coup for the Shannon College of Hotel Management, which in 2012 signed a deal with the Seychelles government for all hotel management students from the tourism archipelago to be educated through the college, including with one year in Ireland. Shannon College of Hotel Management has 400 students, almost 50% of which are international students, with 70% of those …