A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On November 15, writer Pance-san introduced Mr. Hiroyuki Tanaka of Suzuki Kikaku Co. We asked him about the various meetings he organizes and the charms of “vertical” that he is most interested in.
INDEX
Organizing a large-scale group dating called “Sekigahara”
Celeina (MC): Mr. Tanaka, born in August 1982, launched “Suzuki Kikaku” in the mid-2000s and has been working under the radar as his interests dictate. What interests him most at the moment is “vertical”.
Takano (MC): I am interested in many things (haha). Let’s hear more about it later.
Celeina: According to Mr. Pance, you are “a person who strolls around Tokyo and a master of Tokyo,” and the names of the meetings you have hosted so far pack a punch. Starting with the standard “DJ Party” and “Roundtable Discussion,” the lineup of unique events includes “Mote Kenkyukai,” “Large-scale group dating” “1982,” a gathering of people born in 1982 to look back 40 years, “A gathering in ungainly clothes” “Going Out to Eat at Delicious Restaurants,” “Coastline Tour,” and many more.
Takano: Mr. Tanaka, who are you?
Tanaka: I am just an ordinary citizen.
Takano: (haha). I was curious about the “A gathering in ungainly clothes” meeting.
Tanaka: It’s a group where the dorkiest person wins. I wore a T-shirt of Daisuke Araki of the Yakult baseball team, a memento of my grandmother’s.
Takano: It’s an interesting project with a bit of an emo feel to it.
Celeina: How big was the “Large-scale group dating”?
Tanaka: When I say “large-scale,” I don’t mean 100 people. In the Gasshon industry, a party of more than 10 people against 10 people is called a “Sekigahara,” or a battle.
Takano: It’s already a battle, isn’t it?
Tanaka: When I heard that it was called “Sekigahara,” I said, “Let’s try Sekigahara,” and we did it about two months ago. We really wanted to do it at the beginning of 2020, but it was canceled due to Corona.
Takano: How many people gathered?
Tanaka: Twenty-four people, 12 men and 12 women.
Takano: Wait a minute. I can’t imagine, but doesn’t it sound like we would need a moderator or something?
Tanaka: I did a moderator-type thing. But since I was participating like a coach and player, I worked hard on the players, so I couldn’t really moderate the event properly.
Takano: Was it exciting? Or was it chaotic?
Tanaka: I heard a rumor that someone got into a relationship with one of the guys, so I’ll ask him how it went the next time I see him.
Takano: Please let us know in secret. Maybe large scale blind dates are expected to improve the success rate or something, and it may become mainstream in the future. Anyway, I’m curious. Does “going out to eat at a good restaurant” mean going out to eat some special cuisine?
Tanaka: It is on a case-by-case basis, but I think “going to a city with many immigrants” is the most unusual one. There are quite a few immigrants from Ethiopia living in Katsushika Ward, so I went to eat Ethiopian food.
Takano: I may have never had Ethiopian food. I would like to go there because it is in Katsushika Ward.
