Written by Chris Kirkland
Here’s a fun way to start off your Nippon-infused 2016: with everyone’s guilty pleasure—a list post—of our favorite Tokyo tweeters (or at least Japan related) broadcasting their opinions, anecdotes and banter unto the twitterverse.
I’ve assembled this higgledy-pickeldy list of who I find most interesting, insightful, on topic and funny. Some of the tweeps below have very deep and in-depth knowledge of Japan whilst others are newer, but for their anecdotes I click the heart button in equal measure. I’ve also bunged the lot into a list for ease of following/trolling.
So without further ado, in no particular order:
Tokyo Cheapo Recommended People Tweeting About Tokyo/Japan
the tokyo files @thetokyofiles
Salaryman. A biographer of cities, interested in history, art & architecture, Japanese film, cartography, urbanism and mass transit.
St Stev @ststev
Best avatar eva. British scientist based in Kyushuu. Funny.
Brian @Briandotjp
Occasional drunk tweeter, semi-regular tech tweeter and plenty of fun Tokyo/Japan anecdotes.
Mulboyne @Mulboyne
Our favorite tweeter of late: funny, interesting with a healthy dose of cynicism.
kimiecat @kimiecat
Self-proclaimed “tiny cog in the Hollywood machine” + fun anecdotes from Tokyo.
Tokyo Architect @martintokyo
Dutch architect based in Tokyo.
Greg Lane @cheapogreg
One of our founders, and veteran Tokyo Cheapo.
Vivian Morelli @lostinseoul
A new mom who will hopefully get back to a normal sleeping pattern soon so she can return to her regular job of reporting on the smells on the Keio Line. Also a talented freelance writer who we are unfortunately too cheap to afford.
Alisha （アリーシャ）@ArishaInTokyo
More fun Tokyo anecdotal tweeting.
mrkirkland @mrkirkland
Me! Sporadic pictures of dogs in coats, Engrish and pseudo-philosophical musings.
Joseph Tame @tamegoeswild
Our favorite British eccentric based in Tokyo. Watch out for the neon flashing head gear/full body apparatus.
JapanCheapo @JapanCheapo
Our sister site for the rest of Japan.
Ako @AkoKitamura
Language teacher tweeting a daily dose of topical Japanese vocab.
Rekishi no Tabi @RekishinoTabi
Long-term foreign resident in Japan who really likes Japanese history and taking photos.
Philip Brasor @philipbrasor
A writer-for-hire living in Japan and interested in the 4 Ms: movies, music, money, and media.
Alan Nishimura @AsiaChaos
Nice avatar.
Journos/News/Politics
Less on anecdote, but more on fact and analysis, below are our journey tweeps:
Tobias Harris @observingjapan
Vice President, Teneo Intelligence. Japan analyst.
William Pesek @WilliamPesek
Barron’s Asia executive editor, author of ‘Japanization’, pop culture junkie.
timhornyak @robotopia
Tokyo writer focused on tech, biz, travel, occasional book reviews for @JapanTimes; author, Loving the Machine; ex-IDG, CNET, Lonely Planet.
Justin mccurry @justinmccurry
Correspondent for the Guardian & Observer.
Hikosaemon @hikosaemon
Veteran bilingual YouTuber and tweeter, a good all-round Japan expert and entertainer. Originally from NZ.
Richard Lloyd Parry @dicklp
Asia Editor, The Times. Author of ‘People Who Eat Darkness’ and ‘In the Time of Madness’.
Hiroko Tabuchi @HirokoTabuchi
New York Times reporter, awesome journo. Now based in New York, but continues to drop gold nuggets of Japan wisdom and analysis.
Michael Thomas Cucek @MichaelTCucek
A long-term Japaneer and academic with political insight, observation and comic flare for sarcasm.
Michael Fitzpatrick @fitzp
Tokyo-based freelance journalist. BBC online, International NYTs, The Bookseller, and others.
