Time Out Tokyo

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]Time Out is a leading listings magazine and travel book publisher. The company has expanded over the years and produces listing and guides for many of the world's major cities, mostly in English but some, like the Moscow guide, in the local language. The company has had the occasional foray in Japan but no real major investment. Currently, there is only a short city guide to Tokyo in the Time Out line-up. This may, however, be about to change as Hiroyuki Fushitani has just been named to oversee the launch of the Time Out Cafe and Diner in Ebisu's Liquid Room. Up until now, this has been the Tower Cafe, in collaboration with Tower Records, where Fushitani was once president. It seems that the cafe is an attempt to boost the profile of the Time Out group ahead of the launch of some online services later this autumn. It is unclear so far whether Time Out hopes to take on the likes of Pia in the local market or whether the main aim is to develop English-language services for the city such as those offered by Metropolis magazine.