An American Oasis

With the Club celebrating its 95th birthday at this month’s First Friday, two longtime Members reflect on decades of hamburgers, whiskey and friendships.

In the early 1970s, things were looking up in Japan. With the country basking in the success of Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics, the economy was on a tear.

In the capital, the city’s governor, Ryokichi Minobe, was starting to tackle the garbage and pollution problems.

But some of the finer things remained out of reach, even for affluent businessmen. That’s one of the reasons why Shizuo Daigoh and Hiroshi Ando joined the Club in 1970 and 1971, respectively. When the two men became Members, the Azabudai facility was about to embark on an ambitious, two-phase construction project to meet growing demand. Since then, they have witnessed further Club redevelopments, a temporary relocation to Takanawa and the opening, in Nihonbashi, of the Club’s first-ever satellite hub.

Ando, now 89, joined the Club at the urging of an American director of the joint venture where he worked. At the time, he was the international marketing manager for a subsidiary of an American manufacturer of pumps, compressors, valves and other factory equipment. Japanese firms needed parts for the refineries they were building, and Ando was the person to know.

“I visited plants located around the world, in places like France, Italy and Spain,” he recalls. “In turn, we invited business associates to the American Club when they visited Japan. Many customers enjoyed having an American-style lunch and dinner. My Japanese customers also appreciated this very much.”

Daigoh remembers that there were no family restaurants in Tokyo at the time and only a few eateries specializing in international cuisine.

“The situation was absolutely different,” says Daigoh, who turns 86 this month. “We couldn’t even get a hamburger unless we came to the American Club.”

There was another key draw, according to Ando.

“In the early 1970s, the exchange rate was ¥360 to the dollar, which made whiskey very expensive in places like Ginza,” he says. “But it was very cheap at the Club.”

The Club’s basic gym was a rarity of the era as well. There were few fitness centers in Tokyo, even though the capital had hosted the Summer Olympics just a few years earlier.

Daigoh, who joined the crowds at the National Stadium in 1964 to watch Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila win his second Olympic gold medal in the marathon, worked for a Norwegian shipping company. When he was promoted to assistant general manager, the firm suggested that he become a Member of the Club.

The Club’s entrance fee was ¥100,000 at the time, more than double his monthly salary. Daigoh says he used the facilities for entertaining clients and for keeping fit. The Club, he says, was a vibrant social hub for Tokyo’s growing expat community.

“People came to the Club in black cars with chauffeurs, and there was a very nice atmosphere here,” he says, “with monthly ballroom parties with attendees in evening gowns, black tie and suits.”

In the early 1970s, visiting the United States was an impossible dream for most Japanese because they lacked dollars. The Club was an enclave of the customs, food and language of Japan’s strategic ally, which had ended its military occupation of the archipelago only two decades earlier. Ando, who survived the US firebombing of Tokyo during World War II, fondly remembers bringing his family to the Club for Christmas parties, meet and greets with visiting American football stars, monthly buffets and days at the outdoor pool.

Up until his retirement three years ago (he established his own trading firm in 1979), Ando was still entertaining clients at the Club.

“The American Club has been very useful for my business,” he says. “I want to help increase the number of young people who can speak English by inviting them here.”

Daigoh, who also experienced the Tokyo air raids as a child, says his fondest Club memories are of his son and daughter swimming together at the pool and playing with other kids. After they completed their education, the family moved to the seaside town of Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture.

For Daigoh, who has served on Club committees and as statutory auditor, the Club has been a place to relax, make connections and socialize. He and his wife still drive to Tokyo and meet at the Club’s second-floor Library after finishing their appointments for the day.

“It has been an oasis for me,” Daigoh says. “It’s a comfortable place with wonderful Members, otherwise I would not have remained a Member for more than 50 years.”