The watch magazine Chronos Japan celebrated its 20th anniversary with its latest issue, released on October 4, 2025. To commemorate this anniversary, publisher and distributor Simsam Media Co., Ltd. held a celebration over two days, November 6th and 7th, at Akasaka Prince Classic House in Tokyo. This article introduces the first day's events along with photos from the venue.
Text by Chieko Tsuruoka (Chronos-Japan)
Photo by Yu Mitamura
Photographs by Yu Mitamura
[Article published on January 29, 2025]
"Kronos Japan" celebrates its 20th anniversary
Chronos Japan, a watch magazine that has covered the latest news and important topics in the watch industry with a unique perspective based on thorough reporting, celebrated its 20th anniversary with its latest issue, released on October 4, 2025.
To celebrate this milestone, publisher and distributor Simsam Media held a two-day celebration on November 6th and 7th at Akasaka Prince Classic House in Kioicho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Business partners such as brands, advertising agencies, and retailers were invited to the first day, while readers were invited to the second day. The event was an opportunity to express gratitude to those who have supported Kronos up to now, and to enjoy a small but fitting event that was uniquely Kronos.
In this article, we will report on the first day of the party. We hope you enjoy the atmosphere of the venue along with the newly taken photos.
Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, 1-2 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0085
A venue that is truly "Khronos"
The venue at Akasaka Prince Classic House was decorated to convey the history of Kronos. From the foyer to the main venue and courtyard, the space exudes a Kronos vibe.
Special events will also be held, including a talk show with Miyata Toshiya and Hirota Masamasa
The party was hosted by Kataoka Nobukazu, a weather forecaster on "Hatori Shinichi Morning Show" and "Udo Times" (both on TV Asahi).
The highlight of the event will be a talk session with editor-in-chief Hirota Masamasa, featuring Kataoka and Kis-My-Ft2's Miyata Toshiya. This will not be Miyata's first meeting with Hirota. He previously appeared on Hirota's radio show on TOKYO FM, "BEST ISHIDA Presents Chronos Japan Edition Tick Tock Talk♪," where they discussed watches. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of Kis-My-Ft2, a milestone year for both the group and Chronos.
When Miyata appeared wearing his beloved A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Annual Calendar, the audience erupted in excitement. Miyata is known as an otaku idol and has a strong passion for watches. Even in the dressing room before his performance, he and Hirota were constantly discussing watches.
This time too, we had a passionate and in-depth conversation about Miyata's watch history, his favorite watch, and his approach to time.
The rock-paper-scissors tournament was also one of the events that generated a lot of excitement.
The guests played rock-paper-scissors with Hirota, and the winner was awarded a luxurious prize. The prizes included a set of two bottles of champagne, a set of two bottles of wine, a gift catalogue of Imahan, a dinner voucher for two at Akasaka Classic House, and a hotel voucher for Hoshinoya Taketomi Island or Hoshinoya Okinawa. A fierce battle unfolded inside the venue.
In addition to these events, attendees also enjoyed chatting with the editorial staff and Miyata to their heart's content. The party, which lasted approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, was a great success. Many attendees commented, "It was fun," and "Thank you for the invitation."
We also held a celebration for the 10th anniversary of our publication, but this is the first time that our company has hosted such a large-scale event. The party was planned by the late Soichiro Matsuzaki, who worked on the plans with our employees right up until his sudden passing. We believe that it was a great success, just as he had envisioned, and we hope to carry on Matsuzaki's spirit and continue to mark a prosperous future together with our "readers who love watches."
https://amzn.to/4mKYmj2
