Philip,
Re: Tokyo
I understand that it was done for maintenance purposes, primarily growing two crops of grasses for hot and cool seasons.
BTW, what is the status of the restoration/renovation of the Red Course at Bethpage? When I played it last fall, I thought that the first few holes needed some work, but the course overeall was very, very good, and the last 12 holes or so seemed to have been spruced up nicely.