Asakusa Diary - The Staff Blog

Tsukiji Fish Market is a one of the largest market in Tokyo,
Not only fishes but vegetables and fruits are sold here,
Although the market is basically for wholesalers and professionals, you're welcome to visit there as long as you don't disrupt their work.
As the market is very popular for foreign tourists, many guests of our hostel have been there.
Also we sometimes hold a tour to visit the market with guests.
If you stay at Sakura Hostel, please join us.

Unfortunately, it is not a good weather today, they are just relaxing at our hostel after lunch.
Our lobby is lively all the day today and we enjoyed to see them :)
I hope tomorrow will clear off.

From 8 to 25th of December, Winter Vista Illumination is held at
Shouwa memorial park (昭和記念公園）in Tachikawa.
You can see some champagne flute towers, illuminated fountain and even Fireworks!!
It is rare to watch fireworks in winter, so you had better not to miss it :)

More info.→http://www.showakinenpark.go.jp/2006winter/index.html (in Japanese only)

Access: Take Ginza line from Asakusa Sta. to Kanda Sta.
Change trains for JR Chuo line to Tachikawa Sta.
It will take about 1hour from Sakura Hostel.

This is one of my favourite Chiristmas illuminaton.
When I was working (as a part time job) at Akasaka, I always took a look this hotel.
Staying this hostel is much expensive than Sakura Hostel, but you can enjoy this gorgeous illumination for free :)
To go there, just take Ginza line from Tawaramachi station and get off Akasakamitsuke station.
This area is also famous for night life but not so expensive like Roppongi area
and not so childish like Shibuya area.

Let's party!!
Warm up here before hitting Roppongi or Shibuya!!
Life is too short to stay alone!!

Fun trip from our hostel on Dec.1(Fri).
Strolling spacious Park in Ueno,our neighbor and have a wonderful time in
Rikugi-en, the landscape garden for the autumn leaves light-up.
It's a great oppotunity to know our neighbor.Enjoy this seasonal trip with us!!
*maximum 10 people tour!!need to sign up by the day before.

This picture was taken by Hiro this morning at Hamarikyu.
It is located at around Shiodome or Shinbashi area.
From Asakusa, it will take about 30mins by train, 35mins by cruise ship .
Autumn leaves are the height of the season now in Tokyo,

You had better to come before the winter coming☆

More information is available on this website...
http://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/english/park/detail_04.html

Do you know the largest refrigerator in the world?
Tokyo Dome becomes the refrigerator on December 9.
Because X-TRAIL JAM in TOKYO DOME is held there.
A famous snowboarder comes all over the world for the one make contest.
The highest jump will be able to be seen.

Here is National Stadium at the center of Tokyo.
A big rally will be held here next month.
FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 is the World Cup of the club team.
Do you think that what team wins the championship?
Barcelona FC is strong.
Internacional is also powerful as the team in South America.
I assist in the team in Asia as a Japanese.

大人数の団体なので宿泊を断られてしまった。そんなご経験ありませんか？

サクラホステルでは団体のお客様も歓迎しております。
修学旅行や日本語研修で東京へ来られる学生や先生、日本で行われる様々な大会やイベントのために滞在先を探していらっしゃる方などがいらっしゃいましたら、お気軽にサクラホステルまでお問い合わせ下さい。

私どものホステルではこれまでにも写真に見られるように、日本語を勉強している学生や、格闘技の大会に参加する選手のグループなどにお泊り頂いております。
細かい情報や質問などがございましたら電話、またはメールにていつでも承っております。
81 33847 8111/info@sakura-hostel.co.jp

日本語、英語どちらでも大丈夫です。
スタッフともども皆様のお越しをお待ちしております。

Have you ever been turned down your booking just because of big group?

Sakura hostel always welcome a big group guests.
For example, students and teachers who are coming to Tokyo for school trip or training,
group of players and athletes who are coming to Japan for the tournament or event...etc.
If you have a plan to come to Japan for some reasons, please contact us anytime freely.

We have had many highschool students from UK. AUS and USA as you can see from this picture
and some fighters who attended the match so far.
They looked enjoy their staying at our hostel.

If you need more specific information, please contact us by phone or e-mail.
81 33847 8111/info@sakura-hostel.co.jp

Both English and Japanese are available.
We are looking forward to seeing you at Sakura Hostel★

We are having the excursion for Tsukiji Fish Market,Tokyo central market on Nov.22.It's one of the biggest market in the world as you know.
Why don't you come join us?

You can enjoy ski&snowboard in Japan,you know?
Especially,Hokkaido,Niigata and Nagano are well known in east Japan between Japanese.
I love the ski resort in Hokkaido.They have great hot spring as well!And food are wonderful,too!!
Also the quality of snow is fantastic!!It's like Canadian snow.
Even though you don't like ski or snowborad, It's of value to visit there.

KIRORO in Hokkaido
http://www.kiroro.co.jp/english/

NISEKO in Hokkaido
http://www.niseko.ne.jp/en/index.html

HAKUBA HAPPO-ONE in Nagano
http://www.hakuba-happo.or.jp/

On Wednesday, we had a welcome party for new staff of Sakura House.
Sakura House, the parent company of Sakura Hostel, is apartment and guest house agency,
providing foreigners from all over the world with accommodation.
More info→http://www.sakura-house.com/
If you are looking for accomodation in Tokyo, Sakura House staff will help you.

We had a party at Korean Restaurant in Shinjuku.
Because I didn't have enough chance to meet staff of Sakura House,
it was good opportunity to know them.
Also, Korean foods there were nice♪

Sakura Hostel is between these streets, called Hisago-Dori and Hanayashiki-Dori.
Hisago-Dori (ひさご通り)　used to prosper as a road to licensed quarter from Edo period
and now, there are more than 50 shops and restaurants along this street.

Hanayashiki-Dori (花やしき通り） is in front of Hanayashiki Amusement Park and
there are some local restaurants and some mysterious shops.

Please remember these images just in case when you come to our hostel.

Many examples of buildings that display Tokyo at the cutting-edge of architectural design can be found amongst its fashionable shopping districts. One such place is Omotesando, Tokyo’s famous four-lane, tree-lined boulevard that in recent years has become the city’s showplace for luxury brands and top architects, and it is easily accessible from Asakusa. Just take the Ginza line for a 30-minute train ride from Asakusa to Omote-sando. Below are three recently built buildings located on Omotesando or in neighboring Aoyama:

Toyo Ito’s Tod’s Omotesando Building:

Designed for the Italian footwear retailer, Tod`s is a slender, L-shaped building, it contains offices and a boutique. The 27,448-square-foot building is wrapped by a dramatic enclosure composed of angled concrete elements and glass plates.

Tadao Ando`s Omotesando Hills

Omotesando Hills shopping arcade's low-rise profile echoes the height of the zelkova trees along Omotesando, an approach reinforced by extensive use of rooftop gardens. Omotesando Hills contains a six-story atrium, reaching from the third basement floor through the three above-ground floors. It is enclosed by a spiral ramp that echoes the slope of the boulevard outside.

Takenaka Corporation`s Prada Aoyama Tokyo

You may see a gorgeous Chiristmas tree when you enter Sakura Hostel.
It has illuminations now though you can't see them in this picture.

The before yesterday, I went to Asakusabashi, which is two stops from Asakusa station,
to buy Santa Claus's costumes.
Because there were many kinds of costumes, it was difficult to dicide which to buy.

We'll wear them in rotation from next month.
I'll upload that picture then.

On new year's day, we call it OSHOUGATSU, most of Japanese go to
shrine or temple to pray for good luck and our health.
This is called Hatsumoude.

There is Sensouji temple 5mins walk from Sakura Hostel and it is one of the
most popular temple for Hatsumoude.
Every year, they have 1.7 million people on that day!

And also, on new year's eve, we are going to there to ring or hear the bell. (Called Joya no Kane)
If you are lucky person, you may have a chance to ring the bell.
Only 108 people can do it.

I love Chiristmas very much.
One of the reason is this picture.
We can see beautiful illuminations all over the town in this season.
Even though I don't like cold winter, I 'm spoiling to walk around.
They make me happy!!

I took this picture at Shinjuku but it's not completed yet.
It will be more gorgeous in a few days.

I'm wondering where to go next...

Tokyo is a fascinating city for architecture lovers. Its ancient temples and shrines are complemented by many modern works. Works by famous architects such as Kenzo Tange, Tadao Ando, Kisho Kurokawa, Togo Murano,Taisei Kensetsu, and Shimizu Kensetsu can be found. Our location in Tokyo is ideal for exploring the many buildings of Tokyo further.

Close to Sakura Hostel Asakusa and a good starting point, for instance, is the Phillippe Starck designed Asahi Super Dry Hall (see picture). Asahi Super Dry was one of the most popular beers in Japan at the time it was designed, and is still found in vending machines everywhere. The resemblance to a tall foamy mug of beer is intentional. It's not hard to picture the Flame d'Or (golden flame) at the top as the foam being blown off a cold beer. Moreover, the building's black granite facade is punctuated by a grid of portholes that at night give the illusion of tiny bubbles of effervescent beer in a large mug.

Some interesting facts about the flame:
> The flame is 43 meters long.
> The flame is 14 meters tall.
> The flame is 12 meters wide.
> The flame weighs 360 tons.
> The flame was constructed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries
> Its popular nickname is `The Golden Poo` "O Gon No Unko."

日本には外国人旅行者にとって、言葉や習慣、値段などに戸惑うことなく泊まれる宿泊施設があまり無いのでは、という考えからサクラホステルは誕生しました。

サクラホステルは今年の７月にオープンしたばかりのとても新しい宿泊施設で、東京は下町にある浅草の花やしきの裏に位置しています。

こちらでは世界中を旅する外国人バックパッカーや、日本語を学びに来る外国人留学生にとって、とても滞在しやすいホステルです。

スタッフは全員海外生活を経験しており、英語を話します。そのほかスペイン語、フランス語を話すスタッフもいます。またとてもフレンドリーでアットホームな雰囲気作りを目指しています。

毎月様々なイベントや一日ツアーを開催していて私たちスタッフと交流したり、他の国のゲストなど新たに友達を作ることも出来ます。

海外からお友達が遊びに来るのに泊められる所がない！そんな時はぜひ私たちサクラホステルにお任せ下さい。でも私のお友達は日本語も英語もできないし。。。心配要りません！言葉が通じなくても何でもいつの間にか友達になってしまう、それがサクラホステルです。

We had a meeting here yesterday.
To my surprise, it was our first time to meet all of our staffs at the same time.

We discusses events, promotion and so on to improve our hostel and entertain our guests.
If you ( someone reading this) have any idea, please give us your advice.
It would be very helpful.

On Japanese traditional night, Tomoe played Noh.
The last time she played , I couldn't see it well because I needed to stay the front desk.
This time, I had my co-workers and I could watch her play very well.
Her performance drew the audience into her play and song...of course me,too.

If you would like to try to drink MACCHA, japanese powdered green tea, please ask me anytime.
I'm willing to entertain you☆

Boss, please take a rest and have a good sleep...

Thank you for joining tea ceremony last night!!
I hope you had a good time.

Already drunk?

We had a pub night last night after we enjoyed the tea ceremony and Noh play.
Me and Hiromi took a group of around 15 people to a Japanese bar (izakaya) called Uotami in Asakusa.

You want to sing karaoke, Hiromi?

We are just having Japanese traditional night now!
I finished showing tea ceremony and now, Tomoe is playing Noh play.
This is so cool and we can feel kind of the real japanese soul.

We'll write more detail about this incredible night here later.
See you soon!!