Asakusa Diary - The Staff Blog

Have you seen this↓movie??

The scene is Tokyo, and the hotel they are( leading characters) staying at
is PARK HYATT TOKYO in Shinjuku.

I saw this movie when I was in America and I remember I felt something strange.
The story is ok but it's not a real Japan, I thought.
If you have already seen this movie and never been to Tokyo,
please come and see the difference★

Our guest, Peter from Hungary was on the newspaper!
What did he do?? Something bad? Of course not!!

When he stayed at Fuji-Yoshida Youth Hostel, he took the interview
from the local newspaper in Yamanashi prefecture.

I think it is good that people from the other countries are introduced
by newspapers or some TV programs because most Japanese people don't have
good chances to comunicate with them.

You may have a chance to take the interview during in Japan,
especially in the country side.

On the 3rd of Nov, we'll have tea ceremony at Sakura Hostel.
I'll do tea ceremony demonstration, so I am happy if many people come and join us:)
Because I just learned it when I was in the high school, it's not a "perfect″one
but I'll do my best:)

It start at 4pm, after Jidai Matsuri.

Do you know that we have Onsen (natural hot spring) around our hostel.
There are three onsens within walking distance and I'll introduce one of them today :)

At Jakotsu-yu(蛇骨湯), you can enjoy this beautiful Mt.Fuji all year long!

↑It's from men's section, and ↓it's from women's one. Which do you like??

The fee is 430yen and you can just show up without anything!
They rent towel and sell some soap and shampoo, even tooth brushes.
It opens from 1pm to 12am.
Why don't you share your time with locals in the buff ;)

The tv crew from Finland are staying with us now.
And they started shooting our hostel today :D
So, I took their pictures, too like these↓↓

It seemed they were checking their equipments.

Tomoe will be on TV in Finland...?
Let me know if you(anyone in Finland) see her;)

I just heard about the wildfire in San Diego area and I was surprised at the news...
It occured in 2003 when I was there and it was terrible.
Most of schools were closed and ashes lied thick on the ground.

It's so sad that many beautiful places are going to be burned out.
I hope it's gonna be extinguished soon!

Have you ever heard about Daiso?
It's the name of 100yen shop and there are about 2400 shops in Japan,
about 400 shops in overseas.
You can get everything there for 100yen, so you may made a lucky find ;)

TV said that many foreigners go to Daiso for souvenirs.
For example, socks with five-finger.↓↓

Actually, I use this regularly♪　So comfortable!

Following the website, they have more than 90,000 kinds of items
and they make abput 1,000 items every months.

There is one shop close to Sakura hostel.
Why don't you try to take a look?

Have you arrived at your home safely?
I uploaded this picture as we promised ;)
It was really nice to meet you and I hope you'll be back again.
All of your smiles made us happy in every morning☆

At the senso-ji temple, we had the event called Kinryu-no-mai.
Big long golden dragon were dancing very vividly.

The official temple name for Sensoji Temple is Kinryuzan (Mountain of Golden Dragon)
and this name comes from a tale about a golden dragon.
According to the legend, 1000 pine trees suddenly appeared overnight
near the temple on the 18th day.
Three days later, a golden dragon measuring 100 shaku (approx. 30 m)
descended into the pine trees from the heavens and was never seen again.
The Golden Dragon Dance is based on this episode.

↑↑This is our first time to upload the movie!
I hope you would enjoy this;)

I was talking with one guest from Saudi Arabia this morning and he told me about his country.
I'm really interested in the other countries, especially where I have not been yet.
Also, he told me how to write Arabic.
You need to write and read from right to left, the opposite direction.

↑↑This means, "Welcome to Sakura Hostel Asakusa".

And, it's my name!!↓↓

It's very hard to remember...
? ? ???????.

Annual school festival season has just started.
It's called Bunka-sai , an annual event held by most schools in Japan, from junior high schools to universities at which their students display their everyday achievements. People who want to enter the school themselves or who are interested in the school may come to see what the schoolwork and atmosphere are like. Parents may also want to see what kind of work their children have been doing. (ref.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Cultural_Festival)

Most universities welcome anyone, so I recommend you to take a look if you have no plan.
At the university, you can have variety of street foods such as Yakisoba, Takoyaki, Ice-cream, asian foods and so on.
Moreover, they have some concerts and lives performed by famous singers and comedians at a lower price;)
Some of them have a special open-day that you can take the lecture.
It's good to know how Japanese students are♪

In Japan, Halloween is not so major event but it is true that it's getting popular.
As you can see decorations here and there,
we try to enjoy this interesting event, espesially at kindergartens.

Ebi-chan is no exception.↓↓

Isn't it too early to blow up a baloon??

You may be familiar with SNS and have your own account there.
In Japan, mixi and GREE is the most popular ones.
MySpace and Facebook are famous worldwide.
YouTube and Flickr have the different style but you can share your photos and movies
with anyone as you know.

I think they are very interesting but for lazy girl like me, it is sometimes hard to update...
Do you have anything that similar system in your country?

The best season for trip is coming.
We don't have so much rain in Autumn and nice climate for sightseeing.
In addition, you can see bery beautiful autumn colour of leaves here and there.

This year, leaves will start to turn red in the middle of November around Tokyo.
From our hostel, I recommend you to go to Rikugien, Meiji Jingu Gaien and Hamarikyu.
If you have enough time to spare, I also want you to go to Mt. Takao and Showa Memorial Park.

More information is available at the reception anytime:)

At the reception, variety of things are available now.
As you can see, snacks ,Japanese sake, sweets and cup noodles♪
Plus, you can get shampoo, body soap, laundry soap, padlocks
and international phone cards(from a vending machine).

Of course, we rent towels for 100 yen and hair dryer
and iron&iron board are free of charge;)

What do you think is convenient for you if you are staying with us??

This morning, our guests were glued to the TV.
They were watching a baseball game held in the U.S. and it's Yankees v.s. Indians.
Hideki Matsui is a member of Yankees and it won!!
I don't know much about the baseball but it makes happy that
many Japanese players are active internationally ;)

It's his 41st birthday today! He is the repeat guest here.
Unfortunately, he is moving soon.

If you will spend your birthday here, you should let us know!
We are willing to celebrate it with you;)

↑↑Asahi Beer building is one of the symbol of Asakusa.
There is the factory in Moriya, 40mins from Asakusa by train
and anyone can see the process free of charge.
As you expect, you can "taste" some beer for free during the tour ;)

Some of our guests just visited there and came back with satisfaction.
More information is available at the reception here☆

Kappabashi is well known as a kitchen town because you can find everything when you cook.
From this Tuesday to next Monday, they have Kappabashi kitchenware Festival there and
you can get them at a low price.

Today, there were many people trying to find bargains:)

Also this town is really famous for these kinds of restaurant supplies.

Looks yummy? but they are all fakes:)

These lovely kiwis are gifts from the teacher of college from New Zealand.
Now, our kangaroos got new friends♪
Because I didn't know about this birds, I checked on the internet
and I did understand how the name came from:)

Look at Tomo's rapt expression!↓↓

Can you guess why?
Finally, Sakura Hostel Asakusa appear on the Lonely Planet!!
It is the world-famous guide book and you may have seen it once.

We are here♪

I'd like to say Thank you to all of you:)
We'll keep doing our best!!

From the last month, Terry has started training here.
He had lived in the U.S. for about 10 years and just came back to Japan half a year ago.
Not only English but French are spoken by him because he stayed in France for a while.

He has many hobbies like surfing, snowboarding, yoga and workout.
Please speak to him casually.