Asakusa Diary - The Staff Blog

Remy!! (right)

He got an black one when he left.
Thank you for staying with us.
You should come back next summer again for drinking together at beer garden;)

A typhoon is approaching Japan.

And, Tomo is approaching the typhoon...

I've been planning a short trip to the Izu peninsula for my three day off starting tomorrow.
Izu is famous as a place where typhoons come and hit a lot during summer.

Ooooohhhh, who's thrown this typhoon to Izu when I am going there?
Please pray for me. I've decided not to postpone this trip. I'm still going!!

We'll see what happens.

I believe you do not forget but August has 31st.
Until 30th of August and from 1st of September, we have lots of reservations but
only 31st, we have still many beds available.

Hmmm, we can rearrange your booking, so please double check your schedule again
and let us know if you want to stay on next Monday:D

Brian!!

Though he is not staying with us now, he came to buy our T-shirt:D
Thank you Brian for reading our weblog.
How do you like it?

Blue is your color!

Finally, we make our original uniforms:D
How do you think??

Front side↑

Back side↑

They look like models:P
It suit you♪

Left: Ebi-chan
Right: Naoto

Tomoe designed them!
Great job!!

Don't worry, anyone can be one of our members☆

2000yen at the reception;)

Nomu means drink in Japanese.
Do you have any chance to communicate with Japanese while you are here?
It would make your travel much fun!

As you may think, most of Japanese are shy in general.
But once they drink, they become more friendly and easy to start to talk with;)

During summer, we have some open-air places to have some beer and snacks.
How about going there and try to communicate with Japanese around you♪

Asakusa: Asahi Beer Garden
Shinjuku: Beer Mex
Sky Beer Garden

And on last Tuesday, we had a farewell party for Eiro.
He did a great job at Sakura and we will miss you...

This is a present for you!!

What's inside in this huge bag?
Tomo is helping to open it:D

How cute♪
Please share with your girlfriend;)

Our message board made him cry...:P
Don't worry, you are still our good neighbor, right?

We'll call you when we are so busy.

Many people were gathered together for him (and beer) this night.

When is the next party?
I couldn't drink enough:(

It was Eiro's last day yesterday...:(
Thank you for working with us.
You are the coolest cleaning staff here.

Eiro started working as a cleaning staff but became to help us as a receptionist as well.
As you are a neighbor, we'll invite you everytime we have some events.
Please remember that your second house in Asakusa is here;)

＊This is a connection for business.
You left something in a office.
You can come and pick them up anytime☆

Can you run 42.195 km within 6 hours and 40 minutes?

If so, send an entry to TOKYO MARATHON 2010.
The entry started on August 1st and the number of applicants has already exceeded
the number of runners.
Lottery will be held to choose 32,000 lucky runners after the deadline of entry on August 31st.

Sorry if you are already an applicant and the number of competitors will be increased by this post. :p

Click the photo for more information.

It was really nice to see you again, Francisco!
The last time you were here was in March, 2008.
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2008/03/free_hugs.html

I'm so surprised at your Japanese skill!
How did you learn?
I didn't use any English in our conversation.

Thank you for tequila!
I think I can drink it all by myself without sharing with Tomo:P

Do you remember him?
He was working as our cleaning staff last year and left for California to study there.

And last week, he's back and came to see us:)

Welcome back, Shinji!
How's your life in the States?
Oh, you got your ears pierced!

You are still 20...you couldn't drink there.
We'll have a party sometime in next week, so you should join us!

I have a friend who works as a reporter for NHK, Nippon Hoso Kyokai, (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).
On his personal website, I found very interesting video clips on Tokyo and I'd like to share them with you.

Each report (video clip) is a little bit long, but they are very informative and I think you can get a better idea about Tokyo, or Japan in general.

Here's the link to the video clips

Enjoy!

One of Japan's most popular foods is RAMEN:)
Have you tried it while you were in Japan?

Today, I went to Janbara with Tomo for a lunch.

Just 5 mins from the hostel and it's Tomo's favorite place.

Rice and Gyoza (dumplings) are included♪
What a good deal!

Bon Appetit.

Tomo ordered Tonkotu Ramen with boiled egg. (750 yen)
↓
↓
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15mins later...

We were stuffed.

A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to Seoul, South Korea.
To be honest, I didn't expect much from this trip because there are many similarities between South Korea and Japan, including shops, buildings, and food choices.
Why did I choose South Korea for my vacation? Simple reasons... The plane ticket was affordable and it only takes about 2 hours to get there!

I'm glad I went because I had a really good time! The food was great and there were many people who spoke Japanese in the places I visited, so I didn't have to worry about miscommunication.

What I find interesting is that, although there are many similarities in terms of atmosphere, some things are totally different. For example, in Japan, a lot of people hold their plates/rice bowl up while eating, but not in Korea. In Korea, all plates and bowls remain on the table and you have to use a spoon to have soup, unlike Japanese people who usually hold their soup bowl and eat it directly from there.

Anyway, if you ever have a chance to visit South Korea, I recommend trying Korean food because it is so delicious and affordable! Shopping is a lot of fun too! Because I didn't have much time to spend in Korea last time, I'm going back there again this month! So I can experience more of Korea.

Here are some more photos I took when I was there.

They were shooting some famous Korean TV drama that is currently showing.

An Actress having her make-up done.

You should enjoy our local festival together!
During summer, we have some events and festivals here and there.
Today, I'd like to recommend one of them to you.

It is held in Azabu-Juban which is known as an international town bacause it has many embassies there.
If you are here in Tokyo from 21st to 23rd of August, you have a chance to go there.

What's going on there?
They will have an international bazaar supported by some embassies, Japanese traditional show,
"boast of my village" (shops introducing their towns in Japan) and so on.
It takes about 30 mins to get there by subway.

Click here for some photos:)

Do you know what this mark means?

It is called "Wakaba" mark.
Newly licensed drivers are required to place this sticker on their car in order to attract enough attention from other drivers.

Yuri has recenly got a driver's license. Congrats, Yuri chan!!

Ok, now... who is brave enough to be the first one to get a ride from her?
Me? No no no, you go ahead :P

Sometimes, our guests introduce our hostel on their weblog.
http://viaggioingiappone.info/2009/06/02/recensione-ostello-sakura-hostel-tokyo-asakusa/
Thank you, Andrea;)

This is Jose's weblog.
http://moviendo.me/en
http://moviendo.me

If you have introduced our hostel on your weblog,
please kindly let us know:D

Also, if you've stayed with us, you might be here↓↓
flickr.com
You gotta check it out!!

Maid cafe♪

As you might know, Akihabara is famous for maid cafes.
Have you ever been there?

Yes, I have!
About three years ago, I tried it with our Spanish guests.
My impression was...fun but I could have enjoyed if I were guy.

I heard that there are similar cafes in Thailand and I wanna try it, too!

What are our staff doing on their days off?
Let's take a look at Naoto's days off.

Naoto went for fishing with his friend♪

What kind of fish is that, Naoto?

Naoto: It's called Raigyo (Ophicephalus maculatus) and people eat them in South Korea.

He got two!!