Asakusa Diary - The Staff Blog

You know what, I participated in a half marathon last Sunday!
"PARACUP" is a charlity marathon that is held every year since 2005 to help deprived children
all around the world.
http://www.paracup.info/index.html

One of my friends from high school, Ayako asked me to the marathon a few months ago,
and I just said "YES!" :D Not much training = I was so lazy, but I just wanted to try!

Me (left) and Ayako

There were 1,500 people in this race.
↓ Waiting for the start!

Running by Tamagawa River.
It was such a nice day for marathon!

↓ Many volunteers cheering the runners!
The board says "We can make it together". Yes, we can!

It was my first try to run such a long distance.
I found it is really hard, but running with many people, and the cheers of the volunteers gave me power,
and finally it was so much fun :D

I had a muscle ache soooo bad after, but now almost recovered.
Maybe I start runinng tomorrow again♪ not today.
Anyone wanna be my company next time? ;)

Genius artist, Marcin designed my name tag.

My ''O'' became Sakura flower. It is related to Sakura symbol of this hostel.

How pretty.

''Look at my driver's license!''

Well...I can't see clearly.
Let me see.

OMG. This is the coolest driver's license I've ever seen.
This gangster cat names ''Nameneko.'' Nameneko comes from the word ''なめんなよ (Namennayo).''
It is a japanese slang, that means ''Don't bullshit me'' or ''Don't look down on me''
and generally used in daily conversation since it become a big hit in 1980.
But a lot of people showed this license for checking ID, so that police complained about it.

This is how Nameneko looks like.

This is not a composite photograph. Those kittens actually wear costumes.
People make them to stand up and put them on those gangster costumes. Amazing right?

You definitely should get one. You can get those items near our hostel.
It costs only 100 yen.
When a police man asks you about this license, just say ''Namennayo.'' lol

On Apr 25, we had a Wadaiko Tour in Ryogoku. Wadaiko means Japanese drums.
Are you guys ready? Let's go!

On the way to Ryogoku, I found many people taking a picture. A famous Kabuki actor,
Ichikawa Danjuro was in Senso-ji temple. The bold guy in the back is him.
I know I don't have any sense of taking a picture.

I was chasing the guy and I got lost...oops

And I heard a nice chorus, then I found a temple concert was held in the temple.

Anyway, I got there in safe except Naoto hold me in headlocks.
The seats were full of the guests. There were about 500 people.
Some people could't take a seat, like me :(

The concert started!
The sound of the taiko had a tremendous power. The music's beat flowed through my body.

Showing many kinds of taiko.

A ritual dance by a performer wearing a lion's mask calls ''Shishimai''

The shishimai came over to the guests, and bite their heads or hands.
Once you got a bite from the lion, you can get a good luck in this year.
Normally, people have a Shishimai bite in the beginning of the year.

Finale

After the concert taking a picture in front of rake decoration called ''Kumade'' in Japanese.
It is believed from Edo period (100 years ago) that a rake carries happiness and wealth
to a buyer in business.

On the way back, we stopped by a Chankonabe restaurant.
Chankonabe is a Japanese stew eaten by sumo wrestlers.
It has variety of ingredients, such as meat, veggies, tofu, gluten, Kuzu starch noodle, and so on.
We ordered a spicy chanko stew with ramen noodle in the end.
I had a chankonabe for the first time in my life.
I liked it at all! I def will come to eat them again!

Even I missed the first walking tour part, I could get to know a new Japanese culture!!

Hi, I'm Hiro.

Do you know "koinobori"?
It is meaning "Carp streamer".

I love it, And I feel spring has come when I see it.

I have thought "The carp is child of Dragon".
Because there is one fairy tail, "If carp climbs up the waterfall, It will changes to Dragon" in Japan.

If you want to know about it, Please check this↓
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koinobori.

In Japan, people don't hitchhike normally.
But this guy is ambitious for hitchhiking.

It takes 7 or 8 hours to get to Kyoto by car.
If he is so lucky, some truck driver will pick him up, I guess.
Good luck, man.

Marcin is an artist. Yesterday, we went to Sakura International Party together.
We had to wear pink item, so creative Marcin made a nice Sakura piercing.
He cut Sakura picture out from our brochure, and put a hole in the middle, and put on his nose piercing.

What a genius.

Hiro stopped by at the hostel in this morning.
He finished work at 5 am, and went to Tsukiji fish market directly after.
He brought a popular Japanese style omelet and egg cake.

Delicious!!

Hiro told me when he stays overnight, his eyes turns to obscene. lol
He looks like a famous Japanese Yakuza actor, Sho Aikawa.

'Hey egg, wanna ride on me?'

Yaaay! Time for changing a door knob!

Nice and tidy looks.
Good job, Tsuyoshi.

Yesterday, TV crews came over at Sakura Hotel Jimbocho,
and our hero Daniel had an interview about the impression of love hotel in Japan.
He was on TV a year ago, too. He will be a super star in the near future???

Japanese popular comedian, TKO showed his funny performance to the guests at the hotel,
but unfortunately, the guests were just giggling. lol

The show will be on TV soon. I'll make an announcement more details later.

By the way, what is your image of love hotels in Japan?
It is like a sexual theme park.
If you haven't been there yet, why don't you go to explore?
Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Uguisudani, those areas are paradise of love hotels.

Seeing is believing.

The biggest japanese Kick boxing fight will be held on the 2nd of May in Tokyo.

Actually, the tickets are almost sold out!!
Because there are many kick boxing organization and champion in Japan.
They never fight each other except K-1 MAX, that's why all kick boxing fans wanna buy the ticket.
Don't worry, you can check on TV Sakura Hostel on the 2nd of May @25:50-27:50 (mid night) !!!

Otsuki Haruaki is one of my favorite kick boxers.
He's gonna fight on that day!! Don't miss it !!
Check out how strong his punch is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1zO10nadf0&feature=related

Last Saturday, snow fell in Tokyo. It was so rare weather in Apr in Tokyo.
That was the season's latest snowfall, matching 41 years old record.
And next week will be raining a lot.

The forecast says that right before the golden week
(holidays in Japan starts May 2 to May 5) starts,
Tokyo will be hit by a cold wave again like last week.
What's wrong this weather...Gosh...

Robin's family is the cutest family ever!
They are so friendly and always told me interesting stories.

One day, Robin showed me an incredible item.
It is a beautiful Robin's family picture in crystal.
This is a special remembrance I guess.

From the top

From the side

And one more great info from Robin,
they went to the Ninja restaurant in Akasaka, named NINJA AKASAKA.
You can check out how cool the restaurant is!
http://www.ninjaakasaka.com/youtube.html

Thank you for staying with us, Robin, beautiful Robin's wife and cute children!
I hope I will see you guys in the near future.

Yabusame, or the horseback archery that takes place in Asakusa,
has a very long history, and it is held annually in April.

During the Edo era, it was held every year on January 5
as one of the New Year's special events at Asakusa Shrine.

This event has been described in detail in such historic documents
as Sensoji-shi (A History of Sensoji Temple) and
Toto-saijiki (The Chronicle of the East Capital).

Today, Asakusa Yabusame follows the traditional style recreated with
the cooperation of the head of the Ogasawara School of Archery and Horsemanship,
and it’s held at Sumida Park at 10 am.
Don't miss it!!

Come to the party at Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro on Fri, Apr 23.

Special Guest, "VJ KAZ"
Large outdoor rave started, playing in a number of Top Club.
Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert and DJ Adam Freeland,
Freq-nasty and played a co-star.

[Location] Sakura Cafe Ikebukuro

[Access] 5 min. walk from Ikebukuro Station

[Map] http://www.sakura-cafe.asia/ikebukuro/english/access.php

Please get 2 Drinks and Food Tickets (315 yen each) when you arrive.
And you should wear any pink items.

I am going to be there for sure, cuz Ikemen (good-looking) bar tenders are coming!

Let's make new friends and enjoy a range of cocktails, beers and snacks.

Jack's family came over to our hostel.

Look, how fast Jack's daughter grew up. Now she turns 2 years old.
Jack's little sweet daughter, Miyu chan in July, 2008.

Doesn't she look like Jack???
Ahhh, so cute.

They can sleep anywhere.
Naoto had such a long day...

Soccer freak, Tsuyoshi decorated the wall as 2010 FIFA World Cup Matches.

I got a soccer jersey for this tournament. It is actually last year's Japan uniform tho :p
If you want to get team jerseys, you can go to a major soccer shop called 'Kamo.'
It's located in Ikebukuro and Harajuku.

I am so ready to watch the world cup games on TV. Our hostel will be packed with soccer mania.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that the Tsukiji Fish Market's tuna auction site is temporarily close to the public from April 8th to May 8th. The tuna auction has become one of the most popular site seeing spots in Japan and more and more visitors have been to the area observing the auction. They said that they had over 500 people waiting in line to see the auction!

The government decided to close the tuna auction area to secure the area's safety and keep the market's operations from being disrupted by visitors.

But don't worry, the market is not completely close down. You can still go to the other area and see fisherman slicing the big tuna. That's not something you see everyday.

Also you can have fresh fish for your breakfast! I had this delicious Kaisendon (a bowl of rice topped with sashimi) for my breakfast. Yummy!

The tuna auction area will re-open to the public on May 10. Till then, you don't have to get up too early to go to the fish market.

Our Sakura Tree keeps blooming.

But here is one problem. The sparrows are poking at our precious tree,
so that the petals are flying apart...
Sparrows, next time you poke our sakura, I'll cut your tongue!

Japanese pop art and exhibition, 'Kawaii part 2' is coming soon!
'Kawaii' event has been held since last year. 'Kawaii' means not only cute or pretty,
but also one of the key cultural words among young Japanese.
Nowadays, 'Kawaii' culture is spreading worldwide through fashion and art.

Variety of talented artists exhibit their highly original figurine,
animations, and illustrative art in Kawaii part 2.

Where is the event to be held?
Design Festa Gallery Harajuku
This is how the gallary looks like

I went there on the other day. The building is so funky.
Their vending machines and their toilet are decorated by artists.

Design Festa Gallery Harajuku is listed in numerous travel guides as
a "must visit sightseeing spot." They have a nice cafe named Design Festa Cafe, too.
You can chill out in their cafe after appreciating art.

Kawaii part 2
Apr 10-Apr16 from 11am-8pm
Opening party on Apr 10 (Sat) 4:30pm-7:30pm @ Design Festa Cafe
MAP http://www.designfestagallery.com/submenu/contact/index.html

For more info http://www.designfestagallery.com/program/event/index_en.html

It was probably the best day for hanami (viewing cherry blossom). I went to this place called Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Shinjuku last weekend for hanami. It is one of the best gardens in Tokyo and a popular location for hanami.

It'll cost 200 yen to get in, but it was worth the cost.

Let me introduce our new staff, Hiro.

Hello.
My name is Hiro.

My house is Japanese temple, My father & big brother are priest.
Very traditional family.

But,I love Overseas culture.
I have traveled around the world by a motobike.
And I learned Brasilian sports"Capoeira" for 4 years

Sorry,I can not speak English well.
Everybody, please teach me English.
Let's talk about Martial arts!
Of couse, come on persons who wants to fight with me also!!

This is our new cleaning staff, Nara san.
Sometimes I help cleaning up, so I know how hard it is.
Please take care yourself very well.

Yaaay! Our Hanami Party went pretty good.
We had a good weather, and cherry blossoms are blooming perfectly.
Look at Daniel's huge smile.

Sky tree is behind us. What a perfect location.

People were just chilling under the sun.

We had nice booze.

Naoto was prefer eating rather than drinking.

Even though it was windy, and our stuffs were kept blowing away, we had a good time.

Look how much liquors I brought.

Having so much good time means you must have a bad hangover on the next day...lol

If you have facebook account, you can check out more photos of our Hanami party.
This is our page, named as Sakura Hotel & Hostel in Tokyo, Japan
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sakura-Hotel-Hostel-in-Tokyo-Japan/220350084985
Photo page
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27104&id=220350084985&ref=mf