Asakusa Diary - The Staff Blog

Are you a ramen fanatic? Then don't miss this opportunity! We have FREE admission tickets to Raumen Museum in Shin-Yokohama, a little over an hour by train from Tokyo.

The main area is set up like a city in Japan in the 1950s. In one section they have several different Ramen resturants. There are different choices of ramen for each different region of Japan that have been chosen to be the best of the best.

Come here hungry and try various bowls of ramens. Just ask our staff for the ticket if you'd like to go. Here is the link to the website for more information on Raumen Museum.

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.

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.

It's been a week since Yuri left the hostel. We had a farewell party for her last week at a cozy Korean restaurant in Asakusa.
It's very rare to get together and have dinner like we did last week.

We sure had a great time getting together outside of work.

We gave her dish sets as a wedding gift.

Last night, she sent us an email with a photo.

Look, she's already making use of our gift!　（＾o＾）/
The meal looks so good! I didn't know Yuri can cook.

Anyway, we are happy for her and hope that they have a great life together.
Come visit us anytime, Yuri, the staff and our guests are waiting for you☆☆

It's very rare in Tokyo to get snow like last night.
I knew it was going to snow, but I didn't think we'd get that much! I'm sure a lot of people weren't ready for this.

Lucky Christina, it was her first time to see the snow! She was so excited, she helped make the snowman with guys.

Isn't she cute?

Have you ever seen Mt. Fuji from the top?
I was on the airplane on the way to Taiwan, I looked out of the window, there it is!
The highest mountain in Japan.
What are the chances huh? I was lucky (^o^)ノ
Maybe I'll climb the mountain next year when the weather is nice and see the sunrise from the top.
That'd be awesome.

By the way, doesn't it kinda look like HERSHEY'S KISSES?

I'm in the mood for chocolate now♪

Have you ever seen a movie called "Spirited Away"?

I went on a trip to Taiwan and went to a place called 九份 (Jiu fen).

A small town in north Taiwan.
Famous Japanese film director, Miyazaki Hayao got an inspiration and modeled this place for his famous film, "千と千尋の神隠し (Spirited Away)"

The weather was cloudy, but I was able to see the beautiful scenery, just like in the movie.

The place made me feel somewhat nostalgic.

If you ever have a chance to visit Taiwan, I recommend going to Jiu fen.
It only takes a little more than 1 hour by bus from Taipei city.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Kamakura. Kamakura is famous for Buddha and temples, and is a good day trip from Tokyo for locals and tourists.

The weather was lovely and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. For a quiet little town, the place offers many temples. Sometimes, Kamakura is called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan.

It only takes less than an hour from Tokyo, and there are plenty of transportation. Like I said, it is good for a day trip. If you get bored in Tokyo, why not take a little trip to Kamakura? I think you'll have a good time.

One day, when I arrived at the hostel,
I saw Johrel was smashing a chair into tiny pieces.

What I thought were as follows↓
Some scampish guests made you get angry last night?
or
He was sick and tired of Naoto's pranks?
or
He's had about enough of Tomo's unreasonable demands?

I hesitated to ask what happend to him but realized he was smiling:)
Hmmm, he's just doing it to throw it away:P

Don't worry, Naoto&Tomo. He is very mild person♪

Last night, one of our guests was walking and a stag beetle landed on his head! How often do you get into such situation?! So he brought it to the hostel.

I was actually surprised to see the stag beetle in the city, because you usually see them in the country side or in the mountain. I remember when I was a kid I used to have them fight like a sumo wrestling. You set up a small ring like in sumo and have them fight until one gets out of ring. Beetle vs Stag beetle, Beetle vs Beetle... Good old summer days.

We would've kept it as our pet, but it's best to bring it back to the nature.. so we did.

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!

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.

Hello, my name is Johrel (pronounced as jor-el).
It's been about 2 months since I started working at Sakura Hostel.
I'm still new to this industry but staff here are very friendly and kind
which makes it easier for me to work.

A bit more about myself... I'm Japanese and Filipino mix.
I was born in the Philippines but I grew up in Japan.
Unfortunately, I cannot speak Tagalog (Filipino language), but I can speak English and Japanese.

Here are some of the things I enjoy doing when I have free time:

* Taking photographs
* Designing websites, posters
* Cooking
* Watching movies
* Listening to music
* Surfing the web

Due to my dad's job, I've lived in several countries.
I came back to Japan a few years ago from the US (Rhode Island)
where I spent 7 years.
I really enjoy being in a place where many different cultures meet in one place.
This place is great because we have people coming from many different countries
and so far I enjoy it!

(Written by Johrel)