This morning, Johrel told me that our guests went to Roppongi for clubbing
last night wearing these costume↓↓
At first, they were four but one of them who put on Winnie-the Pooh was separated...
Have you found a big yellowish drunk bear around Roppongi last night?
For your information,,,
They said that if you wear these costume, you'll become more attractive to women:P
Our Ikemen (nice looking guy ) staff, Yuya is leaving soon.
He has been working with us for about 7 months as a night shift staff.
Though it is sad if we can't see you, we all hope your success in a new field!!
Good Luck☆and come to see us anytime;)
We gotta find another Ikemen now!!
Sweeeeeeets!
I mean, their coming back;)
Jack and Johrel have just came back from abroad with many sweets!!
Jack was in Korea for more 2 weeks to attend his sister's wedding ceremony.
Yuri : How's your vacation?
Jack: I ate meats too much and don't want to have them for a while...
Johrel had stayed in Cebu island for a week after Tokyo marathon.
Yuri: You didn't get a suntan at all!
Johrel: I put on a heavy layer of sun block☆
By the way, this title sounds familiar ...
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2009/07/tomo_is_back_to_the_real_life.html
Hi, guys!
Julien(rightmost) , who had stayed with us about 3 years ago, just came back to
his second home in Tokyo (Here)!
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2007/04/julien.html
He brought us some sweets and his friends this time:D
Though we knew that we had a reservation under the name of "Julien",
nobody expected that it was him.
I was so surprised when I saw him but was soooooo happy to see him again♪
He is an expert traveler because he had been to everywhere in Japan except Hokkaido.
Yes, he knows about Japan much more than me!
I always arrive at hostel at 7 in the morning.
Normally, there are a few people in the lounge and most of our guests are still sleeping.
BUT, when I came here this morning...
Our lounge was like this↑↑
More than 10 people were in front of the TV and watching Olympic ice hocky game:D
It was Canada VS USA☆
I was just wondering if they were staying awake all through the night or
got up early this morning...
Anyway, Canada won and got the gold medal!!
Congratulations.
I can hardly wait for the next Winter Olympics.
Do you have an account on facebook?
Yes?
Then, let's find our fanpage and be a member of our fan!
It doesn't matter which hotel/hostel you had stayed.
No?
It's easy to make an account and you may find people you've met here at Sakura Hostel;)
We are happy to "meet" you on the internet again♪
This is our ninth time to have snow in Tokyo in February.
It means we have snow every two days...
No wonder it's so cold these days!
It is his first time to see snow and he frolicked around this morning:D
with his cute snowman:)
Click↓↓
Hello people, I'm Ryoko.
I just started working at this hostel today.
I graduated from my college last year.
This is my first time working as a full time job, so I am energetic and
I am so ready to welcome guests from all over the world.
That's why I suppose to get up early today to show my energy to my boss.
But when I checked my alarm o'clock, it was 30 mins before the work starts.
Yes, I came in late for my first working day.
What a shame on myself!
I will never ever be late for work from now on, I promise.
Well, let me introduce myself.
I like drinking and partying with lots of people.
I always go out to drink with my friends for my day off.
If you are same kind of person like me, why don't you come and see me,
then I can teach you what is the good place to go night time in Japan.
I am so excited to see new people everyday!
I'm happy that both of you liked it;)
Yuya★
Johrel★
Look at your mouth!!
Sorry, Naoto.
It's all gone when you were in South Korea:P
It's Valentines's day today.
In Japan, women are giving some chocolates to their BF or partners.
Also, it is common to give some to anyone (friends, family) who you want to.
So, I brought some hand-made chocolates to my co-workers;)
Tsuyoshi♪
Jack♪
Tomoe♪
Ebi-chan♪
Dear Johrel and Yuya
There are some left in a fridge;)
Do not forget to take pictures:P
Vancouver Olympics is just started today!
Did you watch the opening ceremony?
What is your favorite Olympic events/players?
Yesterday was Yuta's last day here.
He is going to graduate from his university in March
and start his new life as a new employee from April.
Do you remember his first day?
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2008/08/new_face.html
Girls will be missing you! :P
This morning, he just set off to somewhere with a big backpack.
Tsuyoshi and I said "Take care!" as we always say to our guests.
How do you find events in Japan?
It may be hard to get the information what you really want.
I hope these links would be helpful for your searching...☆
Makuhari Messe
http://www.m-messe.co.jp/cgi-bin/bin/event/event_view_en.cgi
Tokyo International Forum
http://www.t-i-forum.co.jp/event/english/
Tokyo Big Sight
http://www.bigsight.jp/english/index.html
Tokyo Dome
http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/cgi-bin/schedule/User/dome/schedule-english.cgi?year=2010&month=2
Tokyo Tourism Info.
http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/tourists/topics_event/index_topics_event.html
and sory, it's all in Japanese but...
http://www.tokyo-event.jp/category/all.html
Let me know if you know the other sites;)
About 4 years have past since we opened this hostel,
there are some spots here and there.
Last week, we have our wall repainted.
Before↓↓
After↓↓
Then, two professional staff from our sister company(Sakura House) came to
decorate our fences like this↓↓
How lovely!!
Thank you very much, Mori san and Tsune san☆
I also made a small snowman yesterday morning:)
I remember that we did have snow more often when I was a child.
Warming impact...?
It's time to inform you that our staff, Johrel signed up for Tokyo Marathon 2010.
We are all excited about it!
I'll definitely go and see him to cheer up;)
Is there anyone who is going to run with him?
Johrel told me that he is running during break time(mid night) for the training!
...I can't believe him but respect him at the same time.
More information?
Click Johrel's picture above;)
Do you know Umai-bo?
It means yum-yum bar in English and it is really popular snack in Japan.
There are so many kinds of flavors and we sell 14 of them here;)
Shrimp's favorite: Teriyaki-Burger
Yuri's favorite: Tako-yaki
Naoto's favorite: Mentaiko
Yuta' s favorite: Gyu-tan
I heard that our sister hotel in Ikebukuro had a cosplay party last night.
Today, Yuta gonna have the same thing by himself tonight!
Actually, I'd like to know whether there is anyone who left this reindeer costume in 202?
If not, it is going to be ours (Yuta's):P
What are you doing?
Who are you?
The answer is...
Please wait till mid-February:P
Hello, guys!
Thank you very much for staying with us and your e-mail with this photo!
We all are so happy to hear from you.
Of course, we are waiting for your coming back and keep checking this weblog till then;)
I should have asked all of your names...
See you again and enjoy your life in NYC☆
Do you have any plan for this Saturday?
If the answer is NO, why don't you go to Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro to have a tea ceremony?
As you can see, they sell used Kimono with a great deal.
Of course, the admission is for free;)
If you are interested in, please feel free to contact us or staff there.
last Monday&Wednesday, we had sumo tours.
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2009/12/dosukoi.html
"We are leaving!!"
About 15 guests joined this tour.
We walked to the stadium and when we reached the bridge spanning the Sumida river,
Sky Tree sprang up!!
It is now 274 meters but is still under construction...
As it was so nice weather, it's a perfect day to walk by the river:)
About an hour later, we arrived at the stadium♪
FYI, we never got lost...:P
Let's have a meal before watching sumo!
Do you know Chanko?
It's a special dish for sumo wrestlers, which consists of many kinds of meats,
vegetables and sometimes seafoods cooked together in a soup.
It's available at the sumo stadium for 250 yen♪
Okay, it's time for watching sumo!
We got good seats here.
Actually, it was my first time and I did enjoy with our guests.
It was totally diffrent from TV and I'll definitely go there in May again!
Too tired to walk, we took a bus on our way back...
Just 200 yen from Ryogoku to Asakusa.
Click the photo above↑↑
Did I tell you that you can rent a bike for 200 yen a day.
It's available at Tsukuba Express Asakusa station which is located 5 mins from us on foot.
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/hostel_access.htm
If you rent a bike, you can go wherever you want without worrying about your broken leg;)
This is the proof↓↓
Just be careful not to drop your crutch, Jason.
Last Saturday, I took part in tasting party at Ikebukuro cafe.
As I informed you, Tomo is now working there and she created some new menu.
This is fried tuna-sushi-roll.
It became much better when we put some sauce on it.
Not only foods but also drinks are very unique.
My favorite one is this↓↓
HOT WINE!!
Yes, I had three cups and another cacktail;)
It made my body become warm from inside♪
At Sakura Cafe in Ikebukuro, there are so many kinds of foods and drinks.
If you miss anything in your country, just go there and have some foods.
Once you go there, you'll be a repeat guest for sure!
since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck on 17th of January, 1995.
I was in the 6th grade at that time and I was so shoked
when I knew about it from the news in that morning.
I just hope that people in Haiti could go back to their life as soon as possible...
This is the official ranking list of Sumo, called "Banduke-hyou" in Japanese.
It is announced before every tournaments.
You can see the letters are getting small and of course,
the biggest wrestler is the grand champion.
Of the top 5 wrestlers, 3 are from Mongolia including the grand champion.
So international!
Can you read their names, too?
We need a loupe to find lower-level wrestlers...
I'm always wonderig how they write these thin characters.
I read the news about Japanese pizza.
It says that on youtube, foreign people are surprised at the price of Japanese pizza.
Compared with their countries, sometimes it's more than double price.
But please don't worry, we do have many many good foods with cheap price here in Japan!
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2009/12/bgrade_foods.html
Look at this great picture↑↑
You can see the Senso-ji temple, five-story pagoda, Asahi beer building
and Tokyo sky tree at the same time!!
Unfortunately, Senso-ji temple is under repair now but it will be finished in November.
Sky tree is now 264M and still growing.
I'm checking every morning how grow it is and always surprised at its speed!
Japanese construction skill is super☆
It's too cold to post a weblog today...
This rain may be snow tonight in Tokyo.
I gotta go home now!
See you tomorrow:D
We rarely to wear a formal clothes at work.
One day, Tsuyoshi dressed in suits as "normal" businessman.
Then, he pretend as if he was a BIG boss:P (...well, he is very tall, actually)
And he started to scold Yuta.
Poor Yuta...I know you didn't do anything wrong today yet.
You are the today's victim.
Winter in Tokyo is very cold (to me).
I'm trying to get warmed as much as I can in all kinds of different ways.
?Hot Chocolate
I love chocolates but sometimes, I worry about its calorie...then,
?Have a cup of Amazake, instead
It's made from rice and little alcoholized but sweet♪
Canned Amazake is available at convenience stores and
from vending machine during winter;)
?Yutapon (hot-water bottle)
When I sleep, this is an essential goods.
I'm using the traditinal one↑↑ for now, but I'll get a more evolved one↓↓★
How do you get warmed in your country?
Give me some ideas:D
Entry No.3
Paul from USA/South Korea!!
He sometimes stopped over at Sakura before going to South Korea.
What the biggest his contribution is he got softner and brought to us!
Click the photo below♪
It's going to be run out, Paul...when are you coming back the next?
Me and Tomoe are missing you?;)
Koji, who was working with us as a night shift manager for three years,
came to say hi to us a few days ago:D
I believe that you remember him.
Unfortunately, I was not there at that time but he gave me an e-mail later;)
I think that we'll be happy to see old coworkers when we drop by after quit.
How are you doing, Hiromi, Shiro and Clive ??
Have you ever seen this mark while you are in a train/bus?
As you can see, the lady who has this tag on their belongings is an expectant mother.
In Japan, most of trains have priority seats for seniors,
persons with disabilities and expectant mothers.
Please offer your seat to those people who really need one:)
Tomoe came to work in beautuful Kimono on 2nd.
It's kind of our traditional event but I missed it this year...:(
I wanted to take a photo with her.
This year, I'll take kimono-wearing class and come to hostel in Kimono☆
What is your new year's resolution?
How did you welcome your new year?
...well I was sleeping as usual.
I have one thing to let you know today.
Our boss, Tomo transfered to Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro from today.
We feel like we lost our big mom here but we'll do our best
to keep improving Sakura Hostel Asakusa☆
Do not worry Tomo, but you should come and see us&our guests frequently.
You are our boss forever wherever you are;)
If you miss Tomo, just drop by Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro:)
WE LOVE YOU!!
From Tomo, Tomoe, Yuri, Tsuyoshi, Naoto, Mitsuru, Jack, Johrel, Yuya, and Yuta.
I'm happy if you still keep checking this weblog in 2010...
Entry No.3
Jesus from Spain☆★
Though he checked in 3 days ago,
he didn't notice that his photo was on the wall till now...
Actually, Jesus and the other two of Hall of Fame (from Finland) are already friends;)
They met here a few years ago. (2007?)
Now, they are staying in the same room.
What a small world!
It's time to let you know our hall of fame again☆
Entry no.2.
Azam from U.K.!!
He created a community of our guests on the Facebook!
It's a great contribution not only to our hostel but also to our guests!!
If you have interests, please check it and you'll make friends there.
I'm not sure whether Azam is reading this weblog but we'd love to say thank you to you:)
Come and go for a drink with us!
Stay cool☆
Have you ever seen Sumo fighting?
I sometime see some Sumo wreslers around our us
but I've never been to the stadium to see the tournament.
They have tours 6 times a year and each of them are for 15 days.
We have 2 in Tokyo and one is starting from 10th of January.
Would you like to go with us?
We'll have a sumo tour on 18th & 20th and I'd love to join that event:)
You can ask about the details when you make a reservation or anytime at the front desk!
If you miss it, you should go to Osaka, Nagoya or Fukuoka.
Otherwise, the next time is in September.
We are waiting for you♪
Thanks to our santa clauses, we have some bottles of champagne from France
and some chocolates from Venezuela♪
We'll never worry about going hungry as long as we work here;)
How are you going to spend your Christmas holidays?
With your family?
Friends?
Co-workers? (←me)
Anyway, we wish you a very Merry Christmas☆★☆
I wish no one is starving in this world.
Special thanks to Brun and Harun...
Let me introduce who are in the hall of fame.
1.Nienke from Netherland☆
I don't know how many times you've stayed with us so far.
Did you count, Nienke?
She also brought her brother and dad.
When is the next time we can see you again?
I heard that you are working very hard there but we are looking forward to talking to you again:)
Please say hi to your lovely family!
Have a happy holidays♪
I forgot to tell you but he just came back from Hawaii this week.
He participated in Honolulu Marathon last Sunday.
It was his first full marathon and took 5 hours 37mins.
I think it's great!!
Thank you for cookies and congratulations for your completion!
Also, Johrel got a participation right of Tokyo Marathon 2010 in February!!
I'm going to cheer him up☆
Yuyaaaaaaaaaa★
What are you going to do tonight?
I know you have a day off today:P
I hope you'll have a great 27th's birthday♪
Give some comments to him, please!!
Look, Look!!
We decorated our stairways area like this↓↓
Doesn't it look cool?
Our guests who are enshrined in the Hall of Fame are there;)
Do you see your face??
We picked up them for these reasons.
The person...
?who had stayed with us several times for a long term.
?who contributed to our hostel in some way.
Tsuyoshi, you can't be there even though you have been here so many times:P
They found their faces!!
I'll let you know who is elected one by one:)
Can you guess what Tomo is putting on the wall?
We made these kind of documents not only for lasting memories
but for trying to entertain our future guests♪
We only have 20 sheets so far but it will be full in 10 years!! ( I think.)
Please come and check them especially if you had stayed with us before.
You may find yourself on them;)
What makes you to be excited when you travel abroad?
Talking about myself, it's definitely food!
Japanese are known as a gourmet, so even it's cheap, the quality is still good enough!
I'd like to introduce some of our "B-grade(cheap but tastes good)" foods today.
#1 Beef bowl☆
You might have eaten before in your country.
I see Tomo sometimes takes out for her lunch.
Not only beef bowl but some morning sets (we call it Asa-teishoku) are available.
If you want to try Japanese traditional breakfast such as rice, miso-soup, fish and pickles,
there is one near by;)
#2 Curry and rice
Different from Indian's one, we eat them with rice instead of naan.
Tsuyoshi often goes to Coco-ichi after his night shift.
We serve it here at our hostel at 500 yen anytime♪
#3 Oden
Have you ever tried this before?
I do not because there are many ingredients, unfortunately:(
If you go to any convenience stores, you will find oden in front of the counters.
You can order what you want and the shop staff will put them into a bowl with soup.
#4 Ramen
It is already known as Japan's most popular dishes
and Naoto&Tomo have it at least 2 days a week★
Ramen map is available at the front desk:)
Christmas is one of my favorite seasons♪
The reason is this↓↓
"akarium"(the name of this illumination) has started on 1st of December
and will be finished on 10th of January.
For the Christmas season, the theme is a "shooting stars".
When the Christmas is over, the theme is changing to "four seasons".
These pictures are taken by Kikty from Sakura House at Omote-sando.
I went to there a few days ago and it was so gorgeous!
It only take a bout half an hour by Ginza line from the hostel
and you can also enjoy shopping around:)
For more information, just click here.
We've started to serve homemade soup since last month.
At first, Tomo cooked it almost everyday but one day,
she suddenly appointed Johrel as the ministers of soup.
(I guess she just got bored with cooking:P)
I think he is fit for the post as the taste is great☆
Do not drink it all, Naoto.
The soup is for our guests!
Last week, we welcomed Kozue from Sakura Hotel Hatagaya as a one-day-trainee.
She tried to learn very hard.
I knew that we had something in common;)
Both of us had studied in San Diego before and once we started talking about it,
no one can stop us:P
Someday, we should visit there together and indulge in reminiscences★
Wine!!
Kathryn and her daughter gave us this bottle of wine with lovely message
when they checked out this morning.
According to them, it matches for beef♪
When shoud we open it, Tomoe??
Look at these lovely paper crafts↓↓
He made and left them this morning.
According to him, he's also working at a hostel in Australia and loves talking with people:D
He always told us the difference between his hostel and ours and it's very interesting.
Unfortunately, I can't say good-bye tomorrow but I'm waiting for your coming back.
Hi, Yuta has just came back to work today.
Can you see his bronzed skin?
He had been to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Viet Num fo about a month.
According to his impression, Laos is so nice country especially its scenery.
Of course, he had a great time in each countries.
As it's gonna be his last looooong vacation, he should make the most of his time☆
From the next spring, he'll be a new employee
and will be difficult to take such a long vacation like that:P
Where is your souvenir, by the way??
Tomo found our guest's coming by rickshaw today.
How cool!
Once you arrived at Asakusa station, you'll find many many ricksha man around the town.
It would be fun if you can try it but it's not so cheap.
Generally, it cost about 5000 yen for half an hour with their tourist information.
Do you think it's expensive?
Then how about try their trial course and it's just 3000 yen/2 persons for 10 minutes.
You can feel like you are the VIP?;)
I'm not forgetting to let you know but the last time was in May...sorry!
This is the ranking of the most visits from last monts↓↓
Even though it's unranked, our guests of last month are from 51 different countries:D
Alonso is from Costa Rica♪
He contacted us several times before checking in and brought some snacks as our request;)
Muchas gracias por los caramelos!
Trevor is from New Zealand (Maori).
We enjoyed talking with you.
Thank you for your lovely letters to all of our staff.
It was touching.
If you find your flag is missing when you check in, please let me know.
It means you are the first guest from your country and we'll make it for you;)
It was my day off yesterday and I went to see the colorful autumn leaves.
My home is close to Mt.Takao and it became very famous
after it appeared on The Michelin Guide in 2007.
When I arrived at the station there were already full of people...
BUT, I know the best spot for walking around and enjoy autumn leaves with no people;)
If you are interested in and would like to go, I'll let you know!
It is also good for cherry-blossom viewing in March and April♪
Do you know Jiu-Jitsu?
We have a big tournament in Tokyo today and tomorrow.
This is the second time to welcome the fighters from Guam for this tournament.
Though they are strong fighters (looking scary?), they are soooo polite and friendly.
Sakura Hostel Asakusa is now full of fighters!!
Do you like Winter?
I do not...:(
But I like sleeping with warm futon;)
Today, warm&confortable futon arrived for our guests.
Tsuyoshi and Naoto delivered them to each rooms.
Now, we are ready for the cold winter.
On the next day of all-in-one party, we had the other event at 300 bar in Ginza.
Our Ebi-chan was invited as a DJ and played with Mr Paul Dateh!!
How cool he is!
Unfortunately, I couldn't see him playing at that night
but I definitely go the next time;)
We had a really great time with a lot of people on 21st of november.
After Asakusa guided tour, everyone gathered together at Sakura Hostel.
#1 Origami lesson♪
Looks difficult?
No, not at all.
Just follow the teacher and you can make it☆
#2 Wear Kimono♪
Learn how to put Kimono and tell your friends when you go back to your home.
It's not so hard as you think.
★Three beautiful girls★
#3 Sushi Party!
Enjoy Arai-san's hand made sushi roll.
It's so lovely and taste so gooood!
Let's make your favorite hand-rolled sushi.
The most popular sushi item was tuna-mayo (tuna with mayonnaise).
#4 Paul Dateh's Live
Have you heard of his music?
Check it out↓↓
They played twice for us!
We'd like to say thank you for all the people who joined the party:)
When I came here this morning, I found these cute chocolates:)
As I was off yesterday, I had no idea to who these are belonging...
If I eat them without my co-worker's ”ＯＫ”, I would get some terrible punishment...:(
Now I know that these are from Andrea to Naoto.
Thank you, Andrea, I got his OK and gonna eat them up:P
One night, Johrel found clay at the office.
He made a cute elephant (for me?) and po-de-lion.
Hmmm, I can guess he was hungry at that night;)
What do you think the object behind my elephant?
One day, our cleaning staff (Arai-san) showed me this lovely sushi roll.
We call it "emaki-zushi" and it sometimes can be smiles, animals and so on.
She said she would show you how to make if she is free on 21st at the event.
The only sad thing was those were for her lunch, not mine...:P
This morning, she gave us some candies to us when she left:)
She gave us two different tastes.
I wanted to have lemmon flavor's one.
So, I took it.
Then, Naoto suddenly grabbed my arm and took it...:(
Poor me.
They are from J:COM, one of the CATV companies in Tokyo.
As they came in the morning and I couldn't talk with them so much.
I think they introduced our hostel to the audience.
Her voice was very cute☆
From 5AM to 11AM, it is our breakfast time:)
Every morning, fresh breads are derivered for it.
As they are long loaves, there are two crusts at both ends and
we usually throw them away...
One day, Mrs. Arai (our cleaning staff) brought them to her home
and made snacks for us;)
She fried until crisp and glaced.
Thank you Arai-san!
We enjoyed them and we hope you could make it again;P
Here in Japan, most of us have our own personal seals (hanko).
It's just like a signature and when we need to put our names on something,
we often use it.
For example, official documents, certificate of receipt and so on.
One day, our guests went to hanko shop
to make their name engraved on the surface of one end.
These would be good souvenirs☆
It is said that there are about 291,000 family names in Japan.
Which family name do you think is the most common name?
The answer is.........
Mr/Ms Satoh!!
If you call this name in a loud voice in Shibuya, two or three people will turn around:P
We have Mr. Satoh here;)
What do you think they are doing here?
They are shooting as you can see.
We only have little information about that movie now, so I'll let you know when I get more details.
I thought I could see some actors but I didn't...
Last Tuesday was a cultural day(national holiday) and we had an event around us.
As it was a beautiful day, I took a walk to take some photos♪
On the way to the festival, I found Ninjya!
Actually, they often appear around our hostel.
If you see them, just say hi or ask for a photo;)
Jidai Matsuri (Tokyo Historical Parade) is a costume procession which recalls
Tokyo's history and culture from the Heian era to the Meiji era.
They are from Army Procurement Agency of Japan↓↓
He is Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun of the Edo government.
On my way back, I found "Mito-Komon" and his delegation.
They are very very famous characters among Japanese irrespective of age and sex.
I took a few days off and went to Kamakura last week.
As Johrel's suggestion, it was really nice place to visit.
Here is the best temple I've ever been↓↓
It's Houkoku-ji temple, many many bamboos are growing close together.
So, we call it "bamboo temple"
Can you see a small house behind?
You'll be served green powdered tea and sweets there.
The light falling onto the stone statue through the bamboos.
A few minutes from Houkoku-ji temple, there is another temple called Jomyou-ji.
This temple also has a big tea-ceremony house.
People sit here with Matcha (green powdered tea) and great view from there.
When you mount a hill, you'll find a lovely cafe☆
Not only people but cats also can be relaxed...
Fresh fish are must-to-eat!
Only one hour train takes you to this "little Kyoto".
We've served instant soup for a breakfast but from yesterday,
Tomo's home(hostel?)-made soup is available♪
Don't be afraid and just try:P
You'll be surprised at that great taste!
Take a look at how she cooked.
?Chop, chop and chop.
?Sizzle, sizzle
?Ta-dah!!
Look delicious♪
First victims...oops!
First tasters↓↓
Hot hand-made soup make you get warm;)
If you'd like to make effective use of time in Asakusa,
this is it☆☆
As you can see, we have a fun event on 21st of November.
Asakusa guide tour→Sushi Party→Mini Live.
You'll be 100% satisfied with it♪
Even though it's called "mini live", Paul Dateh is the great artist.
Click his name and you'll love his music.
You shoudn't miss it if you are in Tokyo;)
Hi, Nienke!
How are you doing?
Your dad told me that you are working very hard;)
He gave me lovely ceramic box today.
I'll put some pierced earrings in it♪
Arigatou...
I like talking with you every morning☆
Next time, you should come with him!
Have a nice day!!
Matane...
Not Michael Jackson, but Michael James is our friend.
He dropped by this morning with doughnuts after watching Bledisloe Cup last night:D
Unfortunately, his country (AUS) lost the game but he is a half kiwi,
so he doesn't care about the result so much.
You should come again before going back to Melbourne；）
In October, we have a health checkup every year.
About two weeks prior, we sometimes care about our health (especially our weight)
and try to get our weight off:P
Some people change their diet, some people start walking, the others do nothing.
I stopped eating ice-cream for a while!
Now, we are waiting for the results and it's time to eat sweets again:D
Thank you, Kimberly! Tomoe and I enjoyed a lot♪
Ms.Iuldana purchased two our original T-shirts today!
She is interested in Japanese culture very much and ask us many many questions
we have never thought.
It's good for us to think together as we sometimes get to know new things about our own culture;)
Our sweet guests gave us these sweets today;)
How did you know our favorite snacks?
...maybe from this weblog:P
Anyway, thank you Rhomel for this cookies.
I enjoyed talking with you and see you someday in San Diego!!
Christian, you are so friendly and we are waiting for your coming back.
Let's dig in!!
On 3rd of November, our sister hotel in Ikebukuro will have a special event.
As it's a culture day, you can enjoy their Kimono display&sale with shyamisen parformance!
Let's click the photo ↑↑ and get more information!
Sometimes, our guests ask us about hair salons/barbers.
They are anxiously because it's a bit difficult to communicate with
Japanese hair stylists if they do not speak their language at all.
One day, two of our guests tried it at my recommended hair salon.
I was also worrying about them until they came back but...
Look!↓↓
How beautiful they are!
☆Before and After☆
Don't be afraid, all of the staff there are funny and have sophisticated skills;)
And they had a great time at the party that night...★
I'm also very happy to hear that♪
I thought it would became much bigger, so I just left it for a while.
One morning, I found it turned to be yellow...ripened too much:(
Next year, we'll try to get bigger ones!
We've been posting many many things on this weblog so far.
Which entry do you think the most that people give their comments to?
The answer is....this!
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2007/03/i_love_elephants.html
This entry was posted on March 17th in 2007.
Actually, I also posted the same title's entry in 2008.
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2008/04/i_love_elephants_vol2.html
Welcome to Sakura Hostel Asakusa and thank you for keep reading this weblog!!
We, sakura sisters, are always welcoming people from all over the world♪
Dressed in matching uniforms today★
Tomoe(left), Tomo(middle) and Yuri(right) with big smiles:D
And all were wearing different colors.
Which one do you like?
I like Tomoe's turquoise blue:)
Sakura Family↓↓
All of us have the other two colors.
Mitsuru(Shrimp)!!
Unfortunately, you are not working today...
Let us celebrate your birthday here;)
We went an ice-cream shop after work☆
Let's go there again!
It's very busy in the morning.
You look.....scary:P
with huge sake cup♪
......?
I hope you are having a great time now.
This post is irresistible for his fans;)
In spring, we have Sakura (cherry blossom) here and there.
What about now in Autumn?
Last weekend, I went to Showa Kinen Park to enjoy cosmea.
We call them cosmos (秋桜） which means autumn cherry blossom.
During the cosmos festival(?till 3rd of November),
we can see 5.5 million cosmoses there and it's too beautiful for words.
Though it was a bit crowded as it was sunday,
people were having fun in their own ways.
I think cosmoses here were much bigger than those in town.
a BIG photographer in the future;)
Access:
From Shinjuku, take JR Chuo Line (Ohme Limited Express).
40mins.
People say Narita Airport smells soy sauce.
Do you agree with it or smell something others?
Everytime I get back to Japan from the other countries, I remember it smelt Nori↓.
Does your airport have any smell?
In Japan, we have variety of soy sauce and some people are using it according to what they eat.
For example, this is for rice with raw egg.
&
Soooooo yummy:)
Also, we have soy sauce for...
Ice-cream
Grilled fish
Rice cake
Cabbage
Curry
and may be more!
Which one are you interested in the most?
Kirin Challenge Cup 2009 is held on 10th of October.
Japan face Scotland in Yokohama.
We have these scotish guests with national costume on today☆
I asked to take a picture together while check-in;)
Then, the other guests also started taking pictures with them.
They are now, very popular here!
We are friends!!......so far:P
On 24&25th, we have asia's biggest art event in Tokyo.
If you are interested in anything about arts, you might know it;)
Though we go this event every half a year,
we still can enjoy ourselves as there are always totally new things!
*unique galleries
*live show
*mini-theater
*fashion show...and more!
Tickets are available for our guests at the reception;)
Is there anyone who is going to join this cool event?
Dear Nicholas,
I just wanna say ”Ｍｅｒｃｉ” to you.
Me and Tomoe loved the wine you brought for us.
I don't know whether I can get it in Tokyo or not but will try to find it;)
Your place makes a great products!
Cool musicians from Australia stayed with us for a few days.
They had a Japan tour here in Tokyo and the other places.
↑↑Just finished their concerts;)
He told us that they are appearing in a METROPOLICE this week with a big photo!
Actually, he didn't know about this before coming.
It's you☆
Do you remember Clive?
He was working with us for about half a year since we opened this hostel.
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2007/01/thank_you_clive.html
I knew that we had a guest whose name is Clive yesterday
but I didn't expect that it was that Clive:D
As he is living in Okinawa island now, he brought us some local fruits and sweets♪
These fruits we are holding is called dragon fruits.
It's gonna be our afternoon snack today☆
Thank you Clive and I'm happy to meet you again!
You are on the weblog as you were anticipating:P
Didn't you lose your weight?
It might be difficult for you to remenber our prime minister as we change a lot.
After Mr.Koizumi cabinet(2001-2006), it have changed 4 times.
On 16th of September, Mr Yukio Hatoyama became our new prime minister.
I don't know how long he will work for us but his wife,
Miyuki Hatoyama is unique and worth to know;)
I hope she would play an important role not only for international community
but for peace and development .
It is said that she had abducted by aliens....:P
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♪
Have you ever heard about Cycle Messenger World Championships?
http://www.cmwc2009.com/en/index.html
A few days ago, I noticed that there were some racing bicycles in our storage
and was wondering whether any race is going on in Tokyo.
Tsuyoshi told me that we have a race called CMWC will be held in Tokyo on 22&23rd of September.
"The Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC), was first originated in Berlin in 1993, and since then on, the event has been hosted in different cities around the world. In year 2009, it will be the 17th annual event, and this historical event will finally be hosted by the members in Tokyo. During the CMWC, the daily work of messengers such as "Deliverly" will be simulated and competed through out the event. And at the same time, messengers from different cultural and historical background will unite to share their own experience.While the competitors are mostly messengers, the events and competitions are open to any one who is interested."
We have three participants staying with us now.
Veit and Fabian from Germany!!
Ralf from Germany, too☆
I hope all of you will have a nice and safe race!
Ichiro sets record with ninth 200-hit season!!
I believe that most of you know Ichiro even though you don't know about baseball so much.
He is the world-famous baseball player。
When I was in San Diego, I watched his game with my friends.
As I was sitting on the opposing side, I hesitated to support with a loud voice
but it seemed many Padres's fans loved him, too:)
Actually, I don't know much about baseball and can't imagine how hard it is.
I'm just proud of him in the same way as most Japanese.
Hi, Todd and friends!(I should have asked all of your names...sorry!)
It was nice to meet&talk to you:)
Have you arrived home safely this time?:P
From now, your tiger is always with me♪
My name tag is getting heavy with many happiness☆
Come back again!
Richard!!
Blue is very popular with our guests!
If you were working at a hostel in your country,
what kind of goods would you like to sell?
Post cards?
Magnets?
Chocolates?? :)
Hi, my name is Yuya:D
I love to meet people and talk wiith people who are friendly tourist from all over the world.
Please come down and tell me about your beautiful travels.
Yuya.
**********************************************
He is new night shift staff.
It's too short to know about you!
Where have you been so far?
What's your like/dislike?
I'm waiting for your next post;)
Yuri
Do you know or have you ever used high pressure washer?
This cool machine is Karcher high-pressure cleaner and we just got it★
Tsuyoshi and Naoto tried it outside and it looked fun!
I took it from them and cleaned some tiles but...
I found more interesting things to be done;)
Smoking is not good for you, Vincent:P
In July, our goya (bitter gourd) got flowers.
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2009/07/first_flower.html
And then, they produced some fruits like this ↓↓
That's what we've been waiting so long☆
Isn't it cute?
I took three of them and brought to my home to cook it♪
This is called "goya-chample", local dishes in Okinawa island:)
Thank you my mom for cooking.
Some of our staff loved it but the others coudn't because it's a bit bitter.
Good for your health, anyway.
Hmmm...next year, I want to have more sweet fruits.
We have consecutive holidays which is called Golden week in May
and it's normally about for 5 days.
In this September, we got another one and call it Silver week;)
It starts from 20th to 24th for four days but if you take two days off on Thursday&Friday,
it comes to 9 days off♪
What would you do if you could take 9 days off?
I have many things what I wanna do.
One of them came true today.
It is this↓↓New trash can was delivered this morning!
Have you ever tried to get inside a trash can?
It's big enough for normal people but I just didn't have a chance till now.
Actually, I asked Tomoe to try together but she said no.
Hmmm...once is enough:P
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;)
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☆
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!
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)
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
15mins later...
We were stuffed.
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:)
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!!
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!!
My name is Yuri, Lily in English.
In Nagano, there is a place called Yuri-no-sato(Lily land).
Look at this beautiful view!
About 5 million lilies are in broom☆★☆
Also, they have 30 kinds of lilies there!
Which one do you like?
My favorite is white one♪
As here is ski resort druing winter, you can go up the hill by the lift.
I came back refreshed and happy to be my name Yuri;)
We received a big box today.
What's inside, Tomo??
Let me check it!
There are pleanty of sweets and cute staff:D
Thank you, John.
This is a birthday gift for us, right?
Welcome to our sushi party!!
We are ready to make hand-rolled sushi☆
Do you find something your favorite from here?
I like salmon with avocado.
Let's start!!
Don't worry, we have enough stock;)
People look serious when they make.
Isn't it so hard?
Wow! You are professional★
...half an hour later.
Now, it's time to go and watch Hanabi♪
Please follow Tomo, be careful not to get lost.
"Aian beauty"
Tamayaaaaaaa!!
Till lately, one of my dream was to get marry the CEO of Haagen Dazs.
When I was tennnager, my breakfast was always ice-cream (Rum raisin!) and
there were many stocks in the fridge.
Now, I'm working and I rediscover that I'm adult everytime I buy Haagen Dazs
because it's a bit expensive for a student.
On 17th of July, they opened a new shop in Ginza.
↑La Maison Ginza
I haven't tried there yet but I checked their website and found that it's a paradice for me♪
I should go the next payday!
I don't think I can get marry him any more but I just wanna say
thank you for this great job to him;)
Welcome back, Tomooooooooo!
I was waiting for.......
Sweeeeets!!
Are you in Japan on 22nd of July?
If so, you should look up the sky to observe solar eclipse.
Oh, please do not forget to use special sun filters!
The more you go to the South, the more you can see the perefct solar eclipse.
Also, you will see fantastic phenomena like this↓
I hope it would be sunny day on the 22nd☆
To us:D
Sakura Hostel Asakusa turned to be 3 years old yesterday.
I'm wondering how many guests we had so far...
Though we sometimes faced some difficulties, we are still happy to work here.
We had many many striking (and funny?) guests for this three years.
Unfortunately, I can't say exactly who they are:P
If you have some advice for us, please feel free to give us comments!
Also, I wanna say thank you for all of you who are reading this weblog.
Who is falling down??
You must be sleepy Naoto...
You should have had enough sleep before night shift☆
HELLO!
My name is SAKURA from SAKURA HOTEL HATAGAYA.
Today is my second training day at ASAKUSA HOSTEL.
I love here!
Very friendly staff , Nice location, Big Window, Lovely cuckoo clock, Happy mood front desk.
I enjoy the atmosphere here!!
Let me introduce myself.
I have worked Hatagaya since September 2008.
Another Job is teacher of dancing class.
Now I am crazy about belly dance…
That's why, I went to the Egypt to see real Belly dance and study it.
I will talk about it hatagaya blog next time.
Thank you.
Sakura
Do you think it's expensive to eat in Japan?
Compared with the other countries, though the size is small,
the price is the same or more expensive.
Then, I reccomend you to go to universities for your lunch.
I don't know much about universities in your country,
our universities have nice cafeterias on campus.
As Japanese students eat a lot but are saving their money (in general),
everything is easy-on-the-pockets;)
Click where you wanna go↓↓
Shinjuku Area
Kogakuin University
Shibuya Area
Aoyama University
Ikebukuro Area
Rikkyo University
Our cleaning staff, Yaeko bought Chinese Lantern (we call it Hozuki) this morning.
On the 10th of July is called Yonman-rokusennichi (Day of 46,000 Blessings)
and it has a big benefit.
If you visit and pray on this day, you'll get the same benefits
as praying every day for 46,000 days!
Of course, I did it this morning because I'm a lazy girl:P
This fair was held yesterday and today at Senso-ji temple for two days only.
You missed this event?
Then you should wait till next year.
I'll try to let you know in advance;)
Do you remember that we planted bitter gourd in May?
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2009/05/flowers_for_the_summer.html
When I was watering our plants this morning,
I found one of them had a cute yellow flower!
It means we'll have goya soon!
I can't wait;)
Last night, Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro had a party
and Shrimp (ebi-chan) joined it before working.
As they changed the menu, participants could enjoy new meals♪
Please click here to check their new menu!
They are putting Tanzaku (small piece of paper) with their wishes☆
I hope my wish comes true!
Are you trying to climb Mt Fuji this summer?
If you'd like to see sunrise, you need to stay on the way to the top.
Every stations have some lodges and you can choose where to stay.
I recommend you to book in advance;)
http://fujisan.yamakei.co.jp/en-yellowpage01.html
↑This site would be very helpful for Mt. Fuji climbers.
What's your plan for this summer?
I'll introduce how to enjoy Japan's summer;)
#1 Hanabi (fireworks)
We love to watch fireworks in Summer.
On 25th of July, we'll have sushi&hanabi party at out hostel.
Anyone who are staying at Sakura Hostels&Hotels and tenants of Sakura House are welcomed!
Come and join us with your favorite drinks♪
Actually, we have many many fireworks festivals here and there.
If you are here in Japan from July to October,
you should check the town information through some free papers or their websites.
#2 BEEEEEEEECH!!
As Japan is the country surrounded by sea, we have some nice places for
surfing, swimming, relaxing and so on...
This is my recommended magazine below↓↓
You'll find what you need for Japan's summer easily.
We have one here, so you can ask anytime if you have an interests.
#3 Mt. Fuji
It's a standard as Mt Fuji is opening only during summer.
Have you ever climbed to the top?
Yes, I did!
It means, anyone can try;)
I don't wanna try it anymore, though it was a great experience...
#4 Horror movie
I HATE them but Japanese prefer to watch horror movies
to get a shiver up their spine.
If you watch it, please do not tell me about it.
On 30th of June, Sakura Hotel Hatagaya has just opened a brand new cafe.
Mr Kondo, the manager of Hatagaya, loves Rock music as you can see this photo below.
It will be much more sophisticated by the end of this year!
I ordered his (Mr. Kondo) recommended iced coffee.
Hmmm, next time, I'll have an apple pie with ice-cream!!
Tokyo is in the middle of rainy season right now.
We understand it's sad if you have rain while you are traveling...
but don't worry!
We have some information file for you;)
You can still enjoy Tokyo without getting wet.
Birthday!!
Yeah:D
You look sooooo happy with your favorite snacks.
can you guess how old she turned to be?
Twenty.....
EIGHT!!
You are not young enough to have snacks that much everyday:(
Please improve your diet;)
New Caledonia!!
and now I understand why people call it like "the island nearest to the heaven".
Do you want to know what we did in the island??
1.Eat
2.Drink (of course, wine!)
3.Relax (sleeping and lying on the beach)
Sometimes, we took a walk in the city, Noumea.
There were crowded with local people at Place de Cocotiers.
We also got some oranges.
Cathedrale Saint Joseph sit on the hill.
Anyone can go inside.
Some people were praying, the others were just relaxing like us.
We found a pretty chocolate shop on the street.
He gave us a nice smile:)
Of course, I bought some cookies and chocolates for myself;)
This is the famous Marche in Noumea.
It opens almost everyday from the early morning till noon.
Not only locals but tourists can also enjoy their shopping.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, many kinds of fish, snacks, craft arts....everything is there!
People there like baguettes for their lunch.
It could be both my lunch and dinner...looooong!
He is the cutest boy I met on this trip;)
So affable.
Southern Cross.
You rarely see them from Japan.
This photo is taken by Hideya Nakai.
Thank you for your cooperation;)
Do you know Star Festival?
We call it Tanabata and the meaning is...let's google it!
According to Wikipedia,
it celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair).
The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky,
separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year
on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar.
Since the stars come out at night, the celebration is held at night.
People generally celebrate this day by writing wishes on tanzaku, small pieces of paper,
and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations.
Let's take a look at what our staff wrote on them;)
It's easy to guess who wrote it
Yes, you are correct!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
!!!YURI-CHAN!!!
VS
Tomorrow, we'll have forth-round football match in Australia.
Which do you think win?
Japan has already got a ticket to the next World cup
but I hope Japan could win in the hostile territory.
Haiti!!
Do you know anything about their country?
I'm ashamed to say, I know nothing about Haiti...
I just google it and now I know it has a difficult history but is a beautiful country
Do you remember him?
Yuta was working with us a year ago but quit to focus on his job huntng.
And now, he just came back and is gonna spend his summer with us and you;)
Though it's hard to find a job in Japan now, he got a job!
Good job, Yuta!!
Enjoy your last summer as a student.
You should keep working anyway after you graduate...:P
Sakura House just opend the new guest house, Asakusa-4 near by.
It's just a few minutes walk from Sakura Hostel,
so I'm just wondering if I live there, I don't have to worry about to be late for work anymore:P
It has 6 rooms and this one
Hi, Paul san!!
Welcome to sakura hostel again;)
He(second right) is a repeat customer and just dropped by to say hi to us with Downy today!
Why Downy?
Because Tomoe forgot to buy them in Hawaii, Paul got them instead:P
Unfortunately, he doesn't stay with us this time but it's soooo nice to see you again.
He just got married
#1 Tomo!!
Yes, you are so cuuuuute:P
#2 Tsuyoshi!!
Hmmmm...whatever.
#3 Tomoe!!
Is this your own dress?
#4 Naoto!!
You can't put your hands down, can you?
#5 Yuri!!
I thought it suited me more...
#6 Shrimp!!
You are spooky:(
#7 Jack!!
Your daughter will cry if she see you.
#8 Johrel
You are the best among the guys;)
#9 Eiro
You should try one more time!
Again, we are very busy all the time:P
One guest left her dress here.
Why not try to wear?
Hi, Brian.
I just heard about you that you are one of the best reader of this weblog.
You should give some comments from now;)
Also, I'd like to say thank you for your sweets and snacks..
We are enjoying them a lot.
While you are in Tokyo, please come to see us anytime when you are free.
Have a nice day!
Anna and Dayna are good friends and always having fun♪
Today, they asked me to help wearing Yukata.
They got these Yukata only for 1050 yen!
It was a little bit difficult to help them even I learnt how to wear.
Can you see something stick out of his head?
Could you turn around, Etienne?
Oh, that's chopsticks!!
I saw Tomoe was doing the same thing with pencil before, though.
He is always ready to give you chopsticks;)
Did you know that our sister company, Sakura House, has started their weblog.
It's very interesting to read and if you are looking for a room to stay for more than a month,
I do recommend you to ask them.
They are always ready to help you;)
Miya and Ming from South Korea were staying with us for abou10 nights.
They came to Tokyo for running a booth at Design Festa.
When they came back from one day trip, they said that "I feel like I'm coming home".
It made me soooo happy:D
Jack got one of their work with some cute comments♪
If you are interested in their art works, please visit their website from here;)
click here→BLANK
??
26th of May.
27th of May
Look! Look!↑↑
My sunflowers are growing up so quickly.
It's just because I put a lot of love into them:P
I need to thin out some of them from here, though...
I can't choose:(
My anxiety now is who is going to take care of them
during my vacation next month.
Have you ever heard about "the best job in the world" in Hamilton Island?
Or did you happen to apply for this job offer?
If you get this job, you can live in the beautiful Hamilton Island for half a year with your family
and will be paid about $110,000 as an island taker.
Taking care of the island and reporting to a global audience
through weblogs with photos and videos are the main job.
I watched the tv program about this competition last night and
I was just wondering if anyone who was reading this weblog had interests.
One Japanese woman, Mieko, had selected as one of the finalist.
It depends on the person which job is the best.
I think if you can say your job is the best in the world,
that's the best no matter what anyone tells you;)
How about you?
Finally, Eiro found his missing younger brother!!
He had been looking for him for more than 10 years and he turned up as a guest last month.
Eiro told us that he used to be much shorter than him but now...
Hmmm...the environment makes people.
According to the T-shirt, Eiro's brother is looking for Japanese girlfriend.
Anybody has an interest?
I found that his hair was a fake one:P
Summer is coming.
It means it's time to make a plan for our summer vacation!
This is our shift schedule for four months (from June to September)
and we can put × where you want to take days off.
Most of us haven't decided where&when to go yet but Tomo put many many ×in July.
Where do you think she is going?
We'll wait for her answer here;)
If we find someone put new ×, we ask him/her where to go.
I put ×in June but it's not for a summer vacation, just a vacation:P
We are trying not to have a schedule conflict
but the rule is simple...
First come, first served!!
What are you planting, Tsuyoshi?
Do you remember that we grew heavenly blues last summer?
These are those seeds we got from them so in other words, it's a second-generation♪
Also, we try to grow bitter gourd (we call it Nigauri) this year.
I'm wondering whether I can gather many nigauri and cook it for our guests;)
In addition, I'm taking care of mini sunflowers now.
↑I just planted 6 of tiny seeds here.
I'm really looking forward to meeting the flowers!
Did you know that you can ride on this cute Panda bus?↑↑
I was just wondering where it goes around but Tsuyoshi told me that
anyone can take this for free♪
He should have told me earlier:(
Anyway, this bus is available in fromt of Hanayashiki amusement park (1min from our hostel!)
and it goes to Asakusa station and the ferry landing as well.
Inside is like this...normal:)
The driver was funny guy and he gave us some questions.
If you have the correct answer, you'll get the free bus coupon for a year! :P
He speaks only Japanese, though.
Now, I got a free ride to the station★
Timetable is available at our hostel, so please feel free to ask us;)
Hi! My name is Mitsuko.
I am coming from Sakura Hotel Hatagaya.
I am working at Sakura Hotel Asakusa for 2 days training.
I'm very exsited to talk with Customers (from many countries).
People here are very nice!!!
Now, we have one of the biggest Festivals in Tokyo starting from 15th
and it's the last day today!
When I walked through the Sensoji temple at 6:30 in the morning,
so many people were already there and waiting for Mikoshi's set out.
Eiro, who loves this festival dropped by with his friends.
This is a kind of uniform for Japanese traditional festival.
Aren't they cool?
Fortunately, rain had stopped and people would have parties
here and there until midnight:)
As Tomo posted on the 9th, Tomoe was in Hawaii and just returned to work today:)
She is not so tanned as we've expected but looks very refreshed;)
We got some nice cookies and nuts from her♪
*Mahalo means thank you in Hawaii.
Look at this masterpiece↓↓
Who drew it?
Yes, it's my cousin's daughter, Aki-chan♪
She is 5 years old and the cutest girl in the world:P
This picture is my idle screen now☆
This is our first time to be bitten by a mosquito this year:(
I got two and Naoto got one.
I didn't know that mosquitos are already awakened.
I hate their hollow booming!
Fortunately, we had an anti-itch cream here and it worked well:)
You can borrow it if you want;)
Isn't she Tomo?
And isn't he Daniel who is taking an interview by Nights?
Yes, they were on TV at Tokyo MX TV on 26th of April.
Anyone who watched that program?
The famous comedians (I didn't know them, though...), Nights, came to search our hostel.
Some of our guests were also on TV;)
It's kind of weired to see someone I know well on TV:P
Don't worry, Daniel.
I'll send you a DVD for you.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of its opening of the Port of Yokohama.
Yokohama city is now holding a big event to commemorate it.
On the first day, 28th of April, I went to see this event.
I found huge spider moving!!
I had no idea why spider was here but it's worth seeing:)
At night. you'll enjoy this giant ‘earth balloon' using images of light and sound.
How about going there?
More info?
Click one of picture above;)
I usually work morning shift but on last Saturday,
Naoto and I changed our shifts and I worked evening shift.
As the atmosphere was totally diffrent from the daytime,
I did enjoy myself with our guests.
Normally, people are out during my working hours and they start to come back around 8pm.
Our rounge area is always abuzz and they look fun♪
I wished I could have drunk with them!
About 80 percent of our guests are from France now.
So, we are trying to learn some French, at least numbers.
Compared with Spanish, it's very difficult for Japanese to pronounce...
Sometime, they become our teachers like this↓↓
Eiro is trying to say "your welcome" in French but...
it seems he can't pronounce it correctly:P
Merci♪
It's not rare that Naoto is doing something weired
but what do you think he is doing?
It seems he is trying to find something under the vending machine.
He knew that there are many coins:)
He said it came to about 1200 yen in total!
We put those money here↓↓
Thank you for your cooperation:P
What are they doing so seriously?
Seems like they're playing a game...
... seems like Tsuyoshi lost.
Hey guys, you have to go back to work.
As Hirotaka has requested (see the weblog posted on 8th of April),
we got chocolates from our guests.
I ate so many kinds of chocolates from all over the world
but I can't say which is the best.
Hiro, I'm not sure whether you can take some because we can eat them all now.
When is your next shift?
Next Sunday? I'm very Sorry:P
Are you okay??
Please give some comments to cheer her up!
She is sick in bed today:(
We all hope that you will get well soon.
Don't worry, nobody goof off the job so far;)
Oops!
Hmmm, you should come back as soon as possible.
Don't worry, I'll visit our Sensou-ji Temple and pray for you on the way back home today★
Some guests told me how nice the STUDIO GHIBLI museum was.
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to take pictures inside
but I could understand how they had a great time there by their faces:)
This picture above is taken by Eiro.
He also went there about a week ago.
I heard that there is a short film which you can watch only at that museum.
Hmmmm....I think I gotta go.
If I were 3 years old, I could ride on Neko(cat)-Bus☆
Do you remember Tempei(right side) ?
He was the staff here for a few months but quit for studying.
As he is very friendly, he got some friends while working and Daniel is one of them;)
One of our repeat guests, Daniel is leaving tomorrow and
they went to Tokyo dome to watch the baseball game together.
Daniel knows most of our staff not only us but who already left here.
If Shinji reads this weblog, please give some comments for him;)
What I want to eat now is this↓↓
It's called Sasebo burger and original from Sasebo city in Nagaseki.
What's the difference between normal burger and Sasebo's one?
According to Sasebo's tourist information site,
the big difference is always homemade.
Some shops bake their own buns, and the burger is grilled after the order is taken.
If you have a big hunger, you can't wait:P
In Tokyo, there are a lot of restaurants for Sasebo burgers.
Anyone who already tried it?
When I was watching TV a few days ago, I heard some unfamilier words from it.
Such as JC, JK, Oke-ru...
Are they Japanese or English? Or some different languages?
Can you guess what they mean?
JK is not John F. Kennedy:P
JC is not Jesus Christ.
JK is Joshi-Kousei!!
Joshi=Girls
Kousei=high school students
Well, then JC means Joshi-Chugakusei.
Chugakusei=Junior high school students
They say, fake school uniforms are very popular among JK(should I put "s" for it?) now.
In Tokyo, there is a school uniform shop called Conomi
and you can find your favorite style.
Of course, they have their own school uniforms but after school.
they change clothes to fake one or just arrange it to their "original" style.
If you see JK wearing uniforms around Shibuya, it might be a fake one.
Did you notice that one new guy is working with us from last Dec.
Let me introduce him today☆
]
Hi, Everyone!!
Nice to meet you all.
As you see me in this picture, night sift here at SAKURA HOSTEL is really really demanding.
My dear glasses are always barely hanging from my face like this at the end of the sift.
I even sometimes see Jesus Christ coming from up in the sky to pick me up at the end of the sift.
But I Enjoy working here coz I meet interesting people every day from all over the world.
Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that it's a very nice thing to be kind enough to give our night staff a small gift with love like a piece of chocolate or something.
I will be waiting for your visit and chocolate!!
Ciao Ciao.
It's been a while since we had personnel exchanges.
Today and tomorrow, Hiro from Sakura Hotel Hatagaya is working with us:)
How are you all going today? Im Hiro Araki from Sakura Hotel Hatagaya and am here in Asakusa for `2day Training session`.
Last weekend one of my best friends had a beautiful wedding ceremony in Shirogane, Tokyo. It was a traditional type of wedding and there were about 150ppl that turned up. I caught up with heaps of `way back` friends from my primary school. It was absolutely one of the best times!
I hope you enjoy your great time in Tokyo!!
Cheers!!
Hiro Araki
I can see two ooooooooooold faces behind him:P
As you can see on this picture above, we had many Thai people in the last month.
This month also, there are a lot of bookings from them.
One of the reason is their new year's (called sonkuran) according to the old calendar.
It starts 13th of April for three days but before and after 10 days, some of them take a long vacation.
Actually, my friend in Thailand is taking a vacation for a month(envy!)
and visiting her friend in Switzerland.
What would you do if you could take a month-long holidays?
What do you think it is?↑↑
Hint is...
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/2009/01/soooo_cute.html#comments
Yes, it is salt-and-pepper shakers but the big difference is they are ☆elephants☆
How lovely they are!
Now, I have two sets of shakers at home...
Ebi-chan and Johrel were working over night and this morning,
Johrel showed me this picture above↑↑
Can you guess what happened to him?
He tried to eat an eclair this early morning but cream inside was spilled out....
and he could eat only half of it:P
Hahaha:D
I like this his shy face;)
Let me tell you about our Hanami party on last Saturday.
Before going to the partk, we made Sushi rolls together↓↓
They made their original rolls and it looked delicious:)
Itadaki ma-su!
How's your sushi?
When we started the party, there were about 20 people.
About 1 hour later, we were about 40 people!
Do you guys have enough space?
By the way, are you enjoying the beauty of the flowers?
Tomo's pasta was good!!
Thank you for joining us. I hope you did have a great time☆
As you know, we'll have a party and make some sushi rolls at the hostel.
Of course, anyone staying with us, all guests of our sister hotels
and tenants of Sakura House are welcomed:)
In addition, Tomo will cook Pasta (butterbur sprout pasta with cream sauce) for you.
Don't be afraid, it's just only for a few people and I prepare instant sauce just in case;P
Also, you can have a real one at Sakura hotel Ikebukuro during Spring.
If you are coming late, it would be no problem.
Please drop by our reception and we'll let you know where to go.
I hope tomorrow will be much warmer☆★☆
As I noticed, Japan became champion again!
It was my day off and I was watching that game on TV♪
Though I'm an instant baseball fan and now I understand that rule very well.
The next time I go to the States, I'll go and watch a baseball game.
Maybe, at PETCO park stadium in San Diego;)
Tomorrow will be a big day for Japanese baseball fans☆
Japan won and went to the semifinals which is held in L.A.
It is the fifth time to have the game with South Korea.
So far, we got even but I believe our victory!
This is from the last year but we can see the same one tomorrow;)↓↓
As one of our weblog readers pointed out that this weblog is slow these days,
I gotta post a new one today;)
Let me introduce the meal (side dish) I often make and eat at home.
It's called Bagna càuda, I believe it's Italian food.
With this yummy sauce, you can eat any kind of vegetables:)
Moreover, it's super easy to make it♪
Boil and chop garlic→chop anchovy paste→put them into the pot and add olive oil
→boil it and mix together
Just be careful because you'll get garlic odor for sure;)
Yesterday, Sakura house held the event at Sakura hotel Ikebukuro.
At this event, people could wear kimono and had a tea ceremony lesson.
I just joined that event in the middle to take some photos.
When I got there, some girls already wore kimono and they looked excited★
As a Japanese, I feel happy to see their smiles with kimono.
All the girls brought their cameras (of course!) and took many many pictures each other.
Unfortunately, this event was only for ladies bacause size of the kimono was M or smaller.
But it would be nice if you take your girlfriend, sister or mother;)
The next time we have it, I'll let you know here♪
Before or after they had a tea ceremony lesson, they had a lunch together.
↑It seemed much harder to make a "good" tea than they expected↓
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, cherry trees fully blossom
about a week after they start to bloom.
So, we decide to have it on 28th of March this year♪
This time will be a little bit different than usual.
We'll make our sushi before and bring it to the park where the party is held.
Of course, you can bring anything you want to eat under beautiful cherry trees.
Please don't hesitate and just join us;)
It must be fun!
People say that February was warmer than normal (I don't think so, though).
It must be getting warmer but thesedays,
we sometimes had rain or snow and we all miss sunshine:(
Where my spring is?
We almost make a plan for cherry blossom viewing party.
Sorry for keeping you wait, Daniel;)
According to weather forecast, it should get warm next week☆
It's a good news for me who is extremely sensitive to cold.
Click here↓↓↓
http://www.sakura-hotel-ikebukuro.com/blog/
Our sister hotel, Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro has just started their weblog★
Please check it out and send some comments!
I'll keep an eye on it;)
I might have told you but please don't forget about this weblog, too:P
It's time to announce the result again:)
G'day mate!
As we expected, AUS is the top!
Though the football game was end in a draw, all suporters looked enjoy their stay♪
????, 謝々★
This month, many many asian people came and stay with us as you can see.
Actually, South Korea and Taiwan is the same rank.
Hola, amigo.
I thought that we had more mexican in Feb. but they were ranked 18th...
Anyone who wants to know which rank your country was?
You are NOT allow to smoke anywhere inside Sakura hostel.
It's gonna be a big problem if you smoke in your room and
activate a fire alarm system as this poster says...
Please come down for smoking at our terrace or in front of the entrance.
Thank you for your cooperation:)
Finally, two Japanese films, "Departures(Okuribito)"
and "Tsumiki no Ie" won the Oscar.
Have you watched them already?
It seems Japanese are so excited about this great news.
I was so touched from the speech of Kate Winslet who won the oscar for the best actress.
What she said was sometimes so cute;)
We are now in the transition period from analog to digital broadcasting
and it will be completed by July 2011.
I thought that I could use my TV as long as possible and buy new one
two years later or something but it was broken suddenly(><)
You may know there are so many kinds of flat-screen TVs.
I got the third one, Tomoe got the forth one and Tsuyoshi just bought the last one today!
I gotta buy DVD recorder the next♪
TV is getting thinner and wider.
I believe that in near future, it will become like a paper and easy to carry around.
One day I came here to work, I found some guns on the table.
Everytime guests leave something, it's gonna be our toys for a while.
Especially, Naoto...
Are you looking for a job now?
If so, please take a look at this website which you might know already.
Daijob.com
On 20th and 21st, they have a career fair for bilinguals.
Sakura group is also attending this big event and Tomo is now there:)
I heard that she is working as an interviewer.
Have you seen her?
It's not only for Japanese bilinguals but for foreigners
who are interested in working in your country with your Japanese.
I hope this would be a good information for you;)
Have you ever seen people wearing this kind of clothes in Japan?
Sometimes, our guests ask us where to buy them.
It seems they look cool for them.
This is a kind of uniform for construction workers and scaffolding workers.
They say knicker bockers are vaery confortable and easy to walk around.
There are some shops where you can get these items
but Toraichi(寅壱 ) is the most famous brand
for knicker bockers.
I was taking days off and went to hot springs.
Hot springs in Winter is perfect!!
I feel so relaxed and refreshed.
Before taking train when I went back to Tokyo,
I went to footbath just behind Hakone-Yumoto station.
I do reccommend you to go there if you have a chance to go to Hakone area.
It's called Kappa-Tengoku and it cost only 200 yen.
You can be get warmed by just soaking your foots in that natural hot spring.
I found funny Hello Kitty (picture above↑) at Oowakudani :)
Thank you for the sweets, Michael, Phillip and Andrew.
Fortunately, there are only three girls staff here and one of them(Tomo) can't eat chocolates,
this will be for me and Tomoe;)
Yum, yum☆
Also, this box filled with candies are from Michaela♪
Hmmmm...I can get weight easily...but thank you so much.
I'll eat them anyway.
Our guests make my tea time enjoyable:)
We had a big group from Spain first half of this month and they are lively and friendly♪
Normally, Tsuyoshi doesn't join the party and has a logical and judicial type of mind.
BUT, one night, Johrel found Tsuyoshi was dancing with these spanish girls ↑↑
when he was back from his break time.
It was around 2AM.
I wish I were there and took a picture!
Our guests are from all over the world and have such a great variety of characters☆
I can't say which is the best but I think I'm very lucky person to be here as a staff:)
Gracias!!
If you are a football supporter, you should know we have a big match on 11th in Yokohama.
Japan VS Australia!!
More than half of our guests are now, from Australia and
they are members of Green and Gold Army(GG Army)
They are wearing this uniform all the time.↑↑
Tomoe said that there are many Australian around the town.
I'm not a big fan of a football but I hope Japan would win the game:P
Sometimes, our guests find something strange on the street
and bring it to the hostel for some reason.
When I arrived at the hostel this morning, I found a big blue ball on the counter.
What do you think it was?
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
Yes, it was a globe, unfortunately:(
I'm wondering how he found it and why globe was on the street.
Please leave things you find as it was or bring to a police box.
Tomo doesn't know what to do for this.
Have you ever seen inside of vending machines?
We have some in the lounge and we replenish sold-out stocks everyday.
This is beer machine↓↓
It seems a lot of our guests had beer last night as well:)
I wish we had an ice-cream machine here...☆
Australia!!
In January, we had many many Aussie here.
It's almost twice as much as French though we had a big French group
first half of this month.
It seems Feburary will be the same result.
Our sister hotel, Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro is going to start their weblog soon.
Sariko(left) and Kayoko(right) will be the main posters:)
Let's read and comment on:)
But, please don't forget about this weblog!
Their weblog will be started in this month!
Have you ever tried one of Japan's most popular dishes, Beef bowl at Yoshinoya?
The history of Yoshinoya is very old and now, you can have it outside of Japan,
such as USA, Singapore, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and so on.
There are so many branches in Japan (I don't know exactly how many they are)
but I just found the first one.
It was in Tsukiji, inside the famous Tsukiji Fish market.
I didn't know that it was the first one but now I understand why their motto is
"Fast, Cheap and Tasty".
If you have a chance to go to Tsukiji fish market, it is a good idea to have some fresh Sushi
but if you think it's above your budget, try beef bowl there:)
