Sakura House Staff Blog

• When using the Subway in Tokyo you should be aware that the transport system is quite complicate to understand. In fact there are several private lines covering the Tokyo underground network. In central Tokyo, there are 3 companies you should know :

1. JR Lines (Japan Railways - covers the whole Japanese territory) ( http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf )
2. Tokyo Metro (9 lines)
3. Toei Lines (4 lines)  ( for both : http://www.tokyometro.jp/rosen/rosenzu/pdf/rosen_eng.pdf )

           

                

There are quite a lot of lines and the "underground world" in Tokyo is huge!! Impressive!! So you shouldn't worry if you get lost at the beginning, or if you take the wrong train. It also happened to me!

In my opinion, the best way to travel in Tokyo is using a prepaid card, instead of buying a ticket each time you take the train. These cards are called "PASMO" and "SUICA". You can buy them at the ticket machines. When buying one, you will need 2000 yen. (500 yen for the deposit // 1500 yen will automatically be charged on your card for the first use)

                           

You can also buy a daily ticket, but in that case you should better be sure to use the train at least 5 times a day to make profit of it. BUT, those daily tickets are only valid for 1 company :

1. Tokyo Metro costs 1000 yen (for adults)
2. Toei lines costs 700 yen (for adults)
3. JR Tokyo Metropolitan District Pass costs 730 yen (for adults)

A so called "Tokyo Round Tour Ticket" also does exist. This daily ticket offers you the possibility to use all lines in the center of Tokyo. But as it is really expensive, I don't recommend it to you (..1580 yen, for adults) Nevertheless, if you should be interested, you can get it at the JR stations.

^^WARNING^^
What you have to keep in mind and really be careful about is that you should avoid to use different companies to get somewhere. You should better try to reach one station by only using the trains of 1 company! Otherwise it will get expensive as you will have to buy a new ticket when changing the company... which you will normally only notice at the end of your journey... So please, beware!

 

Useful information on the Tokyo transports can be found on the following websites:
JR: http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/index.html
Tokyo Metro: http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/index.html
Toei Subway: http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/english/index.html

On a cloudy sunday, I went ice skating in Tokyo....

After renting the ice skates and putting my belongings into a locker, I walked towards the ice rink. As I finally reached it, I was really surprised by how crowdy it was! 

I felt like.. "What the hell are you doin', guys? Are you crazy, this is too dangerous!", thinking of people falling and getting cutted into pieces >_<! (Like in Hollywood Blockbuster epic action scenes) You have to understand that it looked really dangerous! Then I remembered I'm in Japan, which is meaning that it's hard to find an entertaining place that isn't crowded during the week-end. So, I just felt like it's normal and I started "skating", if you can call it that way... <..you know what I mean..>

I was trying to put one feet in front of the other without hurting anybody. With kids who didn't took care of anything, faster and slower people skating in every possible direction, I felt like ants in an ant hill! People were falling at every time, dragging other people down with them, as the place was overfilled... But they were all laughing like "haha, I almost cutted your finger, sorry"...  

-----------------------------------------------

I was stunned by those reactions. In some other country, people would have been angry and would have shouted at you immediately!  But here, there was no sign of anger. I liked it that way, even if I still think you must be crazy to skate on such an ice rink.

These days, ice skating became very popular in Japan! This is mostly due to the Vancouver winter Olympic games and the interest Japanese people developed in the figure skating athletes Mao Asada and Kim Yu-Na, who respectively won silver and gold medal. Which maybe explains why there was such a horde of people on the ice...

But I must say that, even if I almost left the land of the living a thousand times (or more), I had a lot of fun skating and falling and laughing with everybody!!

The Emoticons (Smiley) are used in the sentences of e-mails and writings.

It is started in USA but In Japan, the emoticons have been developed differently from U.S.A .

Now, In Japan, there are  thousands of emoticons. You can express your feeling with emoticons in so many ways.

A major difference between Japanese emoticons and western emoticons is that Japanese emoticons can be seen vertically but western emoticons is horizontally.

Japanese emoticons have more variation than eastern emoticons becuase Japanese emoticons consist of 2byte letters.

Emoticons with 1byte letters :

:-) :) :o) :D :] :3 :c) :> =] 8) =) C:

Emoticons with  2bytes letters :

（ ´_⊃｀） ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ   ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ    (*´Д`)

Using those Japanese emoticons in your sentences, you can enjoy expressing your feeling and emotion in different ways.

If you are interested in using Japanese emoticons,  you can find information from links below.
Of cause, there are no copyrights on it so it's free to use.

Japanese web site

FACEMARK PARTY

顔文字CAFE(KAOMOJI CAFE)

絵文字図書館(EMOJI LIBRARY)

English web site

List of emoticons WIKIPEDIA

Why don't you create your original emotions??

Today, I want to introduce you to something else, to an exotic place close to the JR Nippori Sta. (JR日暮里駅), a restaurant that calls itself "ZAKURO"! 

Before landing in Japan, I travelled through a lot of coutries and I only visited one place like this in a deserted village in Morocco!!

ZAKURA is like a "Persean Izakaya" to me, calling itself an "Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan Restaurant"

When entering that restaurant, you may feel like a fish out of water and ask yourself, "wait a minute, where are the tables?". Well, there are none! There are carpets covering the whole floor of the big room, with large table plates laying down on the ground.

In my opinion, it feels really cosy! But it's hard for your legs ;)

Fortunately, in the evening, you will be part of an entertaining belly dance representation that will make you rise and move your body, so you don't feel your legs any more!!

You can eat at Zakuro for lunch and/or dinner and let me assure you that the prices are really affordable!!   You can check yourself on the restaurants website: http://zakuro.oops.jp/menu/menu.htm

The food is delicious, especially the perfumed rice (that will change you from the taste of japanese rice) and the service very friendly! The waitresses are always good for a talk, without talking of the restaurants charming **Prince Ali**, it's owner! :) 

Another thing you should know is that you can ask to smoke waterpipe! For those of you who don't know what a waterpipe is, it is an instrument for smoking tobacco in which the smoke first pass through water in order to become harmless. [I am a persuated non-smoker, but I could enjoy the taste of waterpipe when travelling through Morocco, where smoking waterpipe is part of culture and tradition.]

This place isn't far away for the residents living in the Sakura Guest House of Nishi-Nippori (西日暮里) http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/nishinippori.php

So why don't you give it a try and share your opinion about ZAKURO with everybody on this blog afterwards ??

Well in that case, read carefully this post!!

Today I was looking for a place where I could get a good lunch (quality & quantity) for a reasonnable price and I went on to try that corean restaurant, close to Shinjuku Nishi-guchi (新宿西口), at the 6th floor of the Sun Flower Building (新宿サンフラワービル)

Let me tell you why you should go there :

1. If you're lucky and get a table nearby the window, you will be surprised by the view over Shinjuku that will be offered to you! Have a look at this,

 I was really submerged by this great view...^^

2. The menu is quite large and the prices are affordable for lunch. For example, the menu I chose was composed of an entry plate (salad, nori with sauce & fruits), the main menu (rice with meat, vegetables & a tasty corean sauce) and a cafe. All for 1.150 yen!!

The main menu was served in a very hot bowl, so be careful when mixing the rice with the other ingredients! And I should not forget to mention that girls get an ice cream for desert.... why only girls..?!?!?  Well, that's unfair, as usual in such cases.. ;)

There is an another good deal. You see movies for five times at Wanner Mycal Cinemas you can get one free movie ticket. But you have to make sure you get five stamps on your stamp card and you can exchange with a free movie ticket.. I was collecting 4 stamps and it was one more stamp to go to get free movie ticket but unfortunately I lost it.  what a sad!!

Every time before I see a movie I reserve movie ticket via "e席リザーブ" on Wanner Mycal Cinemas web site. I don't need to get tired of waiting until movie start and there is no hurry to get a seat that you want to get.

If you are interested in with 3D movie, Wanner Mycal Cinemas has 3 dimensional movie systems. You can watch "AVATAR" in 3D. But its visual effects may not be as good as that of Disneyland.

Although Tokyo can be said to be a large metropolis, in reality, each area within
Tokyo is like a small town with its own charm and characteristic.

Famous for its luxury shops, expensive bars and restaurants, with a somewhat
serious image, Ginza is known as the "town for grown ups".

On the other hand, teeming with teenagers out to have a good time, Shibuya tends
to attract a younger and more carefree atmosphere.  Shibuya is one place within
Tokyo where one can walk down the street eating an ice-cream without looking out
of place.

 
This brings us to Akihabara, aka Electrical Town, where the world`s otaku descend
to further fulfill their passion and enthusiasm for anime, video games and comic
books.

　　　　　　　The view of Akihabara

The other day, I took a visit to Akihabara with my colleague. One can see nothing
but electronics, anime and video games. The streets are filled with otaku carrying
bags filled with comics and video games gazing at flat screen monitors. Not a single
salary man or office lady is to be seen.

The reason I was in Akihabara, I was in search of a second hand computer, either
an IBMX40 or Panasonic Let`s Note, both reliable computers. Unfortunately after
a long look, I couldn't find a suitable computer that met my budget.

Instead I decided to unwind and experience the world famous and much talked about maid cafe.

　　　　　The entrance of maid cafe

The maids appear to be around 20 years old, wear cosplay outfits and speak in a high pitched
voice there to fill the fantasy of an otaku.
Customers appeared to consist of Japanese males and tourists from the US and Europe.
A service is also provided to allow customers to try on a maid outfit and have their picture taken.
However, naturally this service is restricted to females.

It is difficult for me to express my thoughts on the maid cafe. While it does have a certain
amount of uniqueness it also has a very strange and certain awkwardness about it.
The maids wear unusual costumes and seem somewhat child like in their behavior.
My Japanese colleague felt the same way.

For anyone who wishes to gain a better understanding of Japan it would be worth visiting
a maid cafe at least once for the experience.
Everyone will each have their own unique impression.


東京は大都市だけど、実は東京の中にも様々な特徴をもった地域があります。

例えば、銀座。銀座はお洒落な街で高級なレストランやバーがたくさんあります。
銀座は大人の街を呼ばれています。

それとは逆に渋谷。　渋谷は10代の若者(誤解を恐れずに言えばガキの街)の街です。
東京では歩きながら何かを食べるのは違法ですが、渋谷だけはそれが許されています。
若者が多い街だからでしょうか。

それと、世界中で有名な秋葉原。
ここにはパソコンや、アニメ、テレビゲームが大好きな人たちが世界中から集まってきます。
2008年に無差別殺傷事件が発生して歩行者天国が閉鎖されていますが、数ヶ月の内に、歩行者天国が再開されるそうです。そうなれば、以前のようにより賑やかな秋葉原が戻ってくることでしょう。

先日、日本人のスタッフと一緒に秋葉原に遊びに行きました。何処もかしこも電化製品だらけでした。
夢中にパソコンの液晶画面を見るオタクが沢山いました。　(中にはサラリーマン、OLもいたと思いますが、私から見ると秋葉原にいる人全てがオタクに見えました。)

僕は日本製の中古のパソコンを買おうと思っていましたが、自分の予算で買えるパソコンが
見つからなかったので、買うのは諦めました。日本ではインターネットショッピングが盛んなので、インターネットオークションで買ったほうが安いと思ったからです。

そのかわり、日本で、世界中で話題になっているメイドカフェにお茶を飲みにいきました。

メイドカフェで働いている女性たちはオタクたちのイメージに合わせて子供っぽい感じで行動します。お客様の殆どが中高年の男性で、欧米人の男性もいました。
お店では、女性だけですが、好きな服に着替えて写真撮影ができるサービスがあるので、若い女性も来ていました。
ただ、私のメイド喫茶に対しての感想は、一言では伝えられません。
私にはメイド喫茶の何がいいのか理解できませんでした。
正直に言えば、メイド喫茶店は不思議なところで僕はあんまりお勧め出来ません。
日本人のスタッフもメイド喫茶には生まれて初めて行ったみたいで、僕と同じ感想を持っていました。　僕の日本人に対するイメージでは日本人はみんな、アニメ、メイドが大好きだと思っていましたが、そうではないみたいです。

日本に興味がある人であれば、メイドカフェがどういう所か一度行ってみて経験してみるのもいいと思います。
より深く、日本を知ることができると思います。
人によってはメイド喫茶は面白い場所だと思うかもしれません。

Do you know HANEDA airport?

It's Tokyo International Airport. The Japanese government plans to expand Haneda's international role in the future.

I went to HANEDA airport tour today. It was really fun to see the other side of airport!

I heard that the destinations will be expand to Europe,  North America and Asia in October 2010! It will be very useful for people who are planing to come to TOKYO!

Working in Japan is an experience that differs from the one I had in France before!!

I started to work at the Sakura House office 1 week ago. The main change for me is to work mostly with japanese in a japanese environment.

Before starting to work in Japan, I had my personal image of what it is to work in a japanese firm. Now that I am active at Sakura House, I can clearly distinguish the stereotypes I had from the reality.

For instance, the "bento" for lunch, it isn't a myth! It's reality!! Look at it: 

First day - me eating "bento"..^^

But what impressed me most was the fact that I had the feeling to belong to a big family, right from the start! Everybody at the office immediately made me feel at ease, which gave me the impression of being welcome. It also gave me the self confidence I needed to take part in the firm's daily life as well as to be efficient at work.

Even if my knowledge of the japanese language is far from being perfect, I was positively surprised of the warm welcome my new colleagues gave me. As the Sakura House staff is international too, I know that I can switch to english at any time, if it's getting difficult to make myself comprehensive in japanese. I can also make use of my french and german knowledge at work, which I think, is a rare opportunity when working abroad.

 - - - - -

It was my purpose to start working in a foreign country. Now I am doing it. That's why I can say that I am kind of living a "dream" these days!

 So I want to thank everybody here for having been kind to me! :)

Electric retaier giant "YAMADA Denki" is coming to Shinjuku next month.
It's located quite near SAKURAHOUSE Shinjuku office.

I was wondering what that huge building was going to be every time I come across this street.

Nowadays such super electric retailer starts to provide us with not only electric appliance but also various kinds of shops such as restaurants, supermarket, barbour, and even theater in one building.
It doesn't take time for this retailer to open theme park, does it?

But some say "SHINJUKU itself is kind of theme park already and Yamada denki is just new attraction there."

 Shinjuku is too much for me in fact.

It was all about Mao today in Japan.

I meant Mao Asada, a Japanese figure skater.

Since Vancouver Olympic started, all TV channels in Japan have been featuring Mao Asada on the programs!

And every single Japanese people, literally, followed how she did and how Yona Kim, a Korean figure skater, did!!

And...

Well...my colleagues were not exceptional....

If there was a time today you called to the office around and no answer, this is why....

February 26^th PM 1:30 Sakura House, Japan (all People who are watching the TV are Sakura House)

February 25^th PM 8:30 Vancouver, Canada

I have to apologize to those, whom called to Sakura House around the time period above because "Your call was not very important to us."

Anyhow, everyone went back to work after seeing the score of Mao Asada.

(I think everyone is disappointed)

Well, She won a Silver medal and Yona Kim won a Gold medal!!

I personally do not like to any competitions that judge one's creativity, but if I were to praise the most among figure skaters, it would be Joannie Rochette.

I think she did a great job and I would like to give her the gold medal if I were the judge.

Anyway, Congratulation to Yona and Mao!!

Oh, by the way, if you happened to call the office during the figure skating and nobody answer, please do not hesitate to claim to my boss!! 

But Remember don't raise my name!!

I was answering every single phone call that time...

Can you guess what it is???

It's "Japanese plum (UME 梅)". It's a cell-phone charm made by unique Kimono fabric.

I just made it by myself (with lots of help) !!

We will have a next Sakura Event, "Cell-phone charm Workshop & Shamisen Live Performance" on  Saturday, March 20th.

It looks difficult? No problem, we will support you to make a good one!

We will inform you about the details by email! Enjoy and experience with us!!

Rumi

contact@sakura-house.com 

-Anime figures
Some famous animation figures were displayed at the event.
Animation figures lovers seemed to enjoy observing that.

                Gandum                                          JoJo's Bizarre Adventure                         

I don't know well but the price range for figures is very wide.
It starts from around 500yen to at most around 1,000,000yen (Premium figure is so expensive! More expensive animation figures might be existed in Japan.)

-UFO Catcher championship in Japan

At the event, "UFO Catcher championship in Japan" was held and
candidates were competing against each other for the 1st prize.
The guy who was making pose in the center of photo was previous champion.

What a looks strange guy he is.  I don't know he won 1st prize this time again.
(I'm sorry that I couldn't stay till contest ends)

-Beautiful booth assistants
As same as other big events in the world (like motor show), the booth assistants entertained  visitors at the event.
They helped us playing games and some of visitors were crazy about taking photos like photo mania.(I'm not such a person. Taking photos was part of my job. :-D)

OK, then next is  movie.

Let's check how this event was.
You could feel the atmosphere at the event trough this.

Have you heard about "BNE" or "BNE参上"?



You can find BNE stickers almost everywhere in Tokyo and probably there are thousands of these.
 

The question is who is "BNE" and what does it represent? What does BNE want to do? Well, no one knows about it.
 

Not just in Tokyo, it has been found in New York, Bangkok, Prague and now Melbourne.


 

These stickers are appearing more often, and more interestingly many are replaced even after they are removed.
 

"BNE"stands for "becoming international mystery".


Maybe someday you could catch BNE on the scene and reveal his/her identity...

Today, I went to hair salon to get my haircut.

The nearest hair salon from my apartment. "Colors"

The cost for a haircut was 1,500yen.(It's relatively cheeper cost than avarage in Tokyo)

There are many hairsalons and barbers in Tokyo and there is a wide range of price for a haircut. (In general, the cost for a haircut is around 3,000yen to 4,000yen in Tokyo).

But, don't misunderstand that my hairstyle became strange becuase of the cheeper price of 1,500yen.(I believe :-D)

It depends on which hairsalons or barbers you take.

If you would like to save your money for a haircut, there are some good hair salons or barbers in Tokyo.

For guys who want to save money and time but don't want to cut themselves, "QB House(quick barber)" is really recommended.

Let me introduce you our new web team staff Frédérik-san.

He just joined our web team from this Monday.

Guess what!? He speaks German, French, English and Japanese.

He is half German and half French. And his girlfrend is Japanese so that's why he speaks Japanese so good. 

As you know, our web staff goes to vacant rooms to take picures and video to update premise information.

Today Frédérik-san and I went to Nishihara House locating at Yoyogi-Uehara(代々木上原）, Shinjuku.

You can tell what is Fredrik-san doing from his actions.

1.Knocking door and making sure room is vacant.

2.Making beds before he takes room pictures.

As we've already told you, Sakura House's popular female staff "Hiroko "is leaving to her world journey and just left Sakura House.

http://www.sakura-house.com/blog/2010/02/we-never-meet-without-a-partin.html

Hiroko and I have a good friend, Pete in Gokokuji 3 and he just invited us for dinner last week. He and Julie who also live in Gokokuji 3 cooked dinner for us! so sweet!

Other residens joined us later and we had a really great time with wine!! I didn't want to leave.. but I'm sure that I will visit you again!

If you invite us, we go anywhere! We're waiting for your offer :)  

A montadito is generally food served on a slice of baguette, although the bread often pales in significance to the topping! The bread can be either toasted or not, depending on one's taste. Also, garlic, olive oil and salt might me added, but do not forget the most important ingredient: tomato.

You just need to half a red and juicy one, and spread its juice on the slice of bread.... it is so yummy!

Montaditos have their origin in the Basque area of the north of Spain and are generally enjoyed as a bar snacks with the traditional Basque Txacoli wine or cider. In the rest of Spain they are normally served as a light snack either before or between meals, as a wonderful accompanient to a bottle of wine during a long and relaxing evening...

Normally, each Montadito is held together with a toothpick or "pinchito", and you just choose which Montaditos you want from the bar counter, collect your toothpicks and pay for them when you finished.

This time, I decided to prepare a variety of montaditos with ham, salami and cheese as a topping, i hope you guys enjoyed them!

Buen provecho!

Ricard, from Barcelona.

As some of you know, there are so many events happening in/around Tokyo in each month.

 On February 20, 2010, we decided to go and explore, "AOU Amusement EXPO 2010" with Sakura House residents!

 AOU stands for "All Nippon(Japan) Amusement Machine Operators' Union." In this expo, there are more than 1,000 new arcade games in 625 booths that you can play FOR FREE!
Over 40 major game companies introduce and display their new games.

Almost all types of arcade games that we can imagine were there(I.E. UFO. Catchers (Crane games), FPS(First-person shooting) games, Dance Dance revolution-type game, Online shogi, Quiz, Car-race, and Mahjong games, Touch-panel Games, Card games, Print-Club(Instant Photo, a.k.a.Neo Print), and etc.)

Our residents and we met up at "Kaihin Makuhari" station around 11:00 a.m.

We all went to Indian Restaurant called, "Maharaja" and had nice all-you-can-eat lunch together. Some of curry are very spicy and hot but they were very tasty!

There are many people watching or playing the cutting-edge arcade game.

We first took a look at New Dance Dance Revolution. And then walked into the casino-type games with arcade-only coins(Medals). While we were browsing, some of our residents individually went to explore other games they are very much interested in.
 

With more than 1,000 new arcade games, we enjoyed this event very much!

OK!  Explaining about the summary of this great event is enough.
We will write more about this Expo continually from now since there are many things going on in this event.
Please wait for the next article about this event.
We will show you soon.

Spinach must be one of the vegetables most despised by children.
Half of the adults I asked confessed that they refused to eat spinach as children
and often had to be forced into it by their parents. Nevertheless, the same persons
like to eat spinach now.

I remembered my own subborness as a child when I was strolling through the supermarket to buy ingredients for the "world lunch" cooking party at Sakura Cafe in Ikebukuro on Friday 19th Febraury.

I had already downloaded a bunch of recepies and couldn`t decide what to cook, but when I saw the green vegetable stand, it hit me: I would cook the same spinach dish I used to hate as a child, the same food I ate mixed with salty tears under the almost military supervision of my grandfather. (How in the world did that child grow to enjoy and appreciate this green dish so much?!?)

So, here goes: wash, cut in half and then boil the spinach for 5 minutes in salted water. Then
take it out and leave it in a strainer for a few minutes. If you are the lucky owner of a food-processor,the next step, mincing the spinach manually with a knife will be much easier for you. Be careful not to overdo it, or you will have a spinach-puree! Finally, you just need to mix the spinach with 1-2 mashed pieces of garlic, some milk, salt and, for a better consistency, a teaspoon of flour. I usually put sour cream instead of milk and use 3 tea spoons of olive oil or butter.

(the official recepy asks for 500g spinach, 500ml milk and 5 pieces of garlic - but I usually trust my eyes and taste buds)

To "crown" the king of vitamins fry an egg and make sure it`s margins are crispy! It`s a quick, healthy, easy (not to mention cheap!) to prepare dish and I`m sure you`ll enjoy it!

Hello everyone!

Today we had a Takoyaki Party at Sakura House Kamear 2 and 3 hosted by Mr. Watanabe, the landlord of these 2 premises. (Tako means octopus in Japanese. It's the round things you see in the picture above) Residents from the States, Canada, Sweden, France and Italy joined and we had A LOT of fun. It was the first time for many to cook and eat takoyaki, but everyone seemed to like it. I personally think that the taste of Takoyaki is borderless, haha.

Mr. A from Italy actually treated us with his hand made tiramisu which was sooooo yummy. Thank you mucho!!!

Thank you for all that joined and made the time Super Duper fun and Mr. Watanabe for always thinking of these great events! I wonder what will be next.....  

Snow fell in Tokyo today and worker late for work.(It's me  :-( )

It was the 4th time in this winter to see snow in Tokyo.
As it expected, train was delayed due to the snow and it troubles many workers in Tokyo like me.

Usually, it takes about 1 hour train ride for my commuting from my nearest station to Shinjuku.

But today, it took 1 and half hour.

As a result, I was late for my work this morning.
(I had to check the weather news last night and woke up earlier than usual.)

Non Japanese might think that my commuting condition which take 1 hour train ride

is miserable.  

But, it's quite normal for who work in the Greater Tokyo Area.

Yes, I think 1 hour train ride is a kind of wast of time so, my commuting time is always agenda to make it useful.

To make it a useful time, I arrive to station earlier and line up to secure my seat.

Then, I can read a book, a newspaper, studying and sleep when I'm tired.
(Amazingly, I sometimes find person who sleep standing up!)

There are many people who take this way to make our limited time useful.

How do you think about this Japanese workers' habits ?

You've got to try this self ultrasonic cleaner. It's free! タダだよ！

You can find this machine in front of  "MEGANE DRUG". Check the board below.

Such Japan-original service is very popular especially among サラリーマン（business person） and おばちゃん(middle-aged women)  Not so popular among youngsters, though.

This character could make it easy for you to find it.

He's saying "Don't be scared, we are not talking you over to buy glasses!"

Finally, watch this video taken by my son (8-year-old) for your convenience. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWBDld3t_JQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWBDld3t_JQ   

If you are a "samugariya" (the japanese word describing a person that hates being cold)

like me, you have already discovered your own ways to stay warm at night!

You might have bought an electric blanket or tried letting the heater running all night.

You also might have seen how that affects your electricity bill!

Even though it`s probably best to have SOMEBODY to keep you warm at night,

I found SOMETHING that can do the trick too!

You probably have it in your country too, but in Japan it`s called "Yutanpo" and it`s a

cheap and ecological and extremely popular. All you have to do is fill the "bottle" with hot

water and "dress it up" with your favorite cover. Plastic containers are probably the best,

but some choose metalic or rubber ones.

Girls are crazy about them nowadays, because they come with covers of different sizes,

with various designes and "fluffy-ness"-degrees. It`s a great idea for a present too!

Here are some pictures of Yutanpo. You can find cheap ones for less than 2000 yen.

Personally, I have a pink sheep, who`s really "hot" about me!

Do you know "Time Out"?

It's entertainment guide book, magazine and website. http://www.timeout.jp

You can find Tokyo (and 30 other cities) events calendar and things to do including restaurants & bars, nightlife, theater, film, music, clubs, shows ..

and of course, Sakura House & Sakura Hotel :)

Our international staff welcome new residents with Japanese tea.

We are serving "抹茶"(powdered green tea) for new residents at the time of contract.

We started this service to ease customer's tiredness who have just arrived all the way to Japan.

Also the experience of traditional Japanese culture. We would like people to know and learn them.

The guy who sits behind of the beautiful Japanese tea set is our French staff.

As the proverb says, we never meet without a parting.

This month, Sakura House's popular female staff "Hiroko "is leaving to her world journey.

She has worked at Sakura House for 1 year.  The time she spent at Sakura House is not so longer than other staff but, she leaves many good things to us.  Smiling, friendliness, kindness.

 
We wish her a wonderful and safety journey!!   We are looking forward to seeing you again!

As this parting comes to us, 5 new faces are coming to Sakura House.

Those new faces help us heal our sorrow over her leaving. 

Let's us introduce them.

And, her thank-you and good-bye speach.

Thank you "HIroko" and We are waiting your return!

What kind of place is Ginza?

Famouse landscape at Ginza 

Ginza is the most expensive place in Japan same as the fifth Avenue in New York, Rodeo Drive in LA ,Champs elysee in Paris.

If you look around in Ginza with your loved one, you may feel nervous by being plead to buying gift.

Ginza is named after the silver-coin mint established there in 1612 during the Edo period.

As its name "銀座" refer to silver-coin mint, there are many expensive things in all around Ginza.

For example, the price for a cup of coffee is around 1,000 Yen in Ginza although the price in other area in Tokyo is around 500Yen.

Normal price for Lunch is around 1,000 to 2,000 Yen.

Normal price for dinner is depends on what you eat.
Price range for dinner from 3,000 Yen to no limit!(Might be 1,000,000 YEN!?)

But at 300BAR, all drinks and foods are only 300YEN!! 

Do you like cooking and delicious food?

We are sharing opinions and exchange thoughts on food culture worldwide. We'd like to create fresh, new menus for cafés and restaurants from your perspective.

Last Saturday, we had a Tasting Party in "Sakura-tei". "Sakura-tei" is an Okonomi-yaki (Japanese pan-fried batter cake) Restaurant. http://www.sakuratei.co.jp/en/index.html

We tasted new menus and discussed to make them better.

One of Sakura House residents, Aaron-san who is a chef from UK, joined our Tasting Party. He gave us lots of great ideas! He tried an improvisation and cooked his original Okonomi-yaki! It was like a French dessert and really delicious! Thank you very much, Aaron-san! 

We will have next Tasting Party in Sakura Cafe (http://www.sakura-cafe.asia/english/) on Friday! If you are interested in the Tasting Party, please let us know.

Email Us: contact@sakura-house.com

Hi, this is Kenji from cleaning team.

This month, our wonderful cleaning staff "Masa-kun" stopped working here at Sakurahouse.

We would miss his smile and toughness at his workplace...also residents would think so.

Hope to come back after he graduates from the university in the US.

Actually he said "I'm gonna flying to Shioinjinjyamae from LA if needed". That's too far!

This pic was taken on his last day.

お元気で、マサクン！　

Hello everyone.

I thought I uploaded this blog about 4 days ago, but sadly, I guess I didn't press the right button! (so this picture is about a week old...oops)

Well anyways, I was walking around Monzen-nakacho the other day, when the person I was wit h noticed a crab walking by!! Thanks to that person, Mr. Crab was saved from me stepping on him. 

When I was in the States, I've expereinced a small turtle walking by me at a local street, but this was the first time to experience a crab traveling around the city.  

Sumida river is close by, but did he come from the river? or some home as a pet? or maybe a local restaurant? who knows.  He or she?! may appear in front of you next.  

Yesterday I visited prevoius France embassy along with my 8-year-old son. I just happened to know it  through the paper that "first and final" art events took place there inside and outside of the building, which is supposed to be dismantled due to embassy's relocation.

See the entrance of the building. It don't look like the embassy any more. 

 "ノーマンズランド"  "No man's land" is the theme of this event. Literally, no one come here after the dismantlement....

We could see more than 100 creations produced by 70 artists from all over the world. You know, Japan's pop culture also prevails here in this embassy.

What does the artist mean to say?? 　"鼻血"

I felt this event looked like Design Festa. I was almost overwhelmed by their power although some of which I could not understand.

On the other hand I really enjoyed the building of moden architect. And I would miss it because this building itself has been the bridge between France and Japan for a long time.

Au revoir!

Kenji

Hi, everyone.

Kenji's brog in 2010 starts with this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW0wcpR2aUU

Can we remove all plastic bags?      No.

Can we use eco-bag all the time?    No.

Can we minimize plastic bag?    Yes!

This is a way we get along with plastic bag, I think.

Also it could make some spaces at common area.

And,,,be careful not to make it plastic"bug"

Kenji

On the way to New "Tokyo Tower" from Kinshicho,

I saw a kind of store in danger of disappearing in Tokyo.

I rarely see this kind of store in Tokyo.

No staff. No surveillance Camera.

For purchasing any stuff, all you have to do is take any stuff you want to take and throw coins for the stuff in the box.

Whenever I see this kind of store in Tokyo, I feel relieve because this kind of store cannot be run in the corner of the street without trust in the community.

I hope I would see this in every corner of streets in Tokyo someday instead of vender machines.

新年明けましておめでとうございます!

Happy New Year Greetings everybody!

Did you had a great holiday time?

We, Sakura House, started new year from today, January 4th.

Our office has little bit of new years decoration, Kagami mochi　鏡餅

As for last year, we shared lots of happiness and memories with our residents and sakura house staff.

Hi, it's Kenji from cleaning team.

The last day of year, 31st December, is the peak of soba sales in Japan.

It's called "Toshi-koshi soba" which most Japanese eat hoping for living long life.

But there is another stoy, saying that if you would like to forget bad things you had this year, you had better cut soba before you eat.

Which story would you believe?

I would rather trust first story than second one because I think bad thing is just a step to success in the future.

Anyway, eat soba on 31th Dec for your future!

At YOMODA soba, there is a special menu for foreigners like "Cheese soba" and "Fish&chips soba".

As I mentioned before Kameya is also recommendable . Also you can trust these bland like "Sarashina(更科）", "Oedo（大江戸）、"Komoro（小諸）", "Fuji-soba（富士そば）", "Hakone-soba（箱根そば）" and many others...

Have good days for upcoming 2010! 　それでは、よいお年を。

Kenji

Hello everyone.

This is a picture taken at Ayase station.

It's the first time I saw platform 0.

Maybe there's something special if you get on this train??

At the end of the year, just right before holiday season in Tokyo, everybody seems get busy, tense, sometime makes me tired...

But I have saved from all of this feeling for just one hour yesterday night at Paul Dateh & Ken Balcher acoustic live in L@N Akasaka.

Paul and Ken come from LA, mainly performng in US but becoming very popular among foreigner community in Tokyo.

Beautiful acoustic violin and guitar duo with vocals, pop, jazz, rock, hiphop,....for all kind of music.

Lyrics hit me in my soul.

It was actually very first time to see them play on live but I had awesome time!

Definitely must-check-artists and I can feel they will make big success in near future! 

Both of them are so nice and friendly and let us taking picurte together!

Thank Ken and Paul for the great time!

Come back to Tokyo very soon!

Hello everyone!

Look what I found,

apples in all sorts of shaps and sizes only for 40 yen. This is from a vegetable shop about 3 minutes from Oshiage station.

So happy for someone like me who loves fruits!

Back in old days, we used to be with our neighbors in naked.

Yes, we were all naked and valued a close relationship with our neighbors.

Though, when we ate a fruit called "Convenience", we started to be shamed in naked in front of neighbors, stopped being naked, and we lost something very important...

We have lost so many things in the name of convenience.

Sento, public bath, is one of them.

Sento in Morishita area.

Back in the old days, many of us did not have bath in our home so that we had to go Sento for bath.

Sento was the center of our community. We used to have Sento in every single corner of street.

It was where we saw and chatting with our neighbors.

But as we started to have our own bath in our home and we stopped going to Sento, stopped seeing, and talking to our neighbors, Sento started to disappear.

When you see a chimney, that's where sento is. You tend to see more sento in eastern part of Tokyo. 

Now, it is very rare to see Sento in Tokyo.

And I feel relieved when I find a chimney in a town.

If you find one, I recommend you go not only because in the next decade, you may not see Sento anymore, but also because you will meet your neighbors and find one of good traditions of ours.

If you would like to go nearby your guest house or apartment,

please ask me or Sakura House staff at the office.

Guest House in Morishita Area

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/morishita.php

Hi, this is Kenji from Sangubashi rooftop.

Also let me show you a bit of today's my job.

These "wilted" leaves were going to a garbage box as usual. But it suddenly touched me when I approached to take a shot as close as possible, These leaves made me feel a seasonal change and eased my mind. ちょっと癒されちゃいました。

A different view point sometimes blow away busy times!!

Weekly weather forecast says this week is going to be really cold. So don't forget to put on ユニクロ's "Heattech" if you have a stock!

Kenji

Hello,

Tired of having pasta and indian curry?
Try here                                                                 Lunch box

"It's vegetable" is one of very few vegan restaurants in Tokyo.
It serves Taiwanese cuisine.
And, all dishes taste so good that you will think dishes have meat and egg in them,
but none of dishes use meat, fish, egg, and milk at all!!

Try here with your non-vegan/vegetarian friends, too.
They won't notice that it's vegatable.

For Location, business hour, and more detail,
please search on internet or ask me at the office!!

Gaku

Guest House&Dormitory in Kinshicho

http://www-origin.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kinshicho.php

http://www-origin.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kinshicho_b.php

http://www-origin.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kinshicho_c.php

http://www-origin.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sumiyoshi.php

Hi, it's Kenji from cleaning team.

Today, I bought iphone.

Same day, I bought this one at 100yen shop. Look at the pic below. 

As you know, this is just a filter for sink at kitchen. But I have never seen such filter before because,,,,,,,

It opens!

If you are appetite for innovating things at daily life, 100yen shop may be your solution.

For myself, iphone and 100yen shop is doing same thing and also giving me same value.

Just for your info, I have placed this new filter somewhere at Omori house. Gotta find it?

Metropolis magazine, the most popular English Magazine in Japan interviewed Sakura House for "Metpod" internet radio.

Through recording interview, I was so nervous but Kong-san and Sara, the interviewers, made great editing!  Thank you!

Metropolis provides the latest information of what's going on in Tokyo. 

Listen up!

Today, I'd like to introduce our Talented Staff.

MAIKO, the only girl in Sakura House Maintenance group, will give an exhibition of her work "oil painting" from Dec. 4 (Fri) to Dec. 6th (Sun). I'm exited to see her work!

　　

Dec. 4 (Fri) 3:00pm - 7:00pm
Dec. 5 (Sat) 11:00am - 7:00pm
Dec. 6 (Sun) 11:00am - 6:00pm

@SHIMOKITAZAWA GALLERY HANA
http://www.g-hana.jp/gallerylocation/

AND,

the last weekend, I went to KONO-kun's Live. It was very cool! I will definitely go to his next live! I will announce you then!

FISH FISH FISH

When you think of Japan, one of the first images that come to our mind must be fish.

If there is no Japan in the world, there is no sushi, but maybe more fishes in the ocean.

In fact, Japan has been fishing too much and importing from all around the world. You can even smell fish when you arrive in Japan, but some days later, fishes around the world can be fished to extinction.

That's how much fishes are consumed in Japan...

Just a few days after 2009 French Beaujolais Nouveau releasing day, I had privilaged opportunity to visit "Hatoyama Kaikan"

for "Wine & Guiter night" from one of Sakura House Landlord.

Hatoyama Kaikan was originally Hatoyama family's huge residence (more like a castle to me..) located top of the hill of Bunkyo-ku, central Tokyo, but now open to public.  Hatoyama family is well known as Politician (and very wealthy) family with a long and distinguished history in Japan. The current Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Yukio Hatoyama is also brought up here.

The classical guitar and opera singer played Japanese folk songs. It was breathtaking moment along with beautiful decollation of the house.

The surronding area, Bunkyo-ku has many histric attraction for foringer, such as beautiful Japanese Garden "Rikugien", Temple "Gokokuji", it is the town of history and green, great enviroment to live-in as well. 

If you would like to live-in this distinguish and sophisticated area,

Please contact Sakura House selles A team, know everything about Bunkyo-ku!

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/search_with_our_staff.php?group=A

Hello!

Today, I walked around HARAJUKU, which is one of the most popular towns for fashion and trendy stores in Tokyo! I went to our group company "Design Festa Gallery" first and got a lunch box at "KEPANISHRIMP". Their van just stopped in front of "Design Festa Gallery" today. The shrimp is really nice Hawaiian flavor and the lunch box is just 600yen! It was great deal!

After lunch, I took a walk in OMOTESANDO street. It will be ready for illuminations soon. A lot of electric spectaculars have already attached to the zelkova tree-lined. I can't wait to see the beautiful illuminations! Night viewing of illuminated trees is from Dec.1 to Jan. 10, 2010.

We will have Sakura Event, "HARAJUKU & MEIJI Shrine Tour" on Saturday, December 12th. Enjoy with us!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Event] HARAJUKU & MEIJI-Shrine Tour

[Date] Saturday, December 12th, 2009

[Schedule]
09:50 a.m. Meet at HARAJUKU station (Omotesando Exit)
10:00 a.m. HARAJUKU Guided Tour in English (approx. 1.5 hours)
11:30 a.m. Visit DESIGN FESTA GALLERY (Art Gallery)
12:00 p.m. Lunch at SAKURATEI (Okonomi-yaki (Japanese pan-fried batter cake))

* This Tour comes with the lunch at Sakura-tei (All-You-Can-Eat Okonomiyaki) with 1 free drink.
* The schedule or venue may be changed, please check our latest emails and notices.

[Meeting Place] JR HARAJUKU station (Omotesando Exit)

[Fee] 1,550 Yen/person (including Guided Tour/500yen & Lunch at Sakuratei/1,050yen)

[Apply] Please reply to this email! (contact@sakura-house.com)
 

I found unusual SOBA menu at YOMODA SOBA, which is a Japanese noodle stand. It's located at the same building of Sakura House Tokyo Station.

I tried "Fish & Chips SOBA"!

Sakura House resident, David-san invented this unique menu. It was really good! The fried fish is crunchy, but inside is juicy. Soba is healthy food, but I got a feeling of being really full.

There are also "Cheese Soba", invented by Julian-san and "Greek Soba", inbented by Rolf-san. I love to try them next time!!

What kind of topping would you like to try?

Yomoda Soba:  http://www.yomoda-soba.com/en/

Sakura House Tokyo Station: http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/tokyo_station.php

　　　　　　　　　　　 As you know, Regular Yamanote line is Green color.

          You see Brown Yamanote on and off because of Yamanote 100 year anniversary!

                                      which one do you like better?

              Speaking of which, Yoyogi station is only one stop from Shinjuku sta and

                 Our lovely Sendagaya Guest House and Dormitory are there ↓

                         http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendagaya4.php

                        http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendagaya4_d.php

                                         ☆  Call for Room viewing or Book on line NOW ☆ 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　CIAO T

One day in the afternoon, so many people were cooking at Omori guest house.

Our "Ikemen-staff", Taka, left at the picture below, is showing SAKURAHOUSE original duster.

You know what he mean??

The answer is,,,,,,,,,,,,, this duster is for all resident who use the kitchen.

This is the first case at sakurahouse and we are thinking of spread this idea to other guest house if it goes well.

Small thing?? No, it's Smile thing!!  

こんにちは、営業部カミサキです。

今日は日本語でお送りします。

さて、今日亀戸中央公園に行ったんですね。

ぼくはネコ好きなんですが、そんなネコ好きにはたまらないこの一枚。

ネコが日向ぼっこを気持ち良さそうにしてます。かわいい。。近づくと、「ニャ-☆」とスリスリ

してきました。

でも、写真をよーく見て下さい。。。。　　（多分分からないかもしれません（><））

石段の垣根にチョコンと茶トラのネコがいるんです！！そしてその直ぐ脇の白いのも、ネコ

なんです。　

ネコにはネコなりに「心地よい微妙な距離感」がございまして、自分のテリトリーに不用意に入ろう

ものなら、離れていってしまいます。　そして少し離れたところでまた、「チョコン」と座るわけです。

このネコにしか分からない微妙な距離感が非常に難しくてですね、ぼくは道でネコを見るたびに

近づいてマッサージをしてあげたいんですが、どうにも上手く行かなくて、ほとほと困ってしまいます。

ネコ同士は簡単でして、写真のようにお互いの心地よい距離感を保ったまま、

お互い何をするわけでもなく、黙って日向ぼっこをしているわけです。気持ちいいんだろうなぁーー。。

あ、でも首輪を付けている家ネコなんかは人に触られる事も人間との距離感にも慣れてまして、

無防備に触らせてくれます。「目を見れば大体近づいても大丈夫か分かりますね」（笑）

今日の写真のネコも触らせてくれました☆

犬とネコはこんなところが全然ちがいますねー。

Kappabashi dori is very famous for Kitchen related tool among professional chefs or people who work for food industry.

Currently you can also see on-going big construction project,  TOKYO SKY TREE tower at the end of the road, which going to be the tallest TV tower in the world. 

In Kappabashi, you can even buy huge cooking pot which able to serve 1,000 soup at a time!

I found real Kappa there...

Asakusa has a lots of old and new attractions and that is one of the reasons why our guest houses and Sakura hostel is so popular among our costomers.

　Hi Everyone ,

    How`s it going?   It is getting colder day by day... You might feel like eating some winter food. Chinese buns are one of the popular winter food starting to see them at convenience store or supermaket.  I want to recommend you this poplular chinese bun shop close to Meidaimae station.

   Hi ! Mamayoshi, a cute named chinese bun shop,  is located in about 3 minutes walk from Meidaimae station on the way to Meidaimae Guest House. This shop is famous becasue of  its handmade buns and on TV many times.  http://asia05.com/omiyage/meidaimae.html

 As you know, many food are now made by machines so that handmade food are very special at the same time, they are hard to find. I tried a pork chinese bun. It is soooo yummy and found the taste is super differnt from those buns made by machines.

  There are rooms availalbe in  Meidaimae A Guest  House & Meidaimae B Guest House.

Meidaimae A Guest  House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae.php

Meidaimae B Guest House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae_b.php

 　　　　　　　☆Please call us for Room Vewing or Book on line NOW ☆

                                                                                              Ciao T

The most well know 2 men from Katsushika-ward (葛飾区), Tokyo

Tora-san 寅さん　is main character of very famous Japanese home comedy movie called "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" 男はつらいよThe movie continued 49 series!  Whenever he returns to his home in Shibamata, Katsushika, bring crazy troubles, and falling love ...kind of story.

I visited his home sweet home, Shibamata area.

Walking thorough main shopping street,

you will approach "Shibamata　Taishakuten" temple, one of the historic temple in Tokyo.

When you visit there, you have to try local specialilty "Kusa dango" 草団子Japanese sweets

Ryo-san  両さん　is also main character of Japanese "Manga" of "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo" こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所

He is lazy police man at Kameari area police stand but everyone loves him.

167 manga book is published and recently become TV comedy program. His home has now the statue.

In Kameari, I tried "Yakitori" and doughnuts.

I love Shibamata!

ASAKUSA All-in-One Party on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

Sakura House is always planning a variety of events every month and in November we will be focusing on ASAKUSA!
As the name suggests, this party will include every activities you like, such as sightseeing in ASAKUSA, Sushi making and listening to live "Hip-hop Violin" at Sakura Hostel. Don't miss it!

Please check the details:

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/event/tokyo_event_calendar.php?CID=20091121

* Artist (Paul Dateh and inka one) info: http://pauldateh.com/
* Watch their video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Xt- XeWnHM

Local Kiwi! 5 for 200 yen! Good deal.

Kodaira, the suburb of Tokyo just 30 minutes train ride from Shinjuku, has lots of green, fresh air.

Local farmer sells fresh vegetables and fruit in front of their home or farm.

Around this season, you can see beautiful trees turning to red in Kodaira Reien （小平霊園）

Later that evening, at my favorite hangout bar in Ginza, it ended up....

"Frozen Kiwi Ram".

Bit sour but freshly.

 　 Meidaimae guest house is very convenienet, since the house is close to two stations. One is Meidaimae station. The other is Eifukucho stataion.

   Our staff usually use Meidaimae station when we go to the house. But yesterday, I used  Eifukucho station, and I found that it is very conveninet, since there are various shops like cafe, KFC, drug store, supermarket etc...

  On the way to Meidaimae guest house, there is a lunch box called Origin bentou (オリジ弁当） and they advertise for "Osechi" ,  "Special dishes for the New Year" written on a left red flag.

    2009 is over in almost two months. Are you ready for 2010? Time  flies soooooo quickly. Any plan for moving or coming to Tokyo?   

   If you look for a room in convenient area,  Meidaimae guest house is the one of the best choice for you.

  Please check out for the details.

        Meidaimae A

　　　　　　　　　　 http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae.php

        Meidaimae B

                       http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae_b.php

                                                                                     Ciao T

 Good evening!!

I just wanted to let you know guys that I started living in Sumiyoshi Guest House!!!

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sumiyoshi.php

mmm.....

Only 4 days....

I wish I could live more, but it just my financial matter....

Well, thank to a no pay raise, I just cannot afford to my rent of my apartment and the room in the Guest House at the same time....

I hope my boss is reading this....

Anyway, here are the things what I had to for moving to the guest house!!

Packing my stuff

Clothes, Computer, Cell phone battery charger, and Towels.

THAT'S IT!!

You do not need to bring so many stuff for living at Sakura House Guest Houses.

These are all you need!!

Just one bag to carry!

No moving company!!

SO here I am at Sumiyoshi Station after work. Sumiyoshi Guest House is just minute walk from here.

But it is 10:50PM now.....

I hate w++king....

And, I forgot to bring a tooth brash, Shampoo and all of stuff....

But I do not worry too much because 100 yen shop is just 5 minutes walk from the house.

Tooth brush with tooth paste and shampoo, hair conditioner, and body shampoo.

200yen for all of them

 Oh, I need my gasoline, too...

100yen for a can at the Grocery store nearby the house.

The grocery store is opened until late because many Japanese get off work at late, even Moms recently...

So now I have everything and I am relieved.

Time for late night dinner!!!

11:20PMJapanese style-Chinese Restaurant

Just because Japanese work too hard, or perhaps Japanese spent too late in the office,,,, there are so many restaurants opened until late.

I chose here because I love Chinese food and I love local small restaurants.

And now I am full.

Time to go home.

Here is my room!!

(Once again, no need to have your own bedding!!)

And now I settled.

I forgot to say hello to my housemates!!!

But it's too late. Everyone's at sleep, so I will say hello, tomorrow!!

It is just exciting to meet new people, especially from all over the world!!

Time to go bed...

but before that need to have a beer and say Good night Mr. Orwell.

And GOOD NIGHT GUYS!!

Sumiyoshi Guest House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sumiyoshi.php

When you tour Japan if you are caffeine addicted and a vegan, one of the hardest moments is that you cannot have any espresso beverages unless you go to *bucks, the biggest world wide coffee shop chain.

It is soooooooo hard to be in vegan in JAPAN!!

But I found one nice coffee shop in Azabu Juban!!

SOY CAFÉ

You can have very great soy latte!

And, a cup of SOY MILK (hot/ice) is only 100yen during November!

Besides, there is only one, but only one though, vegetarian dish!!

So if you go with your "carnivorous" friends and have lunch, too!!

You don't have to go to the same pasta restaurant any more!!

Please try here once, but be careful TOFU Hamburger has chicken in it.

Always, ask the staff or tell you are vegetarian or vegan, and they will understand you.

Gebster

ensoy

Main Entry: en_soy

Pronunciation: in soy, en-/

Function: verb

Etymology: Japanese daizu Middle English ensoien, from Anglo-French ensoir, ensoier to gladden, ensoy, from en- + soie soy

Date: 21st century

intransitive verb

1 : to have soy or soy beans

2 : to participate in soy activity

transitive verb

 1 : to have for one's use of soy or benefit by having soy

2 : to take pleasure or satisfaction in soy

-- en_soy_able  -_-b_l adjective

-- en_soy_able_ness noun

-- en_soy_ably  -blē adverb

-- en_soy_er noun

I will update vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants in Tokyo occasionally,

so CHECK IT OUT!!

Please ensoy your wonderfull moment in Japan!! 

By Vegetarian who sometimes consumes meat

Guest House in AZABUJUBAN

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendaizaka.php

Apartment in AZABUJUBAN

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/azabu_juban.php

Kichijoji Guest House & Apartment

       Rent Discount     

                  ↓                 

  http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kichijoji.php

Inogashira Park ,  very close to Kichijoji Guest House & Apartment

http://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/park/format/index044.html

☆　Enjoy vewing Autum colors　☆

                                   CIAO T

                                                     Kokubunji Apt. 104

                                              Kokubunji Apt. 105

                                                 Rent Discount

                                                         ↓

　　　　　　　　　　http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kokubunji.php

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　CIAO T

Jiyugaoka, known as fashionable and high-class residential district, may not always be confortable for people who look for コンビニ(convenience store)

One day I found it very difficult to find コンビニ at Jiyugaoka station north exit. Actually I was looking for my favorite coffee "Mt.RAINER Caffe Latte", which is usually sold at コンビニ by 144yen 

Sometimes it is sold at shop 99.

When I find shop 99,

 I feel so lucky.

But when I find it is sold out,

I feel really unlucky.

Anyway, I found that there is no コンビニ at Jiyugaoka north exit.

I recommend you to take Toritsu Daigaku when you go shopping at コンビニ　or supermarket.

For residents at Jiyugaoka house, you may have already known it though!

I cannot help taking this picture with my boss!

JR Nanbu-line...

I know almost all public train (railways, subways) lines of Tokyo but you don't have much chance to t ake this line...

Yes, I have to addmit I am Tetsu-ko,　

出発進行！

You know where you are by looking at monhole cover.

 Hi there, this is Hiro.

The weather has been really nice, I hope you enjoy it too.

The other day I was walking around Yukigaya Otsuka Station.

I found the area is such a convenient place to live if you are a vegetarian or a vegan!

There is...a very traditional Tofu Shop

There is...an Organic vege shop

There is...an Indian Curry Restaurant

Since It is not so easy to find vegetarian food in restaurants in Japan,

you can at least get fresh veges and enjoy cooking!

Btw, I heard there is no vegetarian food offered in Tokyo Disneyland!

Is it true?? Does anyone know?

What's more?

There is a 100yen shop and right next to the 100yen shop,

there is a pool place so you can enjoy playing pool and darts!

Check one of our guest houses in this area!

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/yukigaya.php

Enjoy your weekend!

 Meidaimae Guest House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae.php

Meidaimae B Guest House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae_b.php

Kichijoji Guest House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kichijoji.php

Nakano Shimbashi Guest House

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/nakanoshinbashi.php

Sendagaya Guest House　＆　Shared and Domi

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendagaya4.php

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendagaya4_d.php

 Akebonobashi 3

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/akebonobashi_3.php

                                 ☆   Book Now ☆　First come First served　☆  

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ciao T

                                           B102-01 & 102-02 are Available Now.

             Wanna share a room with your friend?!  Hurry up to make a reservation!!!    

                          http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendagaya4_d.php

Hi, this is Kenji from cleaning team. This time let me introduce new product which makes your room more comfortable.

It's called  "Kabimasenou". Surprisingly, it refrains from molds growing! 

One day I have tried this at Yotsuya-3chome guest house.

You know, it doesn't work for cockroach,,,.

This product is made from bamboo which has been widely used for keeping raw foods in Japan.

According to the company, it works for a couple of months. So we have to keep watching the actual effect. Now it's not rainy season, but even in autumn, molds are easy to grow especially at windows.

We, Sakurahouse will continue to try new product as a pioneer!

Here is the details of Kabimasenkou (only in Japanese)

http://stylestore.allabout.co.jp/mojo/ProductInfo/sku/T00279/?template=default/creator/T00279/closeup/070508172155/index.html

　205 is availalbe now.  Would you like to view the room  ?

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kokubunji.php

 Please call us at 03-5330-5250 

                                                                            Ciao T

   Kichijoji is a western suburb of Tokyo. Inogashira Park , with long walking paths

surrounding a lake is one of the popular place to visit. 

 The park is filled with both cherry tress and maples, makeing Inogashira Park a

nice choice for both flower viewing (Ohanami) in the spring , and the autunm colors

(Koyo) in the fall.

        Why don`t you enjoy autum colors (Koyo) in Inogashira Park! 

      The good time to see autum colors is from mid Nov to mid Dec.

     We have Kichijoji Guest house and Apartment very close to Inogashira Park.

                 http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kichijoji.php

                                                                                                        Ciao T

One of my most memorable days came two weeks before Halloween this year.

The all-you-can-eat-and-drink party was held at Sakuratei, an Okonomiyaki restaurant in Harajuku on Saturday, October 17th.

In spite of the very short notice to the people in the limited area, nearly 30 people from the apartments and guesthouses in different locations, their friends, and Sakura House staff joined the party and spent two hours together.

Okonomiyaki is a perfect food to share with many friends and families. Top with your favorites and share it with others!!

I hope everyone enjoyed the Pre Halloween Party and made new friends.

Need some more fun?

Okay!

This time, we couldn't invite all the residents of Sakura House mostly because of the shortage of time to prepare, but we will plan another opportunity to share something more exciting with MORE PEOPLE!!!!

    Do you play Taewkondo? There is Taewkondo doujo very close to Akebonobashi Guest House.

                         Akebonobashi I　103 is available now.

          http://www.sakura-house.com/french/premise/akebonobashi.php

              Akebonobashi III　New rooms will be opened from Nov 1st.    

          http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/akebonobashi_3.php

                                                                          Ciao T

Hello, again:)

Are you interested in Kimono (Japanese traditional clothes) ?
Are you interested in Shamisen (Three-stringed musical instrument)?

If you are or not, anyway, good news for you:)

2:30 p.m.~  5:00 p.m. Kimono Display and Sale by Sakaeya Kimono shop
3:00 p.m.~  Shyamisen Performance(1) by BOTANKAI (15 min.)
4:00 p.m.~  Shyamisen Performance(2) by BOTANKAI (15 min.)
Admission Free!

----

Sakaeya Kimono shop will provide good-quality second-hand kimono
(Japanese traditional clothes) at a special price (1,000yen~3,000yen).

Let's enjoy Japanese traditional culture on the National Holiday, "Culture Day"!
Anyone is welcomed!

----

Sakura cafe & restaurant (1F Ikebukuro Sakura Hotel).
5 min. walk from Ikeukuro station
Map; http://www.sakura-hotel-ikebukuro.com/hotel_location.php

----

We are looking forward to meeting you at this event:) 

Chao!

Hi, how's it going?

This lovely weather makes me sleeeepy:)

Well,

Halloween Glitterball '09 will be held by our business friend's Metropolis at "alife",
one of Tokyo's most popular clubs, just a few steps from Roppongi. It is sure to be the season's can't-miss event.

Please check the site for more information

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball_h09/

Some "Sakura staff" are going to join the party.

we are looking forward to meeting you at the party!

It will be fun & make me awake :)

This month we, cleaning team, are trying to clean fridge and remove old foods which are past the use-by date.

Especially we need to keep attention to "big guest house". Otherwise, tough job is waiting for us just like pic below.

On the otherhand, refregirator is always clean when people don' t cook at kitchen. Sometimes it can be seen at small guest house.

But anyway, food is most talk-about-thing at guest house because people come from all over the world. And you may find your favorite recipe which you don't find at restaurant.

Have a enjoy at a kitchen of guest house!

　                                                Meidaimae Station

                                        Only 5 minutes to Shinjuku station

                                                7 minutes to Shibuya station   

                                                Meidaimae  A Guest House

                                         102 lovely tatami room is available now

                   http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae.php

Meidaimae B Guest House

Clean Room 103 is available.

 

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/meidaimae_b.php

 

 

 

Call for Room viewing !

                                                          

                                                     Ciao T

Sendagaya 4 chome

One of the popular building for Guest House, Shard rooms ＆Domi

 Meet friends from all over the world

2  beds in domi ＆ 1 bed in Shared rooms are availalbe！

↓

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/sendagaya4_d.php

                                                           Ciao T

Do you play Aikido? There is doujo very close to Ushigomeyanagicho Guest House.

Aikikai Foundation

http://www.aikikai.or.jp/eng/index.htm

Ushigomeyanagicho Guest House Room 203 is available Now!

    http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/ushigome_yanagicho.php

                                                                   Ciao T

 Akihabara is famous for electric shops,

Tsukiji is for Sushi,

If you want to find fabric, texistile , handcraft material, that is for "Nippori"

Nippori Tetile Town 

shops like...

 shops only sells buckle for the belts..

http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~nippori/map/EnglishMap.html

Hiruma-san, (昼間mean daytime in Japanese)

I would love to meet you, make me brighten and shine!.

　　This sliding double bed is very covenient in terms of  space use.  Staying with your friend, family and loved one is also useful.

     Rent is discounted first ３ months 135,000yen per month. (Regular rent is 153,000yen)

                        http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/shinkoenji.php

                                                          Book NOW!

                                                                                                          CIAO T

Are you tired of Japanese franchised-restaurants with superfical smile?
Do you want to experience Japan?

If you want to experience JAPAN,
"Kissa (Cafe) NEW YORK" is the place to go!!

Maybe, it is not fancy and it is not cleaned, but this is JAPAN!!
Without going teishoku-ya, I mean Local teishoku-ya, you can say to friends "I went to Japan".

The entrance is very dark...
It makes you a minute thought for having meal when you see the enterance..

But believe me!
How it looks does not mean, how it is!!
You got to see the inside (I do not mean physical).

Oomori (large size)Veggie Fried Rice

obachan cooked vegetarian fried rice for me!!

Sakana-Furai (FISH DEEP FRIED) Teishoku

Obachan was so kind that we got free ice coffee and another rice bawl for free!!

You will have free rice bawl and ice coffee if you are lucky!!

You will have the best Mugicha, too!!!

When you get lost, please ask for SENTO Sauna Negishi, public bath. Cafe New York is in the same building. Maybe, it is good idea to try Sento at the same time.
By the way, taking bath in Japanese is "Nyuyoku". It is actually the same pronounciation as "NEW YORK".
In Japan, when you take a bath, you can say to your friends or families "I am going to New York".....

MAP

http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?hl=ja&source=hp&q=%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A6%E3%83%8A%E6%A0%B9%E5%B2%B8&lr=&ie=UTF8&hq=%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A6%E3%83%8A%E6%A0%B9%E5%B2%B8&hnear=&ll=35.729113,139.780555&spn=0.001864,0.013883&z=16&iwloc=A

*Teishoku: Set Meal. It usually come with a bowl of rice, miso soup, and main dish such as tempura.

**Teishoku-ya: Japanese restaurants serve teishoku and ramen-noodle.
                   Female staffs in Teishoku-ya are called "Obachan" or "Onesan",

                   but it is much nicer if you call them "Onesan".
                    Sometimes if you call them "Obachan", your bowl of rice get undersized.

                   And if you call them "Onesan" and if you are lucky, 
                    you may have extra rice on your rice bawl.

***In Japan, there used to be at least one teishoku-ya in every corner of the street. It was restaurantfor those who were young, alone, or are starving because their mothers could not cook because they gotstuck with TV or because they were at "Idobatakaigi", busy with gossips", Teishoku-ya was the place to have meal.
However, because of M*d*naldization and "Konbini", convenience stores, they were vanished from towns. Nowadays it is not very common to find a local teishoku-ya on every corner of the street, not even in town.

**** This is not an ad for this teishoku-ya.

*****Kissa New York is very close to Sakura House Uguisudani A and B Guest House.

http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/uguisu_a.php

Hi, this is Kenji from cleaning team.

Last week I visited Jiyugaoka house to clean common area. It was my first visit and enjoyed the way from the station to the house. Look at the pic below.

Jiyugaoka is one of the biggest commercial town in Setagaya. But residentinal area is well separated.

Once you get across from Meguro-street, you can feel quiet and safe.

This is height of one of the safest country in the world!

As you get into the House, you can feel retrospective atmosphere, like old good days of Showa era....

　　　　　　　　　　　　This bakery is very very popular for メロンパン（ Melon Bread）

　　　　　　　　　　　　It is located in right hand of south exit of Nishi Ogikubo station.

                           Once you arrive at Nishi Ogikubo, You will smell Yummy メロンパン. So   

                           you will know where it is　☆

　　　　　　　　　Nishi Ogikubo Guest House, Nice Cozy Rooms are Availalbe Now.！   

                      http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/nishiogikubo.php

One of the most important job while we renovate interior or exterior of the building is to do frequent-check and having meetings with the constructor on site as it proceed. Sometime we find unexpected walls or pipes while demolishing, and need to adjust the original plan...

Today, I visited to check our latest on-going renovation projects.

Both are in Shinjuku area, very popular area among our residents.

Akebonobashi 3

We currently doing operation on 4-5th floor but, there will be 3 rooms guest house unit on the 2^nd floor. It was old window sash.... 

Shin Okubo

New 2 semi apartment (with private kitchen)will be added on the 3rd floor.

Both projects has been well as we planned, and will be done by this end of October to  open beginning of November.

We'll soon make announcement for new openings!

On the way going to Akebonobashi, I found nice Japanease Sento (public bath house)　"Daisei-yu"(大星湯） just around the corner, it also has Sauna! Don't you want to try??

                Giburi Museum is in Mitaka city. 

                    http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/

                One Mitaka Apt. is available now.  

                    http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/mitaka.php

                   Please call us for room viewing!

                                                                                                 Ciao T

http://www.kensetsu.metro.tokyo.jp/seibuk/inokashira/index.html

             Inogashira Park is located very close to Kichijoji Apt ＆Guest House.

         Kichijoji Apt, is availalbe now and one guest house will be available soon.

                                                 ↓

          http://www.sakura-house.com/english/premise/kichijoji.php

                                                                 Enjoy this rainning week!  >< hehe          

                                                                                                      Ciao T

Omori, one of our biggest gesthouse, has got special floor cleaning last week.

We removed all furniture and stuffs lett on the floor. That's tough job!

Here comes" shining floor" at Omori!

Here comes "shining" floor at Omori 3rd floor.

It took alomost 2 days to complete this job!

Thank you very much for our resident's co-operation. And otsukaresama deshita for our staffs!