Have you ever felt that everything is expensive in Japan?
Actually, there are a lot of places to hang out for FREE in Tokyo!
1. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings (@Shinjuku)
It's free to go up to the top floor. You can see sky scrapers in Tokyo from the height of 202m!
http://www.yokoso.metro.tokyo.jp/page/tenbou.htm
2. MEGA WEB (@Ome)
MegaWeb Toyota City Showcase
by Ian Muttoo
This is a theme park ran by TOYOTA.
If you have a driver's license, you can enjoy many exhibits and events here!
http://www.megaweb.gr.jp/index
3. Suntory Musashino Beer Factory (@Musashino)
Beer!
by Kimtaro
You can have fresh beer for free!
http://www.suntory.co.jp/factory/musashino/inspection/index.html
Please check their websites before you go! They are not open every day!
・twin room
The day after tomorrow
is a national holiday and we have three-day weekends in Japan.
The
second Monday of January is Coming-of-Age Day.
You may
see women wearing elegant long sleeved kimono on the way to a coming-of-age
ceremony.
In Japan, adult age is 20. From how old do you reach adult age in your country?
A football match of the final
Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup between Oman and Japan will be held at
Muscat in Oman tomorrow.
The match will start from 8:30 p.m.
It's not local time but Japan time.
It's 3:30 p.m. in local time.
It's easy for Japanese audience to
watch the game.
But I guess it's tough for
players. It is said the average temperature in Muscat is about 30 degrees Celsius
even in November.
I wonder if we can feel hotness
through TV screen.
If so, I wonder if we can enjoy
drinking beer like a hot summer day.
November 10th is the day of elevators.
A twelve-story building called Ryouunkaku was completed on November 10th in 1890 at Asakusa. Japan's first electric elevator began service in the building on the following date (November 11th ).
I wonder why November 10th is selected as the day of elevator (not November 11th).
Speaking of elevators and Asakusa, I associate those keywords with Tokyo Sky Tree opened this May.
The elevators in Tokyo Sky Tree take us to the first observation deck (about 350 meters high) in about 50 seconds. The speed is 600 meters per minute and those are the fastest elevators hold 40 people in Japan.
Have you ever been to Tokyo Sky Tree and entered the observation deck?
SCOOT (LCC in Singapore) is going to start service between Narita and Singapore (via Taipei) from tomorrow.
They use mid-sized aircrafts (402 seats in each of them) differently from other LCC using small sized aircrafts (about 180 seats).
They operate flight between Narita and Singapore once a day.
A football friendly match between Japan and Brazil will be held
from 9:10 p.m. in Japan time tonight.
I guess many Japanese football fans are so much delighted to watch
games with strong opponent following the match against France 4 days ago.
In Japan, football and baseball is popular.
We have our first rain for 2 weeks in Tokyo today.
How many do you think annual sales of umbrellas in Japan in a year.
130 million umbrellas!!
That is about population in Japan.
About 60% of that is plastic umbrellas.
How many umbrellas do you have?
If you need it, please feel free to ask at reception
Free of charge!
I would like to tell you how to use air freshner in my way lol
blind slow method of progression
I visited to Akihabara '2k540 AKI-OKA ARTISAN'
We can find them under the elevating structure of JR Line.
Hat Shop imeka .You can order Original own Hat!
Woddy item shop Hacoa.I bought iphone cover for birthday present
UAMOU.Small davils and Big davil...Cute!
TOIQUEYou can play many Toys in the cafe.I
Hanmmok Cafe ASAN Unfortunately They already closed now.
Yanaka Coffee shop.They roasting coffee bean in the shop.
Smell is so great!
There is some performance and Event!
It looks like our sakura group"Design Festa".
How to get "Akihabara" from Hatagaya Sakura hotel.
Hatagaya→（Keio new line/Toei shinjuku line）Direct→Iwamotocho（Akihabara area）
18min 330yen!
There are two big events for Japanese on July 28th in 2012.
One is the Sumida river fireworks display.
That will be held from 7:05 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
About twenty thousand fireworks will be set off in the night sky.
The other is an Olympic football match between Sweden and Japan.
That will be started from 8:00 p.m. in Japan Time.
Do you have something special on July 28th in 2012?
★★★Online bookings are 24 hours available HERE . ★★★
★★★Online bookings are 24 hours available HERE . ★★★
Sakura Cafe Hatagaya will celebrates 3rd Anniversary!
Times fly!
I would love to say " Thank you" in various language
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Japanese：Arigato English:Thank you Chinese：Xie Xie
Korean：Kamsahamnida French：Merci
German:Danke Italy:Grazie Spanish:Gracias Portuguese:Obrigado
Swahili:Asante Indonesia:Terima Kasih Swedish:Tack
Thai:Khoop khun khrap Arabic:Shukuran Rossian:SpasibaTurkish：Teshekkyur ederim
How many language do you know??
Have you ever drink this juice?
This is made of tamarind,a kind of beans.
I found this juice in Israel and Jordan before.
I met tamarind juice again in Thai food supermarket in Tokyo!
Do you have this kind of drink in your country?
How many flowers do you know??
I'll inform you this convenient apprication to search about flowers.
It is, 'Hanashirabe 花しらべ'.
http://hanazukan.hanashirabe.com/
This apprication is very useful to find out the name, and much information of the flowers.
Just taking photos with your iphone, or iPad, and search with 'Hanashirabe', you will easily find out what the flower is!
(Hanashirabe has 1700 kinds of flowers for searching)
Today, it was sunny day in Tokyo.
During I went to Sakura Cafe Hatagaya, took these flowers with my iPhone, even if I might know these flowers are!
How about to search these flowers' name with this excellent apprication??
Have a good weekend!!
April 23rd is the day of beer and local beer in Japan and Germany.
It came from the fact that German Beer Purity Law was established on the date in 1516.
Do you know which country won first place for the eighteen consecutive year in the ranking of per-capita beer consumption in 2010?
The answer is Czech (131.7 liters about 2.9 times as much as Japan).
Hatagaya staff like to eat all the time.
Specially GIRLS!!
Today we got 160 g candies from our kindly guest!!
Yummy, yummy!
CANDY WANTED!!!
17th
April is the death anniversary of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder and first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan.
jp127 / unclekage
It is said that he died after he ate Tenpura and had a stomachache.
Though
it is impossible to know whether it is true or not, it is an interesting
anecdote without a doubt.
江戸博物館 / Joshua Rappeneker
"We don't have enough when we fight over things, but we have more than enough when we are willing to share."
My history teacher taught such words when I was high school.
I am deeply proud of the Japanese who are living by those words.
Please stay strong.
When we think of "flower viewing," cherry blossom comes to our mind first.
But you should not forget Japanese
plum blossom. We call it "Ume" in Japanese. It is also beautiful and smells
better than cherry blossom.
Since April is a season for cherry
blossom, it is better to see "Ume" this month.
If you have no time for flower viewing, please just take a walk around your house. It is not so hard to find it.
Time flies since Japan disaster occurred in 11/3 March 2011.
We lost a lot of things at the instant because of Tsunami, Earthquake and Nuclear incident.
I believe that japanese people will be able to overcome this harmful happend strongly even more than before. We would like to offer our deepest sympathy to victims and their families.
I found that Japan is loved by many foreigner. Thank you so much!!
I love Japan so much!!Do our best!!
Shinichi Tada
What nice post card they are!
Our guest from Germany (Mr. Thorsten) bought them at Asakusa.
He sent them to Germany this morning.
He asked us how much postage for a post card is.
Do you know that?
The answer is 70 yen.
Why don't you send a post card to your family and friends?
FYI, we have post cards and stamps to sell.
So we had some fun with it...
The last picture is Ai by the way. XD
There was another box as well. I wonder what we'll use them for.
I will let you know when I find out! ^^
I like to walk around local supermarkets when I visit other countries.
I bought these tea bags in a supermarket in Bangkok.
I will try to drink just now!
I visited Bangkok last week in my winter holiday.
I stayed at a hotel near Sukhumvit Rd. in the centre of Bangkok.
So many shopping malls open one after another in these days.
This "Terminal 21" was open last year.This shopping mall's concept is an airport terminal.
This floor is modeled after Tokyo.You can eat Japanese foods in this "airport" as well.
![IMG_0646[1].JPG](http://sakura-cafe.asia/hatagaya/blog/images/IMG_0646%5B1%5D.JPG)
![IMG_0647[1].JPG](http://sakura-cafe.asia/hatagaya/blog/images/IMG_0647%5B1%5D.JPG)
It lasts 5 years and can be used as emergency foods.
Koala's March in cans is different from normal one, and chocolate isn't contained.
There is a map of the world at sakura cafe.
Sakura guests can put a sticker on the map where their hometown.
Wow!
The guests come from all over the world.
Today......17 countries!!
WE ARE HERE!!!
WHERE ARE YOU FROM???
So today I would like to show you some of my favorite photos we took during the last year. There are so many, that I had a hard time choosing. LOL
Here we go!
I'm sure we'll take many many photos this year as well. ^^
In fact, I can speak Portuguese Language as I told in my self-introduction.
So today I will teach you some phrases in Portuguese to be able to introduce yourself in Portuguese!
1. Greetings
"Good morning!" = "Bom dia!"
"Good evening!" = "Boa tarde!"
"Hi!" = "Olá!"
Usually, Brazillian people say "Oi!" as often as "Olá!".
And since "Bom dia!" means "Good day", they also use it when they say bye-bye.
2. Self-Introduction
My name is ... = Chamo-me ... (Sha-mo mi...)
I am from Japan ... = Eu sou do Japão.
Nice to meet you. = Muito prazer.
If you remember and show these phrases to Brazillian, Portuguese and other people from Luso-Brazillian countries,
you may be able to make friends with them soon :) Like me --->
with Portuguese friends
with Brazillian friends
*At Sakura Cafe, we often have some international events like Portuguese Party.
Why don't you join us?! :)
This few days, Japan are very cold every day.
Weather forecast say "The General Frost arrival".
Who will The General Frost be?
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Famous French emperor.
A French military leading Napoleon in 1812 invades and attacks in Moscow, Russia.
However, the enemy was in the unexpected place.
The French military is defeated by winter severe cold and heavy snowfall.
A British newspaper reporter reported this fact as "General Frost".
The thing which translated "General Frost" into Japanese seemed to become "Fuyushougun".
Even Napoleon was not able to overcome "General Frost".
All of you do not yield to "General Frost", and please get over this winter.
I visited my friend who is a cooking teacher.
She made me a Ukraine's traditional dishes.
Use a whole Paprika
Inside of Paprika, there is a Onion,ground meat and Rice!
And boil with Tomato sause by pressure cooker 15min
It was great dinner,,,tasty!
She gave me homemade Piroshki.
This one also great.
Thank you very much for inviting me!
Next Monday (The second Monday of January) is national holiday in Japan.
Do you happen to know what day it is on that day?
The second Monday of January is Coming-of-Age Day which honors young people who have reached the age of 20 as new members of adult society.
What age is the adult age in your country?
A happy new year!!
Since 2011 is the
year of the rabbit in Chinese Zodiac, 2012 is the year of the dragon!
Though the dragons only exist in stories, we know several kinds of them.
This is a European dragon.
And this is an Eastern dragon. In Japan dragons are illustrated like this.
It seems that the biggest difference is whether it has wings or
not...
Although dragons are thought to be good creatures generally in
Japan, they are not in Western countries (right?) Maybe you can tell us what
you think about dragons. J
-------------------------
Thank you very much for supporting us last year, 2011!
We are all looking forward to seeing you
next year here in Japan.
We hope you have a great year!!
Total lunar eclipse will occur on tomorrow (December 10th) in Japan.
We will be able to observe it between 11:05 pm and 11:58pm.
We hope we could see total lunar eclipse clearly.
One photographer traveled all over the United States and took pictures with his camera, to which he installed a program to take photos every five seconds.
He made those into a 5 minute video! His name is Mr. Brian DeFrees, living in
the state of New York, USA.
It's very exciting! I felt like going somewhere far as I watched it!
The United States is such a huge place... I wish I had a driver's license!!
Read
this article for details: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2059124/What-trip-Photographer-captures-12-225-mile-road-trip-5-minute-video.html#ixzz1e16KfcwA
You can buy them in Family Marts all over Japan starting from today.
Yoshi has been looking forward to this day for months, and bought a Slime Nikuman on his way to work this morning. It seems they're very popular and sell out fast.
Yoshi and his new friend. lol
I wanted to see what the inside looked like and asked Yoshi to eat it, but he straight out refused.
So it has been sitting in our office since this morning and nobody knows what it tastes like.
Maybe I should get my own Slime tomorrow.
XD
I took Butan sweets cooking class yesterday.
I made a "Khapsay" which is Butan traditional sweets.
Do you know about " Butan"??
There is between India and China.
As you know, The happinest country in the world.
Khapsay
This is really easy to make it.
1.Melt a Butter,water and sugar in a pan.
2.Put"1" into the flour and knead the dough just until it comes together
3.roll out the dough using a rolling pin,and make a shape
4.deep-fry 
5.ready to eat!
Crispy and sweet a little.
Actually Butanian doesn't have regular receipe...
In near future, you prpbably try "Khapsay" at http://www.sakura-cafe.asia/hatagaya/english/!?
6th B-1 Grand Prix is held on today and tomorrow (November 12 and 13) at Himeji.
B-1 Grand Prix is "selling each town" instead of only providing foods.
That is the presentation much more and the city event which we aim to lead to activation "Machi okoshi" each local town around Japan, developing the projects there.
Do you have such an event in your country?
Do you have some local food you'd like to recommend us?
The government, in a step to support tourism in three prefectures ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, is planning to waive visa fees for foreign tourists who visit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, government officials said on 26 October.
It starts at 15 November and is going on until 2016.
It's November! Almost a week has passed already...How fast!
By the way, did you dress up on Halloween?
I think many people wore the costumes of monsters... like them!
They all look scary and bad. On the contrary, look at Japanese ghosts and monsters.
Catgirl statue 猫娘 / urawa
Don't you think they are humorous?
I have never seen people in costumes of Japanese monsters.
If you have ever tried before, let me know and show me pictures please!
Isn't she sweet? :)
Granny Ai giving out blankets to everyone!
But since all our guests were still asleep, I got them all! ;)
By the way:
Ai asked me today what things about Germany make me happy to be born German?
I think this is a very interesting question. I said, the fact that going to university is really cheap compared to a lot of countries, and that there are no earthquakes in Germany. Nature is also beautiful, but that is true for most countries I guess.
Ai said she feels happy to be born Japanese, because she loves to eat Japanese rice, and because Japan has a very low crime rate, so it's a pretty safe country in that regard.
What makes you happy to live in your country?
The 24th Tokyo International Film Festival opened on the day before yesterday (October 22).
That is the only film festival in Japan accredited by International Federation of Film Producers Associations.
Green carpet made from recycled PET bottles spread out on the ground to receive casts and directors at the opening ceremony.
975 films from 76 countries entered and 220 films will be shown during the festival.
It will last till October 30.
Have you already got iPhone4S?I saw iPhone4S countdown in Shibuya ealry moning today.
Here is the video of the countdown in Apple Store Shibuya.
On Twitter, I once
wrote that there are so many nice ramen shops in Hatagaya.
Though I haven't
been to most of them, I had ramen in Shinjuku a few days ago.
The place is called "Omoide Yokocho," which means "Memory Street."
You can have good grilled chicken, Japanese/Chinese food, and etc.
When I went to one of the shops, it was almost full with business men who finised their work.
But there were some female customers as well. There must be a lot of fans!
When you come near Shinjuku, I recommend you to go there!
It was about i phone-4S.
I don't...
In Japan, many people changing their mobile phone to a smart phone
nowadays.
How about in your country?
So I'm thinking when I change mine to new one.
Anyway New i phone will sold on Oct.14th in Japan.
What should I do ??
I visited Taiwan last weekend.This is my second trip to Taiwan after I went there for the first time in 2000.
I stayed at a hostel which opened recently near Taipei main station. The hostel is Flip Flop Hostel managed by a friendly young owner and employees.Bathrooms are well cleaned up.Guests can use a laundry machine only for 20yuan(New Taiwan Doller). The most eye-catching is a bright and spacious common room in second floor.You can use clean kitchen,PC,and wifi for free here.It was a very comfortable place for me.I strongly recommend this hostel for backpackers. This is the hostel's Facebook page and official web site. You can book on Hostelworld.com too.The feedback rate is excellent!
I asked the owner to put our Sakura Hotel/Hostel/House brochure in the lounge.Of course he said OK.Thanks a lot!
I appreciate that Taiwan people donate more than ten million US dollars for 3.11earthquake victims.I will never forget this fact as I lived in my home Fukushima on 11 March this year.
謝謝台灣！我愛台灣！
These are broken umbrellas, because of the last typhoon in Tokyo(Mainly in Shibuya area). It amount would be 8t!! Jesus!!
Because of typhoon came in Tokyo on Sep. 21st.
Most of the people couldn't ride trains to go back to their home, so Sakura Hotel Hatagaya became conpletely fully booked that day.
The trafic problem solved in the late of the night...
(I could come back to my home around 25:00!!)
(This picture is taken at Koutou ward)
But ,please take care for using umbrella during typhoon!
Rain coat is more useful and safety than umbrellain this weather!
Do you know 'Namie Amuro'??
She is one of the most famous dancing artist in Japan.
For a long time I wanted to watch her live performance (dancing&singing) at her concert.
(from you tube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqhExEOyJBU&feature=fvst
And I could get her live ticket (in Yoyogi national musium) from my friend's friend!!(^^)
I'll dance and sing with her tonight!!
☆★Namie Amuro's official page,★☆
http://www.avexnet.or.jp/amuro/index.html
FIFA World Cup is very famous in the world.
But did you know the rugby football has World Cup too?
Rugby World Cup is same as FIFA World Cup.
Once in four years, select world No.1 of the national team of the rugby.
2011 is Rugby World Cup year and host country is New Zealand.
Rugby World Cup become thirdly the bigest sports event in the world,next to FIFA World Cup, Game of the summer olympics.
The Rugby World Cup is held in Japan in 2019.
Today, the Japanese women's national soccer team won a ticket to the London Olympics.
They are the first team qalified for the London Olympics among Japanese teams.
I hope they will win gold medal and the Japanese men's national soccer team will win a ticket to the London Olympics as well.
Have you had Kakinotane?It's traditional Japanese rice crackers. You can buy it any convenience stores and supermarkets all over Japan.
This is classic Kakinotane.
Wasabi flavour.Very hot!!
Coated with chocolate.I found it more than 20 years ago.
With mentaiko, marinated roe of pollock.
Mayonnaise Kakinotane.Looks so yummy!
What your image of Ginza??
Everything is very expensive!! isn't it?
But if you are in 300BAR you are completely safe.
All drinks and foods are 300 yen flat (+TAX)!!
You can enjoy Happy hour only 315 yen!!
Yesterday it was special Event.
I saw Badwiser girls in 300 Bar 8-chome!
Check their blog and event info!
↓↓
One of the best season "Autumn" coming soon
However,It is a time also to worry about Typhoons!
Two typhoons are approaching in Japan!!
By the way,I found Special umbrella on Youtube.
I would like to recommend New Yorkers for Irene（Hurricane)!
2011Edition
Maps in Colour
Map of Tohoku
Useful pullout map
I found Lonely Planet Japan new edition at Kinokuniya bookshop in Shinjuku,though I heard it's on sale in September.
The latest edition has major changes.All descriptions are in two colour printing,black and blue,and above all descriptions on Fukushima,Miyagi and Iwate prefectures are deleted!!Of course it's due to the earthquake and nuclear plants accident.I am dissapointed because I was born in Aizuwakamatsu,west part of Fukushima prefecture.
Travelling around Tohoku will help the people damaged by the tsunami.
If you have an interest please visit Tohoku region.
Do you know this??
Yes, it's a Japanese 1000 yen bill.
Then, how about this?
But for almost 25 years ago, it discontinued to issue.
Wah, It's a quite big difference of size!!
Few days ago when I get it, I tought it is a counterfeit bill.(~ﾍ~;)
Do you think should I keep it or just use it for normally?
We had a really busy day at Hatagaya today. Sometimes so much happens in only one day at work that I can hardly remember what I did in the morning when I come home at night. So I decided to try and take photos of everything interesting that happened today.
It all started with Henry from the US who suddenly started talking to me in German. I was so surpised! And he was speaking really well! He told me he used to live in Germany for a while. Too bad he only stayed one night.
This is Miwa making pickles. I really like this photo of her.
Don't eat them all! They're for our guests! XD
Then Masaya from our maintenance team came over to dispose of our old fridge. He came alone so we had to help him. That fridge was so heavy!! Even with 4 people we had a hard time carrying it to the car. Plus, it's unbelievably hot outside. >,<
This is Maiko doing all the work while Masaya is watching.
Shouldn't it be the other way round? ;)
After that I was too exhausted to take any more photos. XD
Well, not really, I just forgot. Actually I wanted to show you Miwa repairing all kinds of stuff. It's a real sight!
I'll show you next time! ^^
Although less famous than Japan Rail Pass for visitors,
Seishun 18 Ticket(青春18きっぷ/Seishun 18 Ticket) is very popular discount ticket among Japanese.
It's a symbol of slow and "rich" travel for us.
It's issued in Japan only that allows holders one-day unlimited rides on the local trains
of JR lines all over Japan during limited periods of year.
Even if you pay additional express surcharge you can not get on express trains.
It's possible to get to Kyoto,Osaka,Kobe,Hiroshima from Tokyo for only JPY2300(USD30/EUR21)!
For example,you leave Tokyo station at 6:07am you arrive in Hiroshima at 8:59pm.
(transfer nine times!)
It's valid for flexible five days(counted 0:00-24:00) within the designated period of the season.
In this summer,it's sold until the end of August,valid until 10th September.
This ticket is only JPY11500(USD150/EUR105) for flexible five days,which means JPY2300 for each days.
Different from Shinkansen,it's quite time consuming but you will see local atmosphere in the slow trains.
Seishun 18 means "the youth eighteen(years old)".
But no worries!No age limit to purchase the ticket.
For more details see this JR East official site.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/seishun18.html
An international friendly football match between Japan and South Korea will be held at Sapporo today from 7:30 p.m.
The tickets (42,000 tickets) were sold out within an hour.
The flight between Seoul and Shinchitose(near Sapporo) is also full.
Many Japanese and South Korean eyes including mine are on this match.
In Japan most ATM do not accept bank cards and credit cards
issued in other countries even if it is mega bank's ATM.
They accept domestic cards only.It's very inconvenient for visitors...
But no worries!
Look for Seven Eleven(convenience store) .
ATMs in Seven Eleven accept foreign country issued cards.
You can get cash anytime!In addition Japan Postal Bank's ATMs
also accept other country issued cards.
7月31日（Sun）14:00 START！
サクラカフェ幡ヶ谷 Please check how to get to Sakura Cafe Hatagaya こちらから↓
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Sakura Cafe Hatagaya (日本語/English)
Sakura Hotel Hatagaya (日本語/English)
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サクラカフェ グループ
By Keiko on March 7, 2013 8:42 PM
By Miwa on January 23, 2013 5:42 PM
By Hirotaka on January 14, 2013 11:51 PM
By Ai on December 13, 2012 11:34 PM
By Hiroki on August 27, 2012 11:55 PM
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![IMG_0644[1].JPG](http://sakura-cafe.asia/hatagaya/blog/images/IMG_0644%5B1%5D.JPG)
