Tokyo Wandering with att. JAPAN Issue 86 + SADOU HOSTEL + Tourist Information YANESEN On
October 27, the third round of “Tokyo Wandering Tour” was held in the Yanaka and Nippori area.
This time we collaborated with “SADOU HOSTEL” and “Tourist Information YANESEN.” Melodie and her friend Ruriko came to join from the U.S., Antonella from Italy, and Taiwanese tourist Airi, who was staying at SADOU HOSTEL. Let’s start with our English-speaking guide, Ozawa-san!
ADOU HOSTEL is named after sado (“the way of tea”), meaning the traditional tea ceremony, hoping that tourists from all over the world can enjoy exchanges with Japanese people and come to understand each other based on the tea ceremony’s concept of ichigo-ichie (meaning “once in a lifetime”).
SADOU is conveniently located just a 5-minute walk from Okachimachi Station, a 10-minute walk from Ueno Station and 45 minutes from Narita Airport.
Beds are semi-double. It has floors exclusively for women and families.
It has a shower room with six stalls and a bath room with a bathtub (24 hours available), furnished with high-quality shampoo, hair conditioner, soap, and bath towel.
Three washing machines and driers (charged), and a clothes iron are available. There is a guestroom where you can relax and English-speaking staff are available.
From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., we joined an onigiri (rice ball) making workshop (free of charge) in the lounge. This time, we made a Halloween-like pumpkin-faced onigiri.
Cutting nori seaweed with scissors, we made “Jack-o-lantern-like-onigiri.” They all have different faces and we all enjoyed making them. Fillings were miso, konbu (seaweed seasoned with sugar and soy sauce), and ume-boshi. We ate them with miso soup. We also got helpful advice from the kind Japanese staff!
At this hostel, you can join other cultural workshops and walking tours.
You can experience authentic, traditional culture, such as tea ceremony, calligraphy and Japanese cuisine.
Prices for hostel guests
Tea ceremony: 1,500 yen/per person (generally 4,850 yen)
Calligraphy: 1,000 yen/per person (generally 3,850 yen)
Japanese cuisine: 2,500 yen/per person (generally 4,850 yen)
Walking Tour with a Guide
When: Every Sunday, 10 a.m. to 12 noon
Itinerary: Learn history and culture, from Ueno to Yanaka
| URL | https://www.sadouhostel.com/ |
The tour started at 10 a.m.
ASAKURA Museum of Sculpture was the residence and studio of Fumio Asakura (1883—1964), a leading sculptor of the Showa era (1926—1989). Unfortunately, it is prohibited to take photos inside the museum, but you can take photos at the rooftop and outside of the building. Sculptures in the studio, a study room, furniture, patio, etc. – everything is extremely impressive. “Soshin-no-ma” in Building 2 and the stunning view of TOKYO SKYTREE from the rooftop is a must-see.
Don’t miss this place when you visit Yanaka!
| URL | http://www.taitocity.net/zaidan/asakura/ |
11:30 a.m., Lunch at “Café Necoemon Kaiun Yanakado”
This café using a renovated old house built over 90 years ago is a cafe where you can try ceramic painting and making your own original maneki-neko (good-luck “beckoning cat” figurine) while drinking tea or coffee.
Its cat-themed cakes and eclairs are almost too cute to eat, and many people post their photos on SNS.
This time we only ate lunch but saw people next to us were enjoying painting.
Adjacent to the café, there is a maneki-neko shop selling original maneki-neko items and selected cat-themed goods.
This café is a must visit for cat lovers!
| URL | https://yanakado.com/c_nekoemon.html |
After Lunch, Strolling along the Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street
We walked in a leisurely manner and enjoyed a bit of shopping here and there. Taking a short break and having a bite to eat is fun, too! The shopping street is full of people on weekends and holidays.
*Please don’t take pictures without permission from shop staff.
Finally, Visiting “Tourist Information YANESEN”
At this center, you can get sightseeing information and also take part in a variety of culture-experience workshops.
(Our magazine “att.JAPAN” is displayed!)
This time we tried calligraphy! For all of our members excepting Airi who was from Taiwan, it was the first time to experience calligraphy. An instructor kindly taught how to use the tools and how to draw the basic lines, so we felt at ease.
Among several kanji characters, we each chose a favorite one and drew it. And the instructor wrote our names in kanji characters and gave them to us! With this great surprise gift, we were all highly pleased!
Reservation: Inform the time you want between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Requiring 60 minutes, 4,850 yen/per person; two or more persons 3,850 yen/per person.
Yanaka is a good spot for strolling around, even “getting lost”! Why not try it?
We will soon post a video of this stroll on YouTube! YANAKA/NIPPORI article of att. JAPAN Issue 86 introduces more information of this area (to be published on Dec. 10).
We are planning other Tokyo Wandering Tours. If you are interested and want to learn more, feel free to ask us. We are looking forward to hearing from you! att. JAPAN ISSUE 86
https://att-japan.net/contactus
| URL | http://www.ti-yanesen.jp |
