I'm often asked to recommend a place to stay in Tokyo but since I live in the city 5 months of the year and have always had my own apartment, I have never had to look for accommodation, well, until last week that is. I moved out of my old place and while looking for a new Tokyo abode I had to find a place to crash for one night so I took this opportunity to look for an interesting place to stay. We had heard about Toco Backpackers and Nui Hostel from a friend, who's friend's friend, is part owner.

Nui is more than just a hostel, it's an amazing creatively designed space meant to bring together people from all over the world. Set in an old warehouse, it still has lots of industrial touches like the high ceilings, floor to ceiling glass doors across the front, and the over-sized freight elevator. Comforting touches of nature are incorporated with their 8 meter long tree-trunk bar, and a massive de-barked tree that stands in the center of the 1st floor lounge. The bathroom doors have original handles forged by a local lady black smith artisan. Nui has private rooms and dormitories available on the upper floors. They have free wifi throughout the building and a computer for all to use. I have no doubt that the yet-to-be-completed kitchen and library on the 5th floor will be another amazing creative feat of eclectic design.

If you are looking for something more Japanesy, you might want to try their second location, Toco Backpacker's Inn and Free Space Bar Lounge, an old ryokan built in 1920 and completely refurbished by the same creative crew that built Nui Hostel & Bar Lounge.

Although both locations are within easy reach of Narita and Haneda airports, you should keep in mind that neither neighbourhood, Iria or Kuramae, are in the must-see section of your guidebook. Instead, Nui and Toco, provide a great escape from the big city bustle with easy access to the rest of Tokyo.

Are you an instagrammer? We are! You can "follow us" at tabitabijapan, or check out all of our Hakuba photos here. Enjoy!

Cutting, Chopping, splitting..... 1 load down, 9 to go! In Hakuba, spring is for chopping, summer is for drying, and fall is for stacking. We'll have plenty of wood for the wood stove again this coming season. Nothing like coming back to the lodge after a good day out and sitting by the fire for a few hours .....

  

We have moved west, back to the ocean, rocky coasts, beaches, kayaks, surfin', hammocks, sandles, jungles, and back to Guesthouse tabi-tabi in Shimoda Izu. Lots of chillers on the coast. Check out how we celebrated 4/20 here.

No reason to worry though. We will be back in Hakuba again before snow falls!

We got married last year on April 1st so April Fools is our wedding anniversary! After tying the knot a year ago by handing in some papers to our local town hall we headed off for a romantic night at Chujokan Ryokan at Hoshi Onsen in Gunma prefecture. I have always wanted to visit Hoshi Onsen because our private bath at tabi-tabi was inspired by the enormous wooden baths at Chujokan Ryokan, the builder's favorite onsen.

  

          Hoshi Onsen's famous 1000 man bath                             tabi-tabi's Private bath

Chujokan was built in 1875 and is considered by many people to be one of the most beautiful ryokan in Japan. I highly recommend it too! The service, the food, the onsens, the location, the history... all was superb! It was so great in fact that we quickly decided that we should treat ourselves to a night at a ryokan on April Fools every year.

This year we stayed in Bessho Onsen at Hanaya Ryokan in Nagano prefecture. Hanaya Ryokan is Japanese by design but is decorated in the wayosechuyoshiki style. Basically "wa" is for "wafu"(or all things Japanese) on "yo" is for "yofu" (all things "yoropean"). Hanaya Ryokan was originally built as someone's private mansion during the Meiji period. It was at this time that Japan opened its doors to the outside world and wealthy people started buying European clocks, lighting. and tableware.  Much of which can still be found in historical houses, museums, and antique shops throughout of Japan.

Here are some more pics of the beautiful Hanaya Ryokan:

          

*click on the pics for larger images in flickr.   N~joy!

Although we were free from tsunamis, had plenty of electricity, and only felt one or two shakes from the ongoing earthquakes, as the details of the nuclear power plants were slowly unfolding, gasoline and kerosene supplies were limited, and trains were running off schedule. The situation was constantly changing, and the accounts of what was happening often contradicted each other, depending on which news program, blog, articles, embassy website... we read. Two of our guests were sent tickets from their worried parents and off they went. A few more changed their flights and we decided that it was time for a farewell fundraising nabe.

Yasu did the shopping and the cooking and made 4 pots of kimchi miso nabe for 16 of us. In return we asked everyone to make a donation to a local NGO who would be providing rescue and relief to those in Northern Japan. We were able to raise ¥43,500 at the dinner party. We also donated the money from newly arrived guests and sent a total of  $650 to Shapla Neer in Tokyo.

  

It felt great to DO something. We had all been a bit nervous, confused, stressed, worried, frustrated... from watching the news. Making the effort to make a change relieved a lot of anxiety. I also went to Hakuba City Hall to find out what else I could do. They provided me with a list of goods that were needed up north and in the shelters and I sent ¥9000 of feminine hygiene products to help out some of the women who couldnt get to a drugstore to pick up their monthly needs.

If you are troubled but what you see on television I highly recommend you DO something as well. If you can't physically be there to make the change than support those who are there by donating some money. Every little bit helps. A dear friend I lived with when I first moved to Japan has been making cute skirts for kids for the cause.

Her made in California Hana Skirts are for sale here on etsy and modelled on her Fru-t blog.

If the skirts are a bit too girly or not quite your size, check out these charitable trousers from betabrand, Japants:

Here are some other links to Japanese and international organizations providing aid in Japan:

American Red Cross
Canpan Fields (Japanese NPO)
Save the Children
Non-Believers Giving Aid (scroll down the page for Japan earthquake relief)
NGO Jen (in English and Japanese)
International Medical Corps
Association of Medical Doctors in Asia                                                                                                    Shapla Neer                                                                                                                                               Japanese Red Cross  

If you are not in the mood to donate to the victims of the 3-11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, then I suggest seeking out another cause. There are plenty of people, places, and creatures, on this beautiful planet that could use some help.

Arigato!

We woke up to 30 cm of fresh pow and sunshine on March 11. Yasu and I headed up to Goryu for fresh tracks and then headed back to tabi-tabi to make the switch from snowboards to our yuki-ita. Just as we were about the head out, Amir and Aisa arrived from Tokyo and decided to join us for a bindingless boarding challenge.

Once on the board they became instant yuki-ita fans. We got plenty of fresh lines, and a lot more laughs. Aisa remembers the ground moving once when we were there but thought it was just the Chu-hi (Japanese sho-chu and soda in a can) hitting her. We had plenty of fun until our stomachs grumbled and decided it was time for some local soba (buck-wheat noodle soup). I stepped into the restaurant first and noticed everyone glued to the television. Had a look myself but couldn't make any sense of it. Yasu came in, had a look, and said, "Tsunami!". We instantly lost our appetite and started making calls to all those people we thought might be affected but almost all the lines were dead or busy.

We frantically returned home, started watching the news for updates, and continued making calls. Eventually friends and family were all accounted for but on the news the scenes of destruction and death tolls continued to rise and rise. Amir went back to Tokyo on Sunday and called us when he got back. All seemed OK but there was very little food in the supermarket, and absolutely  no rice to be found. "We'll send you some!" but turned out  courier services weren't making deliveries to Tokyo.

Hakuba got a 40 cm dump while Yasu and I were thigh deep in flowers on the other side of Japan. Read about it here

tabi-tabi guests Ray and G from Operation Backpack Asia, Yasu and myself drove around the backstreets looking for the best (worst?) rental shops with the meanest gear and got ourselves hooked up with 7 matching 80s appeal one pieces. Sarah and Andy of Snow Season Japan did all the work behind the scenes and organized yet another super fluoro night at Tracks Bar here in Goryu.

Here are just a couple of us getting ready to head out:

Andy and Alastair representing tabi-tabi won a huge bottle of local sake in the Fluruo Fancy Dance off:

 

 

Hi there!

It's Angela, coming to you from the 3rd floor. Most of you didn't know this place existed but if you dare follow that rabbit, or slip through the linen closet, this is where you will end up.

So I have googled, "What to write for a first blog entry" and apparently I am supposed to tell you who I am. Well, I do a number of things and live in a number of places throughout Japan. Luckily, I get to spend winters in Hakuba, Nagano. Where I run a lodge with my snow-lovin' partner in life and business, Yasu. Last summer we extended our ventures and started up a Guesthouse in Shimoda, Izu which is where I will be blogging from come May.

Next I have to tell you why I am going to blog. Hmmmm.... why do bloggers blog? I guess it is a less formal way for me to share my thoughts and keep you posted on what is happening in and around Shimoda, and Hakuba.

So I hope you will read on to find out what this tabi-tabi-ness is all about. We would also love to hear from you! So post a message, send us an email, get connected through facebook, or stop by tabi-tabi some time!

Looking forward to chillin with yaz!

A&Y