Tokyo

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 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 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 buidling 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.

This is a 100 year old photo of girls at the beach in Shimoda. Love the stripes! Click on the pic for more Swimsuit Girls of Old Japan".

Guesthouse tabi-tabi provides a refreshing assortment of cleansers and toiletries that are earth and people friendly. All of our soaps are organic and biodegrable making them gentle on the skin and on the planet. In the shower you will find Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap.  We try to rotate through the various scents they offer. Peppermint has an amazing cooling effect so it is great for summer. Citrus has a refreshing scent to perk you up, while almond smells good enough to eat. Once you start using Dr. Bronner's you won't want to use anything else. I've also got a bottle in my onsen basket at all times.

In the shower you can enjoy Avalon Organics Refreshing Cleansing Gel for the face, and organic shampoo and conditioner from Jason's Everyday Hair selection Care. Once you get out of the shower you can try out the Avalon Organics Balancing Toner.

By the sinks we have organic hand soaps and in the kitchen we wash our dishes with Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds.We have a washing machine you can use for ¥200. On the shelf, above the machine, you will find Grab Green's 3-in-1 Laundry detergent pods. Please help yourself.

We hope you will enjoy our selection of all-natural soaps and cleansers as much as we do!

道 (Michi) means road, の (no) is a possessive like our 's, and 駅 (eki) means station. Together you have "Road Station", which have all of the conveniences of a train station but is made for drivers and their cars. All michi-no-eki are organized by the government, and provide basic travel needs like free 24 hour parking, restrooms, and tourist information. Michi-no-eki is also the hub of many small towns providing them a place to promote tourism and trade. You can often find locally grown veggies, food stalls and restaurants with local specialties, souvenirs, hand-made goods, and sometimes even onsens! Michi-no-eki are government run and merchants are carefully selected to represent the town so you can be sure to find the best food and the most welcoming folks at the road-side michi-no-eki.

The Shimoda michi-no-eki has a great sushi shop you can read about here, and on the first floor you can get the Shimoda Burger I wrote about here.

The Minami Izu michi-no-eki is my favorite place to buy locally grown veggies. They also have bread and other pastries, plants, a gallery with crafts for sale, and excellent soft ice-cream served with a load of fresh blueberries. I will add it to our recommendation map here. Take note of the michi-no-eki symbol below so you will know where to take a break the next time you are on the road.

Even though there is snow on the peaks of the alps in Nagano, Shimoda is still sunny and warm. There are very few signs of fall in fact, except these big orange persimmon (kaki) ripening on trees all over Izu.

We have moved west, back to Japan's Northern Alps, and back to Lodge tabi-tabi. We will be making another appearance in Shimoda on October 21st to prep the house for a couple of very special guests. Later this month we will be providing accommodation for Katy and Jamie, the Travel Volunteer Team. They are on a 100+1 day mission to visit every prefecture of Japan and "show the world that Japan remains a safe and attractive destination for travellers from all over the world". We are really looking forward to meeting this adventurous couple. You can follow their amazing journey here.

From October until the end of March, Guesthouse tabi-tabi in Shimoda will be available as a private rental only. You can take over the whole place, 4 bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, the backyard, and all the bikes for 25,000 yen a night plus linen and cleaning fees (minimum 2 nights). So if you are looking for your very own cottage get-a-away, please fill in one of our enquiry forms, or send us an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you would also like check out the mountains in the picture above, then come and visit us at Lodge tabi-tabi, Hakuba.

Restaurant Marley has a great big deck where you could sip coffee and read the paper for hours. They serve eggs, toast, pancakes, cereal, yogurt, fruit.....everything a westerner craves on a Sunday morning. This ideal breakfast spot is less than 10 minutes on foot from tabi-tabi, just past the entrance to Ohama Beach. They are also open for lunch and dinner, and serve special dinners which can be ordered two days in advance. Click on the breakfast menu for a larger version.

Breakfast/Lunch: 9:00 - 15:00

Dinner: 17:00 - 20:00

Closed: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

You can also find it on our recommendation maps here and here

Yesterday, Matsuzaki held its 12th annual Taiko Festival. It was awesome! (or "saiko"  pronounced psycho in Japanese) 4 taiko groups, 2 dancing dragons, a bamboos flute, smashing symbols and gongs were accompanied by torches of fire, candles in bamboo holders, and the sound of waves lapping on the beach. When the sun disappeared under the sea in front of us, the nearly full harvest moon came up behind us. Nothing short of spectacular! Please join us next year for the  13th annual Taiko Festival in beautiful Matsuzaki!

Guesthouse tabi-tabi has a world map where we encourage our guests to make their mark, and show us where they're from. We are thrilled to be able to bring together so many people from all around the world. Thanks for joining us everyone!

Click "continue reading" below to check out the rest of our world map

A big thank you to all who have stayed with us so far.

We have had many guests join us from all over the world over the past year. We are pleased to have had the chance to meet so many travelers, explorers, adventurers, sun worshippers, sandcastle builders, cyclists, nature enthusiasts, surfers, shell collectors, beach bums, skinny dippers, seafood buffs, kayakers, and Shimoda lovers. And we are looking forward to meeting many more!

Here are our reviews from our Hostelworld Guests over the past year. I will add some more hand written notes from other guests soon.