Have a happy new year from Kyoto

Today is the day of the end of this year, 2012. We've spent special days with our guest. And we've experienced so many things. Some of them are a bit bitter , some are sweet, and some are lovable. And everything is valuable!

We love our guest. That's why we want to keep up our work.

Yeah, in the last month of the year, we met a French guy, Le Bacon. He was around 70 years old, and very energetic and lovable. He spoke just French. He traveled all over the world by his own style. His smiles were really great. He used good gesture, and facial expression. Everybody loved him.

He bought a model golden ship as a souvenir at a big flea market in Kyoto.

After staying 13 nights, he left Kyoto. And  I went to the male dorm to make the bed he used. He already folded the comforter and all the sheets to make the place tidy. Great. He was really kind and gentle to us, even if he left our hostel.

We want to let all guests stay in Kyoto comfortably. Because we love them, and we have the purpose to make our hostel better for them. We can't reach the goal. The goal is so far. Happiness For All the Travelers.

Yes, we are a team of a tiny hostel. We should be better, and we are getting better!
Have a happy new year!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Doraemon(ドラえもん）

Do you know this character?

It's Doraemon(ドラえもん）.
Doraemon is a famous Japanese manga series.
It's about an intelligent robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy, Nobita(のび太）.
Doraemon has a pocket from which he produces many gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. When Nobita is in trouble, he always give him these gadgets and aid him.

When i was young, i always wanted to have Draemon. I asked my mom to have him all the time.
No no.........i want to have him even now.
Everyone, if you know him, please introduce me.
I just want to be a friend of him.
Of course, i am not a person who want to get just gadgets. hahaha...........

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

The luck of the draw

It has been only 2 days left this year.
How fast the time passes!!

Do you remember the happiest thing of this year?
There was a happy thing for me few days ago.
We went to the restaurant for the year-end party with 30 people.
And there was the game which you can get goods by lot during the party.
There were many nice goods like PSP (game), digital camera, coffee maker etc.................
When i checked all goods, i really wanted to get a digital camera. Because few month ago my camera was broken and i didn't have new one after that.
I picked up the number and my number was 23.
And in the middle of the game someone called my number and the goods was a degital camera i wanted.

"Oh my god !!"
My desire came true.
I think i might have the luck of the draw.
On the other hand i am bit worried if i have run out of all my luck for that.

I hope that my luck will continue next year!!
Of course i hope that everyone will be happy, too!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Rabbit shrine, Okazaki-jinaja shrine(岡崎神社, おかざきじんじゃ)

Yeah, a rabbit. It's cute.

Behind a rabbit there was a monster. Oh, dangerous. 

I'm just kidding. It's not a monster. Actually that sculpture is a sort of a protector for the shrine. Almost all shrines have the protectors in front of a main buildings, and they are placed on the left and right side or that buildings, like watching the approaches. 

Oh, I don't mention about the protector called Komainu(狛犬). I wanted to write about the shrine with rabbits. The rabbit is the symbol of Okazaki shrine. They are also a kind of protectors. It's written they can help you to avoid evil spirits, meet a nice boy/girl friend, and get a baby. I don't know if good luck will come or not. But anyway they are so cute! Yeah, the good luck is just the bells and whistles!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

A bamboo artist on Philosopher's path

When I walked down Philosopher's Road(哲学の道, てつがくのみち), I found a really nice handmade shop. In the following photo, you will find a lot of small things on the black cloth.

Yeah! They are all insects made of bamboo. An bamboo artist, Makoto Yamaguchi who was a professional painter for kimono. He came up with the idea to make good toys by bamboo. 

What do you think about arms and antennas which are bent. He did it by heat and a bit strength. Bamboo is easy to break if you bend the thin one. He has the great skill for it, and, of course, his creations are all balanced. Yes, he is an artist!

It's on a swing. Amazing work! 

I said "Do you have a business card?". 

"Yes" he said smiling and leisurely. "But, right now I don't have."

"Oh, why?"
"I made my business card by myself. They are also hand made."
"OK, then how can I get it?"
"Well, could you wait for a month or something? Because some guys are waiting for my business cards. I'm drawing it."
"I see. Then I will wait for a month or so. And come back to this road to get it and take a look your creations again."

I said thank you. Yeah, that was a good meeting!
His age was about 60 or 70 years old? I don't remember it. Because he was very energetic and looked very young.

When you go there, check it out!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Kaomise Kabuki Performance(顔見世興行） at Minami-za theater（南座）

Kaomise Kabuki Performance(顔見世興行） has been taking place at Minami-za theater(南座） by  today.
Kabuki(歌舞伎） is a popular traditional stage drama in Japan performed exclusively by men   along with songs and music.
Kaomise is literally the "Face-showing" ceremony of a theater to celebrate the opening a new season and its new troupe during the Edo Period.
It brings together the top Kabuki stars to perform some popular titles.
It's the most famous Kabuki performance.

Actually one of our staff is going there today.
She is a big fan of Kabuki. She goes to see it every year.
She said she has a one particular favorite performer and he is playing today.
I hope she will enjoy today's performance. and i look forward to listening about it from her.

If you are interested in Kabuki, please ask our staff.
She will keep on talking when you ask about it.

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Japanese Automata For Yatsuhashi Sweet Shop

Merry Christmas! The city is busy, and every body is energetic. When I walk along a one of the busiest streets in Kyoto, I found an automata for an exhibition of a sweet shop. They sell Yatsuhashi, which is a famous sweet of Kyoto.



Yeah, it's working everyday without rest. I really respect that.

Anyway Christmas has come. Happy Christmas for everybody, and happy Christmas for the hard working automata!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

An arcade with stars at night, Shinkyogoku St.(新京極通り, しんきょうごくどおり)

Well, this is a Christmas Eve. I walk along an arcade in the center of Kyoto. The name of that street is Shinkyogoku St. I'm looking for the BEST present for my family, saying "Oh, this candle is nice to my mother, and that clock is nice to my father. Walking, walking, walking and, I walked a lot. I'm a bit tired, and I look up at the sky. No sky there. The Arcade there. Well, the human being has hidden the sky.

But, I find the stars on it. Outside the arcade if I look up, I may find some stars. Under the arcade I can watch many stars, which are LED lights, though human being has hidden the sky with stars. Yes, we hid the natural stars and made artificial stars. 

No, no, I don't complain about it. They are so beautiful, and they are for Christmas. That's it. Nothing to complain. I stop walking for a while. Japanese normally celebrate Christmas, despite the religions. It's a lovable common event for us. And no one complain about stars if they're natural or artificial. We just watch the beautiful things in the event. So the stars under the arcade are really nice.

You know you seem a really contradiction. But, the smiles of your lovable people doesn't seem a contradiction. For my family in the happy Christmas, I walked a lot. That's it.

OK, then I continue to try to find BEST presents. You too, right? Yeah, let's go!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Our guest prepare everything to the minutest details

Some people stay at A-yado prepare everything to the minutest details.

Our guest from South Korea has brought an electric blanket from her country.
I think she knows how cold Kyoto city is.
Actually i was impressed by this preparation.
Because there was no idea of bringing an electric blanket for me to travel other countries.

Well, i remembered that one of my Korean friend brought a rice cooker in the backpack instead of others while studying long time ago. That's funny, isn't it?
I think many Korean people tend to bring their necessaries to everywhere.
Sometimes i might have to imitate their behavior.

By the way, it is Christmas Eve tomorrow!!
Weather forecast said i will be a White Christmas.
I hope everyone has a good Christmas!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

My favorite restaurant, Coeur

They were really nice lunch, when I went to the restaurant, Coeur in the photo below..

The owner has a great skill to make a ceramic cup and plate. And, of course, she cook very tasty dishes. I love the time to eat something tasty as the best moment of my life!

It's inside the restaurant. It looks old a Japanese house. The steep stairs is one of the characters of Japanese old house. Be careful when you go up!

It looks like a friend's home. Nice.

The dishes in was delicious. Yeah, and the atmosphere made me at home. 

But, the owner decided to go to Australia to live. The country was her favorite one. Yeah, it was good to know, though I can't eat the lunch.

Oh, no no, I could. When I go to Australia, and if she open a restaurant, I can eat!!

Yeah, why not!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

A big bear waiting for a garbage

Basically I like a bear, unless it chases me to eat. So a doll like Teddy bear is better for me. Yeah, it doesn't move to chase.

Yeah, it doesn't move to chase. But, too big. The face is cute, yet scarring to me. It is sitting and giving its arm-open welcome to something.

Oh, I see. It's waiting for garbage. Then the bear is polite and hard working. You see the red letters in Japanese, "不法投棄厳禁", which means "Prohibited to throw your garbage in the box without permission". Yeah, it's working all the time.

It seems a good idea. Because if it has a character, we will be nice to it. No, no, I don't talking about "The shame culture". It's just the way to be nice to everybody. 

Sometimes, you find strange things in our daily lives. OK, let us know about them, if you do!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Nijo castle(二条城）

Nijo castle was built in the early seventeenth century as a temporary Kyoto residence for the first Tokugawa Shogun(徳川将軍）.
The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square meters, of which 8,000 square meters is occupied by building.
It's very huge, isn't it?
Are you worried about getting lost there?
But no worries!! There are many maps tell you where you are in the castle.
So i think you will not get lost there.

On the above picture is Ninomaru Palace(二の丸御殿）of Nijo castle.
One of the most striking features of them are "nightingale floors" in corridors.
It is to protect the occupants from sneak attacks and assassins, the builders constructed the floors of the corridors in such a way as to squeak like birds when anyone walk on them.
It's very unique, isn't it?
When you go to Nijo castle, try to walk them.
You will have fun!!

It take 20 mins by bus from A-yado to Nijo castle.
If you want to know more detail about it, please ask our staff when you check in.

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Kendo(剣道) shop, Japanese sword fight

Going along a street with a lot of students commuting, I was thinking about the best martial arts. Some says boxing is more like sports, not martial arts, and some says pro-wrestling is something like show. I don't know about it. But, it's a good idea to use a wooden sword to fight with a enemy. 

Yes, I mean Kendo is one of the advantageous martial arts. I don't say the strongest! Just being of advantage. And in the photo there's a Kendo shop.

They are bamboo swords and wooden swords outside. Inside I find a lot of protectors and a few steal armors. 

When you think about just the style of a strongest martial art, sometimes it's boring without the answer. They are so many!
Kendo can be literally translated into "Sword and Road" in English. 剣 is sword, and 道 is road. They are combined to pronounce Ken-Do. That means the fighting with sword is not only the way to be a winner, but also thinking about road to be humble, modest and strong mentally.

It has something to do with philosophy. I can't explain more, Sorry! If you want to be a Kendo fighter, please think the real strength as a Samurai. Good luck!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Boar restaurant smells good, and a cram school

Have you ever eaten boar meet? Me? Well, no. I've just heard it's delicious and a little bit hard.  

This is a signboard of a boar restaurant. You see the boar wearing sun glasses and holding a gun, which got other boars. It's on the right signboard. 

It was closed, when I passed. So I couldn't smell that BBQ. Yeah, it's a sort of a BBQ restaurant for boar meet. And beside the restaurant, there was a cram school. 

It's really bad to sniff a delicious smell, when you are studying very hard. Teacher will say "Keep on studying!". 

Yeah, keep on smelling it, you come to want to eat it. Sure. Me too.

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

One Piece(ワンピース）manga

「One Piece」manga has been very famous in the world.
I think many people from all over the world has been reading this manga nowadays.

This manga is a romantic adventure that main character and his friends explore the ocean in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as One Piece in order to become the next Pirate King. And it has many episode you can move such as the friendship, adventure toward the dream.

Our guest showed me this manga of English version as you can see the above picture. He bought only 2 volumes of this manga in the bookstore. But this manga book has already been released more than 60 volumes. So i think he will want to read the next volume and go to the bookstore soon.

Actually i am a big fan of this manga, too. I have been reading it since it started. And this manga moved me to tears so many times. It is really nice manga. I want everyone to read it.
So if you haven't read yet, you should try to read it soon.
It will be your favorite manga!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Our guests with nice t-shirts and badge

He wore the nice t-shirt. The t-shirts has Japanese. Well, nice. From the view of Japanese it looks cute or strange, and sometimes not stylish. But, for him it's really nice. 

He was from Scotland, speaking very good English. He came to our hostel with his father. 

His father liked badges very much. He always put some badges on his shirt or coat. In the photo there were 3 badges.

I've never seen this badge. It's the combination of Scotland and Japan. So nice!!

When I was a child, I loved badges of manga characters. I felt nostalgic, watching the good badge.
I asked to him "Where can I get that badge. I've never seen it. I guess It's not sold in Japan."
He answered "Well, in my home town."

OK! When I go to Scotland, I will buy one! The cost including airfare will be really expensive.
But, someday I will!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

LA VOITURE, which means a car, a good sweet restaurant

A girl is waiting for the time to sit down in the sweet restaurant. It's so famous, and the taste of sweets is incredibly delicious. I've just heard. Everybody says "amazing!". 

The name is "LA VOITURE". It's a French word, which means a car. Their business card is also like a car. It was cute.

The famous tarte tatin was already sold out... They were on a TV show some month ago. And some gourmet books shown them. 

It's inside the restaurant. Not so crowded. And they had good atmosphere.

Nice. I couldn't read French, but it looks like old news paper about some great sweets.

Somehow Kyoto has good restaurants, groceries shops, museum and cafes. I love stop by them!
And, of course, I love sweets. I ate some of them in the restaurant :P It was tasty! And I forget taking a photo because I was excited with it... Sorry, next time!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

TOYOTA CUP

TOYOTA CUP has been held in Japan.
Our guests from Brazil are going to Yokohama to watch the final of this cup on this Sunday.
They came to Japan for that. I think they are really big fan of their team.

They showed me a ticket of the final "Chelsea vs Corinthians".
I really envy them. I want to go there, too.
Actually i don't often watch a football match.
But i'm really interested in this cup. Because big and famous club teams are coming to Japan every year and this cup will be determined on No.1 club team.
For this time, Japan team has already lost the game, so i'll support the both teams for the final.

Ganbare(がんばれ！！）

I hope it will be good game on this Sunday.

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Honen-in temple(法然院, ほうねんいん), the great gateway

Walking up the stepping stones to get to the entrance gate, I felt "Oh, why do just a few guide books have the detail of the temple, Honen-in temple.

Through the entrance gate, you will find the sand art. It may something religious, but we, Japanese, don't know that meaning. It looks just the art to make the garden beautiful. Yeah, it was beautiful.

And this is my favorite entrance gate. The thatched roof covered with moss, and old wooden side. From my view, it looks perfect beauty. I went there in this Autumn. In winter there will be a lot of snow. The thatched roof will be covered by snow. It's also really nice!

Some of temples are not famous, yet worth seeing. Yeah, why not!! 

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

At the beginning of Winter, finding reddest leaves on Philosopher's path(哲学の道, てつがくのみち)

Here's the Japanese scenery in Autumn or sometimes the beginning of Winter. It's just a empty lot, yet they were nice to watch. It has colors, and it has their own specified figure. 

I walked along Philosopher's path. And I found the reddest leaves in this year to me. Around the tree, almost all leaves have fallen down. That tree is something special!

It was located in the middle of Philosopher's path. It was weird because of the redness. 

Colored leaves trees have many types, and according to how it grows the term of being red is different. So the term to enjoy them is long.

Some of temple or shrines still have colored leaves trees. 

Oh, but the temperature is getting lower! It was cold, when I come to work for the hostel.

Sure! Please bring your coat and sweater! And go out to enjoy the city!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Osaka castle(大阪城）

Do you know what castle n the picture is?
If you know about that, you will be a Japanese watcher.

The answer is Osaka castle(大阪城).
It is one of the most famous castles in Japan and the symbol of Osaka.

It was built in the end of the 16th century by the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi(豊臣秀吉）. But it has been burned down in the series of battles in the 17th century, and reconstructed later. Once again it was destroyed by fire and was reconstructed at last early in the 20th century. So it has been reconstructed 2 times.

If you are interested in history of Japan, you should go there.
Also i recommend you to go there in spring.
Because there is a park nearby and beautiful cherry blossoms can be seen.

It take only 1 hour by train from our hostel.
So you can enjoy a day trip!!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Golden carpet in the end of autumn

Then, now on 10th of December, almost all colored leaves's fallen and the colorful season will be completely finished with in a week. 

When you walk along a street lined with ginkgo trees, you will enjoy the golden carpet. Actually, it looks yellow in the photo. When I took it, The leaves on the ground were little bit wet. So it was like a golden carpet. 

And I found a golden couple. They are walking slowly and joyfully, holding their hands tight.

I guess they wanted to be a part of scenery of golden trees and carpet. They looked very happy :)

The temperature is getting lower. Yeah the cold winter will come soon. But looking the photo of a golden couple, my heart is getting warmer.

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net

Japanese winter pot for offal

When I go back to home, I find this restaurant.

"Motsunabe" restaurant, the name is Kyogame, these kanji means "Capital" and "Turtle".

And there was very nice smell, creamy soup and beef or pork. Sure I went inside!

Before hand, I took a photo of the restaurant. Because that red lantern is a very important sign to find it!

Yeah, if you like this kind of Japanese "nabemono", I recommend you to go there. Or if you don't like to eat offal, it's better to go a Sukiyaki restaurant or others.

Anyway the winter is the best season to enjoy "nabemono"! They makes your body so hot! And you feel like being in a warm place of spring until you don't go outside.

Winter is a great season! The temperature is lower, but people are hotter to get together!

---

The backpackers hostel in Kyoto is located in its historical district, Gion.
Good access by buses and trains. The center of Kyoto.
Please contact us, if you want to book our hostel.

info@ayado.net