In this heat I think there is nothing better than an ice cold bottle of cider!  And I don't mean the "cider" here in Japan that is just a fizzy drink, I mean the apple alcohol drink.  I always think that beer is too heavy to drink in hot weather so cider is a great alternative, and is especially good with lots of ice in a cold glass!

Here at Sakura we have 2 types of cider.  The first is Strongbow, the most popular cider in the UK.  It is not a sweet cider, it can taste quite bitter but is really refreshing and at 600yen it is really a bargain!

The second type is Magners, an Irish cider (although exactly the same cider is also made in England and called Bulmers!).  It is sweeter than Strongbow and is great with ice, I recommend it for first time cider drinkers!  It is only 700yen so perfect to share with a friend.

Chopper seems to agree, lets hope he hasn't drunk too much already!

Please come and try our summer cider!

For more about these drinks click here

While I was busy preparing I looked around and it seems like Mr. Ishida and Romain were having fun!

And then when I looked behind me this customer was wearing the hat....like magic...

I only wish I had a hat like that too!

But Tokyo is not just urban space, there are wide open spaces as long as you are willing to travel for a little while on the train.

The closest mountain to Tokyo is called Mount Takao (高尾山) and is right out in the West of Tokyo.  You can climb the mountain and see views of Mount Fuji if you are lucky) and breathe some fresh air!

Mount Takao is famous for Soba, in fact the restaurant on Mount Takao is in the Michelin Japan guide!

The soba is really delicious, it is a bit more expensive than other places but it is well worth the money!

Also my favourite place in Mount Takao is the "Beer Mount" just outside the cable car station.

You can see a great view of Tokyo and at night time in summer you might even be lucky enough to see fireworks! 

and don't forget the beer!

So what are you planning to do this summer?  Why not try to go to the countryside and enjoy the fresh cool air?

One Piece is everywhere all around us....so many people come everyday!!!

The best way for you to have an idea about what is going around, is to have a look at those pics:

  They are everywhere!!!!  =)

All this surrounding is so nice....

See you soon at our Sakura hotel jimbocho!!!!  =)

After trying the One Piece pink hat the other day, now my colleague Hitoshi san is making a good come back with a great "Einstein dead t-shirt...."

How can I explain that.....just have a look!  =)

Can you do better....???  =)

See you soon at the Sakura Hotel Jimbocho!

In fact there are a lot of things we must do!

1)  Order things that we need for the next festival day.

We go through a lot of syrup!

2)  Speaking of syrup we also need to cean up the crushed ice syrups, all 7 of them!

And of course fill them up!

3)  Wash down the road outside.  Today Mr. Ishida was in charge of that so thank you!

Don't forget to be careful of people walking past!

4)  Eat an ice cream

Mmmmm, my favourite vanilla!

5)  Have a beer.  Wen our shift is finished of course!

And finally make sure that we are genki enough for the next day!

My favourite character is Chopper, and luckily for me someone left this really cute Chopper for us.  

We put him straight to work at the front desk as you can see!

We also got a really cool flag which we put up in the window, it gets us all in the pirate mood!

The festival runs until the 1st August so if you get chance please come and see us!

So many fans are walking around the Jimbocho streets to reach the "meeting points" and get the stamps on their One Piece special papers!!!!

But I believe that above the stamps.....there is the STYLE!!!!!   =)

Check this out.....do we have the ONE PIECE STYLE?????

YES we do........!!!!

See you soon to get the One Piece fever at our Sakura Hotel Jimbocho!!!

One of the stops (the stop for the character "Brook") is Sakura Hotel so lots of people come to the hotel to get a stamp.

Everyday there is a helper for the stampers and today I would like to introduce her to you!

Her name is Makoto and she is originally from Hokkaido!

Hobby: Playing the Oboe (she has been learning since she was in Junior High School!)

Music: Classical

Favourite food: Ramen, of course Sapporo Miso Ramen!

Dislike: Vegetables.  All vegetables!

Little known fact: She spent some time in America

Stay tuned for more helper introductions and don't forget to collect your stamp card at Jimbocho station when you arrive.