＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Bag manufacturer Hayashigo (headquarters: Osaka City) opened CAFE/MINIMAL HOTEL OUR OUR, a simple hotel with a cafe attached, in Asakusabashi, Tokyo in June 2019.
“Minimal hotels” are simple hotels that reflect the recent social trend of “minimalism,” a lifestyle in which one owns only the bare necessities.
1. What is Cafe and Minimal Hotel Awaawa?
This is a renovated building that was previously used as the company’s Tokyo branch.
The building occupies floors 1-5, with the first floor being a cafe and retail space, floors 2-4 being accommodation space, and the fifth floor being a shower and bath. The second floor is for women only, while the rest are unisex. There are also private rooms and rooms for groups.
From the large “cypress bath” on the fifth floor, you can view the botanical garden outside.
The facility has 80 beds, and also offers “day use” options for two hours in the afternoon, and a “running station” where baths and showers can be used.
Prices start at 4,000 yen including breakfast, and private rooms start from 12,000 yen.
This hotel is likely to be popular with foreign tourists visiting Japan and business people who enjoy jogging on weekday mornings.
It was also featured in the magazine Hanako’s “Greedy Summer Travel 2019” section, where it was described as “a place that brings together cutting-edge culture and sophisticated Japanese beauty” and “the latest style of hotel in a downtown area.”
2. Why did a bag shop open a minimalist hotel?
By the way, many people may wonder why a bag shop opened a minimalist hotel. I am one of them.
A representative from Hayashigo Co., Ltd. commented as follows:
Until now, our company has been involved in the travel industry through the “thing” of bags, but as we move into an era where we sell “services (= experiences)” rather than “things,” we are entering the hotel business in preparation for our 130th anniversary next year, with the aim of building a new travel platform by proposing “experiences.”
Indeed, as mobile phones and smartphones become smaller, paper money becomes a cashless payment method, and documents and books are digitized and electronic, people will own less and a time will come when bags will no longer be necessary. This is an indication of the concern about the future of bags, and the company’s decision to enter the hotel business with a “reverse thinking” approach.
I also think it’s interesting that they’re entering the hotel business, based on the association of “bags-travel-travelers-hotels.”
Rather than being a “samurai business” that’s out of their league, it seems like they’re successfully incorporating the changes and needs of the current era (the sharp increase in foreign tourists, Japonism, the increase in jogging enthusiasts, etc.).