Kyodo via Yahoo: Welcome to Japanese backpackers' paradise
If you find a lemon-yellow door with a painted sun flag and a Japanese sign in the central part of Mexico City, it likely marks the famous Pension Amigo. Pension Amigo is the best known "nihonjin yado" (Japanese hostel) in the Americas. Nihonjin yado receive exclusively Japanese travelers..."Most of the time, nihonjin yado are the cheapest options in the town," said Masanobu Murakami, 28. He is a backpacker who has been lodging at the hostel for a couple of weeks. In case of Pension Amigo, a bed in a dormitory room costs 50 pesos (about $4.5) and a private room costs 100 pesos. It has 16 rooms for 35 guests. Mitsuhiko Takeba, 35, also a long stayer at the hostel, said Japanese travelers tend to travel cheaper and longer than some others. "Japanese want to take advantage when they go out of Japan. As Japan is an island, they have to make big decision to go anywhere. And unlike Europeans, who enjoy their long vacations, Japanese have to quit job to travel for a long time," he said.
"Japanese backpackers have a different style of travel than the Europeans," Murakami said. European travelers tend to spend money, prefer to go out in at night, and often travel with their partners, in contrast to Japanese travelers who spend little money, often go to bed earlier and usually travel alone, he said....Takeba pointed out that most Japanese travelers do not have enough language skills to exchange information with non-Japanese travelers. He mentioned it as another important motive for the nihonjin yado....Yuya Kimori, 25, a current temporary manager, has been working for 15 months. When he left Japan, he did not know that he was going to stay so long in Mexico. "I like it here, because I meet many Japanese who I would never get to know in Japan," Kimori said.