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By HIROMITSU UEKI, The Asahi Shimbun
``We've had tons of trouble-our different ways of using the baths and toilets, of drinking tea or coffee, their tendency to haggle over prices.' ISAO SAWA Traditional innkeeper

The ryokan inn he owns may be small, but that hasn't stopped Isao Sawa from making a big name for himself.

Long known in the tourist industry as the purveyor par excellence of hospitality to non-Japanese, Sawa, who runs the Sawanoya Ryokan in Tokyo's shitamachi old downtown area, has had about 20 titles conferred on him, among them vice-chairman of the Japan Tourist Hotel Association and board member of the Tokyo Convention and Visitors' Bureau. The most recent accolade, ``Shitamachi Charisma of Hospitality to Foreigners,'' comes from no less a source than the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It suggests his reputation has spread from the tourist industry to a rather large bit of the government-whose bureaucrats might want to brush up on their English.

Located in the Yanaka district of Taito Ward, just a few minutes' walk from Nezu Station on the Chiyoda subway line, Sawanoya is small and unpretentious, with 12 Japanese-style rooms, only two of which have private baths and toilets. It offers the characteristic old-fashioned pleasures of ryokan accommodation, including the chance to lounge around in a yukata and sleep on a futon. The shitamachi atmosphere is fun and foreign guests enjoy the traditional Japanese elegance, but otherwise there is nothing particularly outstanding about Sawanoya. Nevertheless, it is almost always full.

Many of Japan's tourist spots are desperately in need of visitors. Hotel and ryokan operators whose concern over possible linguistic and cultural barriers once made them wary of foreign guests are now bending over backward to attract visitors from overseas. The government, too, is getting in on the act, having introduced-somewhat belatedly-a ``Visit Japan'' campaign.

So how has Sawa done it? The eagerness of his struggling fellow innkeepers to know his secret has sent him out on the lecture circuit. As a speaker, he is much in demand.

``Because our inn is run by only three of us, I can't slack on the job,'' says Sawa, 67, who depends on his 60-year-old wife, Yoneko, and his son Arata, 36, to cover for him when he's off delivering speeches.

Getting where they are today has been an uphill struggle. The ryokan was started after the war by Yoneko's mother, Yoshi. Sawa, who had gone to work for a bank after graduating from a university, took over the inn after he and Yoneko married. A prosperous business at first, at some point it began to founder. Sawa went to work part time at a hotel banquet hall, and later, he ran a takeout bento boxed lunch business on the side. It was out of necessity that the inn turned to foreigners.

Sawanoya's guest books have been signed by no fewer than 110,000 people. Some are regulars who invite the Sawas to visit in turn. Overseas trips in response to these invitations have been annual events over the past 16 years. Some of their hosts live in palatial style. One host smiled and stated the obvious, ``We don't stay with you because it's cheap, you know.''

One Sunday last year, Sawanoya was full as usual. The guests included American newlyweds who were staying for 29 days, an exchange student from Finland and six people from France who wanted to get off Japan's tourist track. By 8 p.m., most of the guests were back for the night. A makeshift stage was being hastily assembled in the lobby, and two women from the neighborhood were plucking koto.

``My son, lion dance, begin, ne,'' proclaimed Sawa in his typically masterful English.

Arata, who performs at the inn once or twice a month, began the lion dance. He is a performer of the orthodox school, having studied under a master. The dance was followed by a tea ceremony, and guests snapped photos of each other with the Sawas. A conversation of sorts, somewhat fractured by various language barriers, took the company far into the night.

``On average, we get between 6,000 and 7,000 guests a year,'' says Sawa. ``Our room occupancy rate is more than 92 percent. Mostly, we're full-families, couples, backpackers traveling alone.''

No, he replies in answer to the obvious next question, he does not plan to enlarge the facilities.

``If we did, we wouldn't be able to offer family-style service. What our guests enjoy more than anything else is being face to face with us as a family. They come because we're a family-run establishment. That's what they tell us. They see us all the time, the same faces, and so they can relax. It's the family aspect of the Sawanoya that's the attraction. Me, my wife, our son, his wife, their two kids-plus the cockateil we've had for 27 years, Reon. He's also a key member of the staff.''

What about Japanese guests?

``Until quite recently, 90 percent of our guests were foreign,'' Sawa says. ``Lately, though, we've been seeing more Japanese, so now it's about 80 percent foreign, 20 percent Japanese. We have a strong image as an inn for foreigners, but there's nothing exclusive about it. A Japanese inn with no Japanese guests would be rather strange.''

On average, he adds, seven countries are represented among each day's guests.

More than 90 percent of reservations are made directly by guests, via phone, Internet or fax. ``Our name gets around by word of mouth, and we have many regular customers, too. Country by country? The highest number comes from the United States, followed by Britain, France and Australia. About 20 percent are from Asia.''

The Internet is an increasingly important marketing tool for Sawanoya.

``We have a Web site, with English text beside a picture of the family, suggesting that `our family welcomes you.' We get about 100 hits a day. Reservations via the Internet are about 30 percent of the total.''

``Naturally,'' he replies when asked if low prices are a factor in Sawanoya's popularity.

Room charges start from 4,935 yen a night for single occupancy, or 9,870 yen for two in a room with a bath. Breakfast of toast and eggs costs 315 yen.

``Clean, worry-free and inexpensive-that's our motto,'' he says. ``But are we popular only because we're inexpensive? Absolutely not.''

What has Sawa learned from dealing with his foreign guests?

``We've had tons of trouble-our different ways of using the baths and toilets, of drinking tea or coffee, their tendency to haggle over prices,'' he says. ``Until about three years ago, I was ready any number of times to just close the place down. But then you start to think-every country has its own culture, its own customs. I came to realize there was no malice on their part.''

The lobby, stacked with pamphlets, is a fount of the most varied information.

``Our most important service is to make accurate information available,'' says Sawa ``Guests have all kinds of questions: `Where can I find material on the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake?' `Where is the grave of judoka Jigoro Kano?' `Where do you go to watch sumo practice?' `Where should I go if I want to play go?' I have six scrapbooks full of the bits of information I've collected over the years. I've made an English map of the area. And here are various discount tickets for tourist venues.''

``The important thing isn't making money,'' he adds. ``It's to have our visitors get to know Japan and the Japanese people.''

Visit Sawanoya Ryokan's Web site at < www.tctv.ne.jp/members/sawanoya >.(IHT/Asahi: January 15,2005)
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