Hakata Inn lets you stay for less than Y2,000 a night – Fukuoka
Over the years, we’ve scoured the country to find the best value accommodation deals, trying everything from compact capsule hotels to amazing Internet cafe rooms, all offering great value overnight stays for the budget traveller.
Now we’ve stumbled across another unbelievable deal, this time in Hakata City in Fukuoka Prefecture. Here, at 81’s Inn Nakasu, visitors can enjoy an overnight stay for as little as 2,000 yen a night, with lots of additional extras available to help make your stay as comfortable as possible. Guests can choose to sleep in capsule-like beds in a unisex or female-exclusive dormitory. Considering regular capsule hotels in Hakata go for 4,000 yen a night, a stay at 81’s Inn is excellent value at half the price.
Opened in April this year, the interior and beds feel clean and new, which is one of the most important factors we look for when it comes to value for money. Just because the price is dirt cheap doesn’t mean the interior should be, so we were pleasantly surprised by the great look and feel of the dorms. If you’re planning on staying in budget accommodation in Japan, a good tip is to try and bring your own towels and amenities to help keep costs low. If you find yourself in need of these items, though, they can be purchased at the front desk.
13 children taken to hospital after strong acid spills during science experiment – Fukuoka
Thirteen children were taken to hospital Friday after hydrochloric acid spilled over during a science experiment class at an elementary school in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, the local education board said.
The 13 six-graders felt poorly, with some complaining of headaches or sore eyes, according to the education board and other authorities. The accident took place around noon at Nagazumi Elementary School in Fukuoka’s Minami Ward when one of the pupils spilled around 3 milliliters of hydrochloric acid by mistake on a table from a test tube.
LGBT groups, educators call for diversity in school uniforms – Fukuoka
LGBT groups and educators on Saturday highlighted the need to allow sexual minority students in Japanese middle schools and high schools to freely choose uniforms that they feel comfortable wearing. Nearly all schools in Japan require students to wear uniforms that are strictly dictated by binary notions of gender — black jackets with militaristic stand-up collars or blazers with pants and neckties for boys, and sailor suits, pleated skirts and ribbons for girls. The lack of choice creates an uncomfortable and possibly traumatic situation for students who have female physical traits but identify as male, or vice versa.
Anri Ishizaki, head of Fukuoka Rainbow Educational Networks, told a symposium held in the city in southwestern Japan to discuss the issue that the group received precisely those kinds of concerns from students.
“School uniforms could consist of blazers (for all students), with a choice between pants and skirts, ribbons and neckties,” proposed the 33-year-old, who was born with female characteristics but does not clearly identify as male or female.
Fukuoka Girls’ Commercial High School from this school year beginning in April started letting students choose between skirts and pants regardless of gender identity. “We’re careful that (the uniform) doesn’t force our students to come out at school,” the school’s principal, Haruo Shibata, explained at the symposium. The event was arranged by lawyers’ group the Fukuoka Bar Association and attended by some 180 people.
LGBT students would not be the only ones to benefit from more uniform options, according to Takehiko Yoshioka, a philosophy of law professor at Saga University.
“It’s hard to feel like you have to live up to some idea of ‘masculinity’ or ‘femininity.’ There are many students who would have an easier time going to school if they were free to dress as they like,” Yoshioka said.
