Anyone who has spent time backpacking on a tight budget knows how important cheap hostel accomodation is; both for saving money to spend on more important cultural experiences such as drinking beer, and for exchanging valuable information with fellow travelers, like where the best places to drink beer are. The quality of the accommodation and the welcome you get also have a great impact on one's impression of a travel destination. Not surprisingly, the best hostels are run by people who understand what their customers need; and if anyone knows what backpackers want when they are on the road it's Akihito Iida.

Aki, as he is known to his friends and guests, spent a year and half on a motorcycle traveling all around Western Europe, before making the mammoth trek through Central Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and South and South East Asia, before arriving back in Japan. Over 445 days he traversed over 55,000 kilometers, visited 40 countries and stayed in 190 places. Aki Iida has stayed in a lot of hostels. It was as he was traversing the Iranian Highlands on his motorbike that his thoughts turned to what he should do when he returned to Japan after two years as a self-proclaimed international vagabond. He appreciated that many of his most memorable experiences on the trip were the result of the kindness of the people he met, and turned his thoughts to what he could do to enhance the experience of fellow international vagabonds visiting his native Kyoto. A friendly backpacker guesthouse where travelers could not only find a cheap bed, but also, a friendly welcome, and local information beyond that in the guidebooks seemed the ideal way to do just that. On returning to Kyoto he bought and remodeled a former boutique, and opened J-Hoppers in 2002.

Of course, Hiroshima was on the itinerary of many of his guests in Kyoto. He realized, however, that when asked for recommendations of cheap backpacker hostels he couldn't make any. With many of his guests making daytrips to Hiroshima, returning to sleep in Kyoto, he saw a need, and a business opportunity. In autumn this year he moved down with his wife and 3 month old son to open J-Hoppers Hiroshima in an old ryokan, a few minutes walk west of Peace Memorial Park.

He finds Hiroshima is "such a beautiful place" and far less congested and hectic than Kyoto. A sake lover who enjoys sharing stories with his guests over a cup of good nihonshu, Aki is also pleased to be in an area famous for some of Japan�fs best. Pleasantly surprised by the welcome he has received, he is enjoying what he describes as a more relaxed attitude to business compared with Kyoto, although the "my pace" attitude can sometimes be frustrating when he wants to get things done.

Since his arrival, Aki has also been surprised that there are so few businesses catering to the needs of backpackers. He couldn't believe how difficult it is rent bicycles in a city so suited to getting around by bicycle. Needless to say, he has bicycles for rent.

Located in a quiet Dobashi area, just west the Peace Park, in which there are several more expensive ryokan popular with foreign travelers, it will be interesting to see what impact J-Hoppers has on services offered to backpackers. Aki hints at rumors that more Kyoto business owners are considering getting in on the action, but whether new services are provided by locals or outsiders, Aki hopes that his hostel will become one of many in the area creating a kind of backpackers paradise. "In the future this area could be kind of like Kao San Road in Bangkok," he says smiling.

JJwalsh & Pwalsh 11/2006