diff --git a/IPython/frontend/html/notebook/notebookmanager.py b/IPython/frontend/html/notebook/notebookmanager.py
index 78ca76159..9acf0cd8a 100644
--- a/IPython/frontend/html/notebook/notebookmanager.py
+++ b/IPython/frontend/html/notebook/notebookmanager.py
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ from IPython.utils.traitlets import Unicode, List, Dict, Bool
 
 class NotebookManager(LoggingConfigurable):
 
-    notebook_dir = Unicode(os.getcwd(), config=True, help="""
+    notebook_dir = Unicode(os.getcwdu(), config=True, help="""
         The directory to use for notebooks.
     """)