I have stayed in several hostels, but most of them were in China. I have been to Japan many times, while it was my first time staying in a hostel in Japan. I was looking forward to it and very curious, wondering what would it be like for a Japanese hostel. Therefore, I changed my accommodation every day during this trip. I stayed in seven different accommodations in seven days, and five of which were hostels! Let me share the “Hostel Collection in Tokyo, Japan” with you!
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Map of the Hostels
The 5 hostels’ locations are shown in the map above. In fact, these 5 are actually quite close to one another, coincidentally. Before I introduce them in detail, let’s first watch a video that covers a simple browse over the environment of 5 accommodations:
1. WISE OWL HOSTELS TOKYO
Wise Owl Hostel’s (WOH) location is very good, exit from metro Hatchobori st., and it is right in front of you. There’s a Family Mart across and several Japanese restaurants near, very very convenient. In addition to this Tokyo store, WOH has another branch in Shibuya.
I was attracted by it before stepping inside. 1F is an open space with a bench outside. At right is a small cafe, and the coffee beans were from OBSCURA COFFEE ROASTERS. In the morning, fresh coffee and pastries will be served. Every Guest staying at WOH would be offered a 50 JPY discount for coffee.
Moreover, there is a Bar on the basement floor, which has live music performances. Besides, WOH holds many activities, parties, etc., all week long, and these events are usually held at the Bar. Guests staying at WOH would also receive a welcome drink from the bar.
Cafe Open time: 08:00~17:00；Bar: 18:00~24:00 (Website)
When first hearing the name, Wise Owl, I didn’t expect this name to be anything special. Until I was checking out and standing in front of the counter did I found that — WOWWWWW, there’s literally an OWL here!
This eye-catching beauty is called “安田 八”. According to WOH, she serves as a counter service of WOH, with the eyesight of “seeing through all the things happening in Tokyo” to welcome all the guests.
🛏 Mixed 10 Dormitory Room (JPY 4400)
There are 118 beds , and 4 types of rooms at WOH in total (Detail Info)：
- Family Room
- Standard Room（Double or Twin）
- Female Dormitory（8~10 ppl）
- Mixed Dormitory（10~14 ppl）
This is something surprising to see in a city that space is valuable. Not only WOH, all the 5 accommodations introduced in this article are so. I can stretch out comfortably without bumping the top. The advantage of their bed frame is very solid and firm. I barely noticed any shake when the person on the upper bed walked up and down. But because it is made of wood, the sound would be more obvious (and because it is a mixed room, there was more snoring).
However, the room’s sound insulation is very good. There are a lot of windows that get the room much light, which was nice, but as other guests in my room were the westerns, and it seemed that they tend to keep the windows open ALL DAY LONG, even during our sleep. However, the hostel building is on a big road, and the cars were terribly noisy at night, and I was awakened by the noise in the morning as well, which really irritated me (no mean to judge, but, honestly, most Asians would keep the windows close at night in such a noisy environment).
Speaking of mattress in hostels, my impression had been “can’t be too demanding, just need to be clean and sleepable”. Unexpectedly, hostels in Tokyo subverted my impression once again. WOH generously uses Simmons mattress, which is super comfortable, the pillow is great as well.
Fully Equipped
There are sockets (two-hole socket x2, USB socket x2), reading light, locker (accommodating an 11-inch notebook wide, and a 2L bottle high), a small storage board for each bed. There are also hangers, hooks, indoor slippers and a bath towel. There’s also a curtain for each bed, which is a basic element in a Japanese hostel. After all, privacy and personal space is vital in Japanese culture. What is great is that if you sleep in the lower bed, there is a very large space (about 30cm high) under the bed, which could not only accommodate an open suitcase and a pair of shoes, you can put your shoes and put them on your bed, but also avoid intruding commonplace with personal items.
By the way, food and drink are prohibited in Tokyo’s hostels (more intro below).
The toilets and shower rooms are separated into two independent spaces, each with a large and thick glass door. They are open 24 hours. I like its design, which is very spacious, bright and clean. And although it is on the same floor with bedrooms, there is a distance between them, plus the thick glass door is very soundproof, so guests can bathe and use hair dryer any time without disturbing others.
There is a public space in front of the bathroom, with a large table for guests to put their toiletries, or oversize large suitcases under it. People can also organize their luggage here in order not to disturb other guests in the room, which is very thoughtful.
The public lounge & laundry room are on the top floor, which is also open 24 hours. There are washing and drying machines in the laundry room.
The public lounge is pretty large, with a sofa, tables, and lazy bones, as well as computers, TV, a vending machine, board games, books, and tourist guides. The lounge also gets much of natural light. There is a small kitchen here with a refrigerator, a microwave, and other kitchen wares.
Hostel Info
Check out the Best Price for WISE OWL HOSTELS
- Comfort：★★★★★
- Cleaness：★★★★
- Quiteness/Privacy：★★★
- Convenience：★★★★（Close to metro, but not in tourist area）
- Socialty：★★★★（Many events）
- General：★★★★
- Add：3-22-9, Hachioji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
- Tel: 03-5541-2960
- Bike Rental JPY 1500/3H
- Officail Site／FB／Shibuya branch
- Access：
- Metro Hibiya line・JR Kyoba line「Hachioji」B1/A1 exit, 30s walk
- 43 min to Haneda Airport、75 min to Narita Airport
- 2 min to Tokyo St、15 min to Asakusa St、23 min to Shibuya St
2. IMANO TOKYO HOSTEL GINZA
IMANO is REALLY close to WOH, it only takes 30 min walking. I like their building design, simple and clean. Besides, the transportation is very convenient as well, near to Tokyo station, one-stop to Ginza, and two stops to Yurakucho; if you don’t mind walking, it also doesn’t take too long to walk to Ginza.
🛏 Female Six Bed Dorm, Breakfast Included （JPY 2975）
The room arrangement is long and narrow, which makes opening luggage will block the aisle, but there is no extra space for luggage, which is quite inconvenient. There is a cabinet for each guest, but as it is set at the bottom of the room, it would be not useful for people whose bed is on the other side of the room (like me). Moreover, there’s a MINI safe outside the room, which is too mini to be for practical use.
The bed is spacious as well, but the mattress seemed to be thinner and harder than the other hostels introduced here…? Which doesn’t matter, but what I couldn’t stand the most was that the bed frame was too noisy! I didn’t know it was the person sleeping above me that made too much noise or it was the bed frame problem. Anyway, it was noisy and disturbed my sleep.
On the other hand, the sound insulation of the room wasn’t very good. Plus our room was right next to bathrooms, so the sound of the hairdryer could be heard clearly; also, footsteps on the aisle and door’s open and close sound could be annoying as well.
Other parts were good, though. There is a small shelf above the bed, and socket, and a light. The bathroom was clean. There are three toilets and two sinks, and one shower room. If you travel in a peak season, it might take time to wait for the shower.
One thing I love about IMANO was their breakfast! The price for one night stay was surprisingly reasonable, so does the breakfast, surprisingly good. There would be a small buffet that offers cereals and milk, plus a sandwich and a drink for you to choose from. Although the sandwich is not very delicious, it was good enough.
In addition to those, this cafe/lounge on the 2nd floor was attractive as well, it is bright, spacious and comfortable. The café is made into an open bar, which offers drinks and light food. I really liked the balcony in the corner, with a table and chair. Although it is a small one, the sunshine there was awesome.
Check out the Best Price for IMANO TOKYO HOSTEL GINZA
- Comfort：★★★
- Cleaness：★★★
- Quiteness/Privacy：★★
- Convenience: ★★★★（Close to metro, but not in tourist area）
- Socialty：★★
- General：★★★
- Add：1-5-10, Xinfu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
- Tel: 03-5117-2131
- Official Site
- Access：
- Metro Yurakucho Line「Shintomachi St」Exit 2-2 min walk; exit 1-6 min walk
- Metro Asakusa Line「Takamachi St」Exit A1-6 min walk
- JR Kyoba Line「Hachioji St」Exit A3-7 min walk
3. NUI HOSTEL & BAR
Among the five accommodations introduced in this article, NUI is undoubtedly my favorite one. You must come to stay in NUI if visiting Tokyo, which will have you fall in love with staying in a hostel.
It is located in a quiet alley near Kuramae station and is also very close to Asakusa. There is a popular vegetable restaurant next door. I fell in love with NUI at my first sight. Its facade is large. The left part of it was all transparent windows as the wall, and the right part was designed as an open bar during the day. The vibes were chill and amazing. In the morning, there would be a bakery and fruit at the bar (extra pay).
Entering into the building, I was amazed by the interior design once again. Using an industrial gray as the main body color, with a large part of wooden elements, leather and other brown materials to create a retro and warm feeling. There are also some green plants lighting up the atmosphere, plus the high ceiling design and spacious layout, making it a luxurious relax to read a book, working on a notebook, or even just sitting there doing nothing.
Guests I met in Japan’s hostels were mostly western people, oriental faces were rarely seen. Especially for NUI, I noticed there seemed to be some cute guys seems lolll.
🛏 Female 8 Bed Dorm（JPY 3000）
NUI uses password lock for the rooms, and the soundproof of the room was good– plus its location was quiet at night–, where I could get a noiseless good sleep.
They use a wooden bed frame that is the kind of traditional style, unlike the two mentioned above, which are the ones like a box. The disadvantage of the former one is that it is more likely to be shaken by people’s movements either upper or lower beds.
Their mattresses and pillows are also very comfortable; there are small lamps and sockets at the bedside, and there are two small nail hangers at the end of the bed, which are extremely simple. There is a three-story cabinet by the window that can hold personal items and cannot be locked. The room is spacious and the middle walkway is large enough to accommodate people on both sides to open the trunk.
I equally like the vibes in their room. The brown sheets and quilt they use brings the feeling of warmth and good texture, plus, such material makes less noise than the traditional white sheets and quilts. Their slippers are of leather textured which fits the same style as a whole. The wall is the same industrial gray as the 1F lounge, and with a yellow bulb hung at the bedside, creating a Japanese, hipster, and industrial vibes.
There is a toilet on the same floor with the room. It was a large space, including sinks –with hairdryer, cotton pad, and cotton tip–, trash cans, toilets, and shower rooms. There were 3~4 rooms for toilets (man, female separated) and shower rooms.
The lounge, kitchen, and laundry room on the 6th floor are open only to guests staying at NUI. I LOVE this space. They were amazing, both the lounge and kitchen. If it had not been for my schedule issue, I would have stayed at NUI for several days and enjoy this charming space.
As you step out the elevator, there was a large dark brown wooden table and an old-fashioned leather chair, with a chandelier decorated with dry flowers hung above. On the left side was the long aisle with desks on one side of the wall, and bookshelves were stacked on the wall irregularly. The chairs on this site were also made of leather, but the style was more modernized and brighter colored. On the other side of the aisle, there was a row of L-shaped chairs to the wall, with different shapes and kinds of tables in front of it, like an old-school cafe.
There were only two or three people here at that time, busy with their works, and the floor was quiet and peaceful. The lighting might be designed deliberately to be slightly dim as much beautiful natural light passes through windows, creating a warm atmosphere in the air during the afternoons.
As to the right part of this floor was the fascinating kitchen space. The L-shaped counter located along the entire wall, leaving the remaining space for a large wooden kitchen table, for people to enjoy their meal comfortably. All the kitchen utensils needed were perfectly set: two induction stoves, a variety of seasonings, tablewares, were all placed nicely. And the oven, toaster, and microwave were by the side. A space that makes people feel that cooking is such a pleasure.
Check out the Best Price for NUI HOSTEL & BAR LOUNGE
- Comfort：★★★★★
- Cleaness：★★★★★
- Quiteness/Privacy：★★★（Quiet, but personal privacy is not as good as the others）
- Convenience：★★★（Close to metro, but not in tourist area）
- Socialty：★★★★
- General：★★★★★ (My Favorite one)
- Add：2-14-13, Kuramae, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Tel: +81-3-6240-9854
- Official Website
- Access：
- Oedo Line「Kuramae St」Exit A7-1 min walk
- Asakusa Line「Kuramae St」Exit A2-2 min walk
4. BUNKA HOSTEL
BUNKA Hostel is, yap, in the Asakusa area again, and above that, BUNKA is RIGHT INSIDE the most crowded part of the Kaminarimon area. It takes only two minutes to walk to reach the famous Kaminarimon. It is also very close to the metro station and many restaurants around. Although it is in the center of a tourist site, it is a traditional cultural attraction, not a shopping area like Shinjuku, so the neighborhood is very quiet at night.
Despite of locating next to a traditional attraction, BUNKA made itself a modern industrial-style design, combining some traditional elements. The first floor is very spacious and is designed as a cafe. Guests staying at BUNKA should also purchase to sit here, but there will be exclusive discounts. I brought my computer here and ordered a cup of coffee in the afternoon. Looking outside at the bustling pedestrian streets, enjoying this pleasant and wonderful moment. In the evening, the cafe would change into a bar–sort of–.
🛏 Mixed Dormitory（JPY 2194）
This room was very, very special. It was one large room occupying the whole floor, with about forty or fifty (or more) beds in it! It was quite amazing, which was my first time to encounter such an arrangement. What was more amazing was that the room was SO quiet!! Unbelievably quiet as if there were no one staying inside.
Ingenious Room Layout
Although so many beds are in the same room together, the entrance of each bed (its bed is three sides sealed, only one open side) is cleverly staggered. Guests would not open their bed’s curtain and found themselves facing to another guest. Another advantage of this is to avoid the problem of having two luggage blocking the walkway at the same time. Besides, despite the great number of beds, there is still plenty of room for the walkway and allow guests to open their luggage.
In each bed, there was a lamp, sockets, a shelf, hooks and hangers. The curtain for each bed was silver-colored, and the bed frame was white, designed like a gigantic box. The room as a whole was like a space cabin. There were lockers around these “capsule beds” with a bath towel inside.
Specious Bathroom
The bathroom is a large compartment with male and female toilets, shower rooms, three each, and several sinks inside. However, BUNKA offers less shared space to its guests. Not including the cafe on the 1st floor, there is only a kitchen –accommodation guests only–, but it is very small and simple, which would not make people want to stay if not necessarily.
- Comfort：★★★
Cleaness：★★★★★ - Quiteness/Privacy：★★★★
- Convenience：★★★★（1 min to Asakusa）
- Socialty：★★
- General：★★★
- Add：1-13-5 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo
- Official Website
- Access：
- Metro Ginza Line「Asakusa」or「Tahara」St- 5 min walk
- Asakusa Line「Asakusa St」-5 min walk
- Tobu Line「Asakusa St」-5 min walk
- Tsukuba Express「Asakusa St」-1 min walk
5. BAY HOTEL Tokyo Station
This is actually a capsule hotel instead of a hostel, more like a business capsule hotel. On the last day of this trip, I booked this place near Tokyo Station in order to get to the airport faster. While I found that the accommodations in this area are so expensive! Even if it is only like one stop away from the hostels mentioned above. Simply a bed in a capsule hotel would cost around 5,000 yen; and a bed for a hostel’s dorm room might be one or two thousand yen higher. But, undisputedly, it’s really convenient to get to the Tokyo station, which takes only 5 minutes walk.
Because the hotel’s lobby is on the 2nd floor, be careful not to miss the building. As I mentioned, this is kind of a business hotel, but much cheaper, so many Japanese office workers, who may be on a business trip or else, would choose to stay here. Perhaps because the not that many foreign tourists stay here, comparing to hostels and hotels, the staff here did not speak English as well as those hostels’.
🛏 Female Capsule Dormitory（JPY 4865）
I had my 1st Japan hostel experience during this trip, and also my 1st experience staying in a capsule hotel, which was cool. The bedroom, lockers, and bathrooms are all separated into independent spaces. Because the floors are divided by gender, male and one female floor each has a shared lounge on their floor, while being very business-like–no featured design nor vibes.
Like Staying in a Girl’s Camp Dorm
Stepping out the elevator, you would first enter the room for lockers. Every guest has a large locker. Luggage should be organized and placed here, and are not allowed to enter the bedroom. This way can avoid making noise inside the bedroom, while being inconvenient.
In the locker, there were hangers, a pair of slippers, and a large bag with pajamas, a bath towel, and a toothbrush. After everyone changed into the same pink pajamas provided by the hotel after a shower, I felt as if I were living in a girl’s dormitory lol.
Fully Equipped Capsule Bed
Their bedroom, though was not as big as BUNKA’s, accommodated twenty~thirty capsule beds. Each capsule was equipped with a TV, lights, radio, a small shelf, sockets, a hook, and there was even the fire alarm. By the way, the bed was very comfortable.
Noisy, noisy, and noisy.
As I have mentioned above, there are office workers stay here. Additionally, since its location is near to Tokyo Station, many travelers who are going to the airport will choose to stay here as well. Both of the conditions mean that many guests here may get up and open the door VERY early in the morning. Because my bed was right next to the entrance, plus I slept at the lower bed, which barely had space from the floor, making the sounds of footsteps could be heard clearly from my position… That morning, I was awakened upsetting by the sound of footsteps and the bumping sounds of the door.
Compared with hostels, BAY Hotel is more expensive; however, the living quality and experience was in no way any better. I would probably not choose to stay here again unless I had no second choice.
Check out the Best Price of BAY HOTEL Tokyo Station
- Comfort：★★★
- Cleaness：★★★★
- Quiteness/Privacy：★ (Too noisy)
- Convenience：★★★★（Close to Tokyo Station）
- Socialty：★
- General：★★
- Add：3-8-13, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
- Official Website
- Access：
- Ginza Line「Nihonbashi St」Exit B1- 2 min walk
- Tozai Line「Nihonbashi St」Exit C4/C6- 4 min walk
- Asakusa Line「Nihonbashi St」Exit D3- 4 min walk
- JR「Tokyo St」Exit Yaesu- 7 min walk
Summary
Generally speaking, the accommodation experience I had in these hostels was great. The quality of Japan’s hostels is amazing. I strongly recommend when traveling to Tokyo next time, get a chance to stay in a hostel!
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