Book Inn

I booked for one night and spent two hours outside a locked door. There was no reception and I never got a self check-in email. Calls and emails went unanswered. Booking.com eventually arranged a refund after I contacted them. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

There are some useful things here: a washing machine, dryer and shared clothesline, plus plenty of room under the bunks for large luggage. It’s well ventilated and cool, close to the station, and surrounded by shopping and food options. At 5100 yen a night, though, I found it far too expensive for what you get. If it had been 2000+ yen, as other people have said, I’d have tolerated it and might have stayed again. The sleeping setup has a few issues. In the top bunk, the compartment ceiling is open, so someone climbing the ladder to the next bunk can see you, though there’s plenty of headroom. The lights stay on at night, so bring a sleep mask if you’re up top. The building has izakayas, and noise from above carries down if you’re at all sensitive to sound. Exposed pipes are visible in the photos; they seem to be drainage pipes, and every so often you can hear water discharge briefly. I’m not sure if it’s sink waste or something else, but at least nothing was leaking. Some spots are very dusty, including obvious areas and places that are harder to see, especially on the upper bunks. There’s a small locker that might fit a handbag, but its door is noisy and difficult to open and close, so it’s not ideal late at night or early in the morning.

The wood has a nice, rough, partly unfinished look if that’s your thing. I didn’t like the smell inside the cubby or the practical setup. The lights stay blazing past 11 pm with no switch to turn them off, and the AC was blasting. It’s an overpriced basic hostel. Even with a late check-in, there’s no late checkout, and it costs 500¥ per 30 minutes. Their email said check-in closed at 10 pm, so I rushed over, but nobody was there. If reception is empty and you don’t have a Japanese phone, good luck getting help. My international calling app didn’t work.

The price is very good, and it’s a clean hostel in a convenient spot near Niigata train station. The downside is that the capsule bed has no ventilation, so the curtain has to stay partly open. There’s only a small kitchen with a kettle, microwave and sink, and it isn’t separated from the sleeping area. Free tea is available, but there’s no dining table. There are no lockers for luggage, which seems similar to other hostels in Japan.