Sado Bellemer Youth Hostel

A great little place, with really nice rooms and friendly staff. I think it's one of my favorite places anywhere in the world.

The food was one of the highlights. Dinner and breakfast were delicious, simple, and felt home-cooked, which made the stay feel warm. The hostel was extremely well kept too, with clean, cared-for rooms and common areas. The onsen is only open from 3:00pm to 9:30pm, so you can't shower or bathe there the next morning. Check-in was unexpectedly uncomfortable. The owner seemed surprised we'd booked, and I got the impression he wasn't keen on hosting foreign guests. He said it was a Japanese-speaking hostel and suggested we choose English-speaking accommodation next time. We used Google's automatic translation for the booking and it worked fine for us, but I'd never encountered that sort of reaction in more than 10 years of traveling in Japan. It's near Himezu Bridge, which has a beautiful sunset view on clear days. Unfortunately, it was rainy and misty while we were there, so we missed out on that. The stay was clean and comfortable with great food, but based on our experience, it may suit Japanese-speaking guests better than international travelers.

We came with a young child and were welcomed so warmly. They even made bath time work for us, and we had a great stay. The youth hostel has a spectacular view of the beautiful sea, just as its name suggests. The food was delicious too. We chose the two-meal plan with breakfast and dinner, and it was so good I went back for more rice and put on a little weight. I'd definitely like to stay again someday.

Maybe this is just how a youth hostel is. The owner gets angry and snaps at you quite often, which is scary. His Hiroyuki-esque way of speaking is kind of funny, but still scary. He reaches his boiling point quickly, so it seems best to avoid him, not touch him, not ask questions, and not make requests. Maybe just nodding along and keeping still is safest. Even asking about things clearly listed on his website feels a little scary. I asked a week ahead whether I could get the meal upgrade advertised on the website. While I was asking, he said, "This is a youth hostel, so contact the youth association to make changes. Did you book through Rakuten? Oh, it's not listed here. Ah, this is it. xxx, huh? I see. Well, then just cancel and rebook." I said I understood and would do that. Apparently they hadn't expected me to follow through. He then said, "What? You're going to do that? It's your business, isn't it? What does this have to do with us? Could you please not contact them?" But this was about the meals at the accommodation. Then he said, "If you want to cancel, then go ahead." I hadn't said anything about canceling. I could clearly hear the woman behind me, who seemed to be his wife, say, "Just refuse. He's so annoying." The owner replied, "What? Can I refuse? What? His accommodation?" (T_T) There aren't many places to stay in Sado, so it was frightening to think they might refuse me without my agreement. I thought I could end up sleeping outside. The male owner is hard of hearing, and his Japanese is questionable. He also keeps repeating the same things, which is frustrating.