Iseshima Youth Hostel

You have to put on your own sheets and pillowcases, and there was blood on the pillow before I covered it. The futons on the floor were thin as rice crackers, and there was a palm-sized spider. You could see outside from the bath, but there was no hot water. Neither reception clock worked.

We stayed as a family of three in April 2025, paying ¥5000 per adult for one night with breakfast. Our schedule ran late, so we arrived in total darkness well after the planned time. A man in his 60s who seemed to be the owner greeted us at reception. When we apologized, he quietly said, "Yes, it's very late," and sounded displeased. 😓 We were surprised to have to lay out our own futons, and the bathwater was quite lukewarm. ♨️ The food and the rest of the stay left me thinking, well, at ¥5000 a night, maybe that's about what you can expect...?

For the price, it's fine as long as you know what to expect from a public lodging that feels more like a training facility. It was about five minutes from Spain Village, halfway up a hill across the bay, so handy for going there. I visited in winter, and the shower flow was weak, the water wasn't hot enough, and the bath itself was only warm. Dinner came with as much rice as you wanted, and breakfast had toast and rolls. The ocean-side room with the great view was Japanese-style. On the hill side, the room had a 2.5 tatami mat area and bunk beds for six. The kids were excited to sleep in bunks, which they don't usually get to do.

It was nice to catch five minutes of fireworks at Shima Spain Village, and the man in charge was friendly enough to put our shy kids at ease. I'm glad we stayed, though there were plenty of frustrations. This was my first time at a youth hostel, during Obon. There was no elevator, and the steep stairs made hauling my suitcase difficult. The outlet indoors only had about a meter of cord, so charging my phone while using it was awkward. I could hear people talking next door, and there was a strong smell from dead window stink bugs. There was dust on the sheets and futon, and putting on the sheets myself after check-in was tiring. The thin, rice-cracker mattress left my body aching in the morning. The shared toilet was used by foreign guests too, and their slippers were messy and piled up, making the area dirty. Toothbrushes were available at reception for a fee. I appreciated the different shampoo brands in the shared bath, so I could pick one that suited me, but the bathroom window let me see the office window. That bothered me, and I wished there were at least bamboo blinds. The fridge, microwave, and pot were shared in the hallway. My phone connected to Wi-Fi, but my Switch didn't. The boiler also seemed to be malfunctioning, and we had no water from 9pm, which was a problem.