67Hotel Kagurazaka

It was an okay first stay, though I’d choose somewhere nearer Shinagawa or Asakusa next time for convenience. The station I first thought was far away was the Toei Line, but the next day I realized the Oedo Line was actually very close. There’s also a Tully’s Café nearby, one of the great coffee shops in Japan. My room had 10 small dorms and felt cramped, so opening a suitcase was a bit difficult. The room itself was small, and there was some mold on the ceiling, though I forgot to take a picture. Given the price, I can understand the space. I liked the shampoo’s smell, and sanitary pads were provided in the bathroom. They also rent bath towels, face towels, toothbrush sets, and even earplugs. Now I understand why the earplugs are there, haha.

The hostel has the basics covered: clean rooms, beds and bathrooms, an elevator, vending machines, laundry, and most of the facilities you’d want. There’s also a market right beside it, and the location is nice. Noise is the tradeoff. There are seven extra beds in the room, plus a counter and a few benches in the corridor outside. At best, people are quiet and nobody uses the other beds while you’re coming and going. At worst, someone’s making a long call to family overseas on the benches, while roommates arrive and leave at all hours, which can happen in Shinjuku.

We ended up changing rooms because the first one was so dirty. The sofa looked like it had been picked up off the street in Queens, with brown and white stains, and the walls, sheets, and towels were stained too. The blinds were beat up, and the lamp was dusty. The replacement room was an improvement, with clean sheets and an actual table and chairs, but still disappointing. Its blinds were bent as well, and the lamp didn’t work and somehow looked even worse. Delivery is also difficult here: they only accept mail arriving during a two hour window in the morning. While we were checking out, a woman staying in the shared dorms was saying there were bugs everywhere and the hotel wasn’t doing anything about it. If room cleanliness matters to you, I’d strongly recommend staying somewhere else.

Bring your own soap, shampoo, and conditioner. The women’s conditioner had apparently been tampered with: it was greenish and smelled awful instead of being white and nice-smelling. I caught the smell before putting any on my hair, and I have no idea what was in it or who had put something in there. The rooms are so cramped that there’s basically no privacy. You can hear people moving around and everything else, even farts. There was also a really foul smell like a dead rat that hung around for two days, and at times it smelled musty too. The kitchen was just so-so. If you don’t mind the lack of space and privacy, and like a poopie smell, this could suit you.