Tokyoguesthouse Itabashi-Juku

The lounge is especially nice, and the staff are friendly. For what it costs, the place is pretty comfortable. I’d try to stay here again if I come back to Tokyo.

Free coffee and a very low price were definite pluses, so it could work well if you’re visiting Tokyo on a budget. The neighborhood is fantastic and the staff are friendly, and my bed was clean. The rest of the hostel, though, was pretty grimy. Flies were all over the shared areas, bins often overflowed, and the toilets constantly smelled of urine. It made me wonder whether the soft furnishings there had been laundered in a while.

I spent 8 nights in a 10 bed dorm. The lobby and shared areas looked lovely, but the bedrooms were pretty rancid. The bunks had a light, outlets and coat hooks, which was nice, though the mattress was extremely hard. There was mold on the dorm shower room walls, but not inside the shower itself. It’s a cheap place, and towels cost 100¥ to rent. Laundry was affordable too, 350¥ including the dryer. There are restaurants nearby, plus a train station connecting to Ikebukuro Staion.

At around 4,000 yen a night, I found the simple dorms comfortable and slept well. The shared facilities were clean, with free coffee and showers. There’s a lot of space in the rooftop and basement lounges, and they have plenty of manga and artwork, which makes them nice places to relax. The Japanese-style design seems to draw plenty of foreign tourists. Good value, especially for foreigners.