Crazy Digest: Review: Hana Hostel, Kyoto

Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012

This is the very first time I have ever stayed in a hostel in my life. Japan is after all a very clean place, and should offer top notch facilities even in hostels. Plus it has great reviews on TripAdvisor. Having heard so much about it, I was anxious to experience it for myself. This stay was actually forced upon myself, due to the high prices of accommodation in Kyoto. The most basic 3-star hotels were going at about RM550 per room per night, whereas this place was 3400¥ per person per night for a Private Twin room with ensuite bathroom. This works out to be about RM260 per room per night. In short, we loved it!

Upon arrival, we had to pay a 1000¥ deposit for the key, which is refundable upon checkout. Since we were staying for 4 nights, we were each given a coupon to redeem for either 1 day's worth of bicycle rental, a set of postcards, or 200¥ off per person. Kyoto is a great place to cycle as it is relatively flat, so we opted for the bicycle ride which would have cost 500¥ otherwise.

We got Room 205, which was at the end of the corridor

Open the main door, and this is what you'll see. A closet on the right, a toilet and a bath straight on

The closet has extra bedding if you need it

We specifically asked for a room on the 2nd floor, which is just 1 storey above the ground floor. I would have preferred Ground floor, but there were no ensuite private rooms on the ground floor. Wi-fi was available with a separate router point on each floor, but they were having problems with internet on some of the nights we were there.

Our 2 beds, unmade. Took us 20 minutes to do it according to the book

That's the lovely manual on how to make your bed. The TV had only Japanese channels

The rooms were quite alright in size and had everything we needed. A separate toilet and bathroom was great, especially having a bathtub to sooth our aches after a whole day of walking (though it was only half a tub). The most creative thing was the toilet bowl, where you can wash your hands above the toilet after flushing, look at the picture below.

When the toilet tank refills, you can use the water to wash your hands before it enters the tank

Half a bathtub, with good hot water pressure

Other facilities provided were a lovely kitchen and lounge area to relax, with 2 PCs for everyone to use. Free coffee and tea and cooking utensils. Also a baggage room to store your luggage after checkout. The best part is, a notice board near the reception to tell you today's weather, any happenings around the city, and where to spot the early sakura blossoms. We took one of their advise on a craft market that only opens on the first Thursday of each month, and we loved it!