Hostel Knot — Hotel in Izu

My husband and I stayed in a private Japanese-style room at Hostel Knot for 1 night in August 2025. It is a very cozy and well-located hostel for exploring Shuzenji. Check-in is 14:00-18:00, and check-out is by 10:00, though it is possible to drop off your bags before check-in. It is walking distance to all of the sightseeing locations in Shuzenji and many restaurants, although it is far from Shuzenji Station (about 42 min on foot or 17 min by bus, several bus lines, get off at 修善寺温泉).

The staff was very friendly and helpful and gave many recommendations for restaurants and sightseeing in the area. Guests of Hostel Knot can use the onsen next door, 真湯 (Shin-yu,17:00-23:00) for free– it doesn’t appear on GoogleMaps because it’s only open to locals and the guests of Hostel Knot. The bath is small (3-4 people can fit) but clean and nice, with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, although there is no shower there so you must wash with a bucket. It is also a natural source so you must add cold water with the faucet, otherwise it can be as hot as 60°C.

Our private room had very comfortable futons with a small table, zaisu floor chairs, and great AC. The building is lovely with comfortable and spacious common spaces. There are board games and sightseeing pamphlets in the lobby downstairs, and desks with chairs upstairs. There are several Japanese-style washlet toilets, a shower with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, and provided towels (more available for rental). For laundry there is a washer, a dryer, and a rooftop area with clips and hangers including a covered area so you can dry laundry even in the rain.

The kitchen especially is great. There is a large shared fridge and freezer, microwave, toaster, hot water dispenser, stovetop, spices and oil, salt and sugar, pots and pans, cooking utensils, etc.. There is free filter coffee. Unfortunately there is no supermarket close by, at least on foot, so if you want to cook you should grab groceries near Shuzenji Station, or from the konbini about a 15-minute walk away.

My only regret is that I did not spend multiple nights at Hostel Knot and Shuzenji. I hope to come back...

I would like to put this review into some context, this accommodation is a hostel however having stayed in many hostels in the past I'm comparing this with those experiences not a traditional hotel.

We stayed 4 nights in the Japanese style twin room with shared toilet and shower. The building is an older style, very cute, place and that traditional style has been maintained. It is a bit rough around the edges and shows it's age in places but is overall clean as long as you don't look too hard. It has a well setup kitchen, decent common area and washing facilities. The twin room has roll out futons over tatami matt's as well as folding furniture, you can either have one or the other setup. There was a reasonable amount of space for 2 people however the room would really benefit from some more hooks on the walls or maybe small shelves. Being an older building you hear any time someone gets up, opens or closes a door or flushes a toilet. Speaking of toilets, there are 3 toilets, 1 shower (in the same space as the washing machine) and 2 sinks for approx 16 guests.

Pros - The host/owner is very friendly and amenable. Also it's very cheap, in an area with mostly high end Ryokan. Parking available.

Cons - The futon beds in the twin room were very thin and not well suited to someone sleeping on their side, less padding than a yoga matt. I've slept on many traditional Japanese futons/tatami and they weren't like this. Additional, there is a lot of light in the room, the hallway light stays on all night and shines through the glass door plus the door and window curtains are more decorative...

I’ll start with the very small list of negatives: There is no bath. There is no food.

That said, there are 3 onsens nearby (one of which has an outdoor bath and being in it as the sun goes down is very pleasant), and there are loads of food options. So they aren’t really negatives after all.

Jamie was very nice at check in and went over all the best spots nearby that I should check out including the foot baths, onsens and the oh-so-beautiful bamboo art. The walking path through the bamboo is great during the day, and so much better when it gets dark. Jamie also gave me a handwritten card when I left, which I was very surprised by and thankful to receive. What a nice gesture!

There is a book in the lobby with Hostel Knot’s recommendations on where to eat. It has info of all the nearby restaurants including hours they are open, special notes (like cash only), pictures of some of the food and even a brief summary of the food there. I found this to be incredibly thoughtful and helpful.

The bed in the pod was extremely comfortable, I slept much better than I expected. The whole place was also very very clean, from the downstairs check in area to the toilet room to the pod. There is a storage room for luggage downstairs where you can lock up your luggage after check out. I did this and had no issue collecting it around noon.

I absolutely loved it here and wish I stayed more than one night. I’ll have...