A16 Hostel Tokyo — Hotel in Tokyo

If you're looking to have a grimy and cramped hostel experience, that is close to a busy tourist area, this is probably a good hostel for you.

My friend and I wanted a more relaxing experience, like the other hostels we stayed in during our trip around Japan. Out of the six Japanese hostels we stayed in during our trip around Japan, this was our least favorite. Especially, given it was the same price as the more spacious and clean hostels we stayed in previously. We booked for four nights, but only stayed for one, which they refused to refund.

If we had known how cramped the hostel was, we would have never booked it. The pictures posted online are taken specifically to avoid showing you how cramped the entire facility is. In the halls, there isn't enough room for everyone to hang their clothes/towels and to keep their luggage close. They provide a designated luggage area, which, if a few people don't use, makes the halls so cramped that it becomes difficult to leave your bed without stepping on someone's stuff.

The elevator didn't fit us (two people) and our luggage. It also doesn't go up to the 6th floor, where the showers are located. You have to go to the 5th floor, then climb the stairs to the 6th floor showers.

The common area didn't feel comfortable to lounge in since all they had was a bar and a table. It did seem easy for people to socialize and meet others since the common area was also cramped. I think it would have made more sense if one of the five dorm floors had been made into a common area where people could relax on comfortable furniture, like other hostels.

The top bunks we spent our single night in didn't have any guardrails to stop our belongings from falling. My friend, who is on the tall side, found the bed extremely uncomfortable and difficult to relax in because of the bed's small size, which also lacked a basic nightstand that seemed standard in other Japanese hostels.

We both found the ladder difficult to climb. My friend actually slipped on the ladder. Most hostels put anti-slip tape and have the ladders out at about 45 degrees so that it's easier to get up and down the ladder, avoiding falling. These ladders had neither of those features. I can only imagine how difficult it is to climb the ladder after a long day of walking around the city.

The train runs by the hostel, so if you need silence to sleep I would think deeply about that.

Disgustingly, the curtains shielding my bed also had a chunky stain on them.

I'm also under the impression they don't do regular maintenance or keep up with the facility, considering the AC in our hall leaked way more than I've ever seen an AC leak before.

The laundry services were expensive compared to what we paid at other hostels, and appeared to be open for non-hostel guests during regular work hours.

I hope they update their picture to better...

I’ll start with the good things and then follow it with the bad.

The good things: convenient location, quiet area (even with the train, surprisingly), and just physically, the interior of the hostel is very nice. They clearly did the best they could with the space they had. It is not a run down hostel by any means, it’s actually one of the nicer looking ones I’ve stayed at.

Now the bad, which is why I won’t stay here again during my next visit:

If you have an upper bunk, all I can say is good luck. The ladder to climb is abnormally tiny with no handles or rails or anything to hold on to. It’s an incredibly awkward and sometimes even painful balancing act to climb to your bed, and it’s even worse climbing down. I’m surprised no one else is mentioning this. After climbing this mountain twice, I had enough. I asked the staff if I could get a bottom bunk instead, and they told me there are none, even though there are clearly unused bottom bunks in my room, but okay.

The entrance to the bathroom is just…right there in the dorm room. And it’s not even a fully enclosed wall to the bathroom - there’s this bizarre rectangular opening on the only wall separating the bathroom and dorm room. I’ve never seen anything like it. Privacy has left the chat.

Similar to the bathroom, the elevator just opens…directly into the room. 3ft away from the nearest bed. To me, this is worse than the train sounds. Again, I know they had to do what they could with the limited space, but holy smokes.

Because of the limited space of this hostel, there are a TON of beds crammed into one tiny room. Again, I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve stayed at countless hostels and capsule hotels, but this was different. It’s like everyone is just sleeping on top of one another, and the dividers between the beds are paper thin.

The shower is on the 6th floor, with no elevator access. Bottom line, you will be walking around the hostel before and after your shower - there is no isolated space for this.

I’ll cut to the chase: you will be using your phone as a flashlight in your bunk (see picture). Tip: There technically is a light switch, it’s just very tiny, tucked away underneath the safe. Not that it matters, it’s only bright enough to maybe illuminate the pillow.

The laundry machines are IN the lobby. I know they’re doing the best with what they had, and some people may not care about this so I put this last, but it just seems incredibly awkward doing your laundry 3ft away from people...

After arriving at another hostel and discovering it was deleting its reviews, was dirty, and the staff were silent and not welcoming, I fortunately found A16 Hostel on Google.

This hostel was the opposite of that in every way. The staff are extremely, extremely helpful.. they all speak good conversational English and will help you find or do anything in Japan. I needed help picking up my hiking gear for Mount Fuji, they perfectly assisted me. I needed to call another hotel, they are happy to help you.

They are also friendly and welcoming, this is very important if you’re stepping into Japan for the first time. I cannot fault them.

The building itself has been renovated less than 12 months ago and is kept very clean. The showers and toilets are all clean, your sheets are crisp and clean, it is treated with Japanese respect and cleanliness, it is not some dirty run down hostel.

All dorm rooms have a little shelf with a small safe box and a blackout privacy curtain. The mattress is quite comfortable and large enough for me at 176cm.

Some reviewers mention the train noise - I found it barely noticeable inside and if you have earplugs you’re not going to wake up. It wasn’t enough of a problem for me hearing a train a few times a day.

Showers are clean and have space for your clothes with a little shelf and rack.

The lobby downstairs has all the washers and dryers which is smart considering this keeps them away from sleeping guests on a room floor.

The common area is very clean and quite modern. As others have noted there is no kitchen in here, however with ramen, soba, tempura, multiple combinis less than five minutes from the front door you can enjoy options without cooking.

The common area does not have any couches or board games or a tatami space, which is a shame but I feel the other features sure make up for it. You are in Tokyo.. every place is going to have its drawbacks.

I was travelling solo for 20 days in Japan, this was my favourite hostel and I met a lot of great people here. Hostels in Japan can be very hit and miss and misleading on HostelWorld or booking websites. This place is the opposite and they deserve to be busy and well reviewed.

I also left some of my luggage here for 12 days for a very reasonable fee.

If you are solo travelling and coming to Tokyo for a few days, I highly...