Do-C Ebisu — Hotel in Tokyo

This is absolutely the worst hostel I have ever stayed at. As I have stayed in the Narita airport hotel prior, I imagined that this would be similar. While similar in concept, the execution was drastically worse.

To begin, you must take a very narrow set of stairs to get to the entrance of the hostel. This, in itself, isn’t terrible - while it is pretty annoying to bring suitcases in, it could certainly be worse. However, once in the building, you have no choice but to take the elevator. You cannot take the stairs up and down between floors. This is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Especially during times where there is a lot of traffic, you may have to wait a good while just to go to your locker/bed.

Everything about this place screams cramped. The locker rooms are horribly small, and the lockers themselves aren’t great either. While at the 9h Narita hotel, you get full length lockers, you do not get these at this hostel. This is incredibly inconvenient given the forced 11AM checkout, when multiple visitors are trying to grab things all at once.

The sauna is OK. That’s the best thing I have to say about this hostel. The floors immediately outside of the sauna are incredibly slippery, with only a few textured stickers to get some grounding on. The showers are small with hardly any room to change clothes, and this is also the case in the sleeping quarters - there is no actual change room.

The 11AM-3PM checkout policy is ridiculous, as with 4 hours of “in depth cleaning,” it looks like not much was done besides beds being made.

Speaking of beds, I have never had a more uncomfortable night of sleep. The fan in the capsule did not work, so it was perpetually boiling hot. Additionally, the pods seem much smaller than Narita’s location. I could not fully lay out without my feet cramming into the wall. Calling what you get a “pillow” is a disservice - you essentially get a bag full of plastic balls. It is beyond uncomfortable.

Yes, the location is good as it is right beside the station. That’s it. Sauna and good location. Everything else about Do-C Ebisu is terrible. Do not waste your money and time coming here. I find it interesting that 9h group is the only type of hostel where refunds cannot be given under any circumstance. It’s almost like they know how terrible their own product is.

(Also - the wooden interior is...

Alright, get ready y’all, this is a long one: Tourists who really think it’s ok to not assimilate with the culture they have been welcomed to stay, whether it be short or long term, you suck. Some of you need a lesson on class. Learn the basics. I’ve seen some barbaric behaviors and it’s a shame. My partner and I wanted to experience a pod room for the first quarter of our stay in Japan. We were greeted with exceptional service and a handful of staff who are able to speak in English for support. They laid down their rules: You are given 1 mesh bag containing: 1 bath towel, 1 face towel, a sleepwear set, and a pair of slippers. Please do not complain over the 100¥ towel replacement. It’s less than $1 USD, be for real! A bottle of water costs more. The price of this pod is so much lower than a hotel room. You are not in a HOTEL! It’s a pod, a dorm if you will. Check in is strictly 2PM and after, check out is at 10AM, don’t play stupid. This is Japan, they run on efficiency, get familiar. Saunas are kept clean, I was impressed and the toiletries offered aren’t terrible, mint scent. Buy your own in 7-11 across the street if it’s too much of a scent for you. I beg you, please BE QUIET in the sleeping area/pods. Absolutely NO ONE cares about your day and/or your events. We want to sleep. If you snore, get mouth tape it’s like ¥250 (~$1.75 USD). Go to the lounge on 2F. The pods are not that spacious, if you’re over 6FT’1” (1.85m), those toes will be hanging out of the POD. I don’t make the rules! Know this before you book or practice fetal position. I’d hate to see athletes foot hanging out. Lastly, if you’re staying multiple nights, you still gotta check out. Don’t be mad at the staff, you chose to book! You CAN leave your items in the locker, but you cannot access until after you check back in at 2PM or after.

Now that you’ve read all of that, I stayed for 4 nights, and it was lovely. Walking/hiking 25,000 steps a day around Tokyo is a lot but coming back to a hot shower and sauna before snoozing made it worth it.

Thank you so much DO-C Ebisu for making my POD experience...

I booked from expedia and read the reviews before booking, and everything on the comments/review sections seems to be pretty accurate||The capsules are more modern than other places, it’s very clean and well organized. They gave me a bag filled with 2 towels, Pj’s , toothbrush set, slippers and a tray inside the assigned locker. The locker assigned is pretty big, enough to fit one cabin sized luggage, a full sized backpack, wintercoat and more. It just wouldn’t fir larger size luggages, but there are space available for that! The receptionist also offered to keep my huge luggage in the locker on the lobby floor (which I personally think is safer, there’s tag number, my name signed on a form and someone will always be there to look after it imo?). The shower size is pretty tight, I didn’t get to try the sauna though. The capsule size is okay, yes there will be noise every now and then, but it’s manageable, it’s just like having a roommate back in Toronto. ||||I felt secured and confident once I found out that everyone needs to give their keys to the receptionists everytime they leave the building, and exchange it with a token/card-like with their room number on it. I think it’s brilliant for security purposes. ||||The pillow is a bit weird, like made out of beans or something. It’s fine with me though cause I have my own travel neck pillow. There is a blanket as well. The “door” on the website looks like an actual door, but it’s actually just a blind.||||The only thing you should know is that food and drink is not allowed in the cabin (allowed in the lobby only), the shower room is in a different floor. There is elevator, but must be able to take one level stair up to the lobby. ||||Overall, I have a good experience. It’s perfect if you are on a budget, just need somewhere to crash and don’t mind tight spaces. Remember to bring earplugs if you’re a...