Top Edge Hostel Kōenji — Hotel in Tokyo

I’ll start of by saying that I’m not very picky with quality of where I sleep, if I got to stay there in the first place (foreshadowing).

Pros: The location is great, great vibes in the neighbourhood and bar

Cons: Owner did not communicate anything to me regarding which bed I was sleeping on or answered any of my queries when I asked him about it. Still non communicative when I asked for a refund due to my bad experience

When I arrived at the hostel (3pm, the stipulated time of check in), the owner wasn’t in at the time, as he stated in the original booking.com message, which was fine. I went to the room and met one of my roommates who told me to pick any bed that had the curtains open, in hindsight I should’ve picked one at that moment, but I decided to leave to get dinner first, when I came back, there was a woman in the room who had occupied the bed that I was originally going to take, it wasn’t anything weird as the males room was a mixed room, the issue came when every other bed was already occupied. I was reluctant to disturb the woman to ask her to move down to the female’s room as she was already settled in, I called the owner shortly after, and due to the language barrier between us, it was hard to communicate that to him and he informed me he’d be at the hostel in 30 minutes, I waited in the room on the floor for him. About 30 minutes later, I heard sounds from the floor below, and had assumed that he had arrived, however he hasn’t come up to the rooms yet and I assumed it was someone else, after another 15 minutes I decided to call him again, and I could hear that there was girls in the background chatting, as if I had interrupted his conversation with them, and he disregarded my message again about not having a bed in the room. At this point I was pretty upset with waiting and submitted a refund request and left. I haven’t gotten a response with the refund request but at this point I can’t be bothered. Also I saw the owner at the bar getting drunk with two ladies as I left.

In hindsight I definitely should’ve stood up for myself more, however I think it’s basic courtesy to at least come up to the room and help resolve an issue that I’m having with my stay. Can’t say I recommend completely due to my experience, however i’m sure it would’ve been a good experience if things...

The location is amazing, Koenji has many vintage shops and many cool bars and restaurants and this place is great for getting there!

After that it was all pretty piss poor.

We had asked before if we can drop bags off before check in which we were told it was okay. We received no further instruction after that so we turned up on check in day and there was no one there. We called the number and the staff pretty rudely told us to self check-in.

We came back at 3pm to properly check and and there was still no staff. We waited almost an hour before someone turned up. The staff member in question turned up having already drank a fair bit of alcohol by the looks of it. We’ve been travelling all day and wanted to go to bed but there were no clean beds available.

I told the staff when we checked in there were no beds and he insisted there was two, when I told him there were none left he refused to move from where he was sitting drinking alcohol and to help remedy to situation.

My friend took the one bed that looked kind of clean and I left. The staff then changed all the beds and woke my friend up to tell her the bed she was in was dirty and not clean.

I had explained to him earlier there were no clean beds, he refused to believe me and now my friend was in a dirty bed and this is disgusting.

After cleaning beds the staff member left again and wasn’t around at all when the supposed bar downstairs was to open so I went somewhere else.

The vibe of the staff overall was that he didn’t want us to be there and trust me I never will go again.

The bedrooms were pretty dirty overall. Shoes are allowed all over. Where Amenities like towels are weren’t explained at all. The beds aren’t very comfortable and the room was cold.

The whole place stank of cigarettes. There is no area where you can relax or chat to others so you’re awkwardly standing in the hallway.

Wouldn’t...

Do yourself a favor. Stay here.

The beds are crude--they're just futons on wooden bunks. I had a hard time sleeping on mine. The rooms are small, cramped, but clean. There is a laundry machine on site (but I don't think the dryer works). I believe there is only one shower for the whole 8 bunks? It's also kept clean. This is not a luxury 5 star hotel.

So why do I encourage you to stay here? The people. The people who can enjoy staying at a place like this are down to earth, friendly, adventurous, and adaptable. Staying here is akin to staying at a family's home where the host family scrambles every sleeping quarter together they can to try to make everyone fit, but comfortable. As a result, the atmosphere is warm and cozy and feels like home.

Yoshi, the owner, is extremely accommodating and relaxed. He also runs a bar downstairs where you will often find him and a couple locals at night. When you return from your adventures during the day, drink with them and your roommates. They will keep your glass full until dawn if you let them. Also, Yoshi gave me this super delicious soup he just had stewing behind the counter. I don't know what it was, but it was delicious, and I don't even think the guy charged me for it. He just didn't want me to drink too much without any food. If you do all these things, you will have a great time here. I regret only staying a single night as a holdover since I couldn't get a room in the hotel I'm going to stay at the remainder of the trip. I would have enjoyed staying here for a full 2 weeks, like my roommates have.

The price is also very cheap, which I think entices a lot of travelers on a budget.

I'll definitely...