Wise Owl Hostels Shibuya — Hotel in Tokyo

I really hate to write a negative review about Owl Hostel Shibuya since 99% of my stay there was positive and most of the staff were really great, but a really negative incident occurred literally just as my group were leaving the hostel for the airport that really ruined how I felt about our stay there. My friends and I started our 5 day stay at wise owl in one of the very large 30 person shared rooms since our privates weren’t available on the first night (stayed a total of 5 days). At some point I lost my limited edition adidas sweatshirt ($185 US) that I had bought right before the trip . I didn’t realize it until a day or so later and chalked it up to someone else taking it since they couldn’t find it in lost in found and I didn’t see it in any of the leftover clothes bins on each floor. Was really upset about it but didn’t want it to ruin my New Years or the rest of my stay in Japan. ||||But literally just as my friends and I checked out of the hostel to head to the airport, we were walking up the hill behind the building and I see a kid with my exact sweatshirt of mine walking down the hill past us. I couldn’t believe it and i gestured to my friends and pointed to it as he walked by, which he definitely noticed since he kept shifting back to look at us as he continued walking down at a slightly quicker pace. I didn’t want to be too presumptive so I waited to see if he went into the hostel to be 100% sure before I went back to talk to him, and sure enough he did . At this point I was actually really excited since I assumed another hostel guest just found it and would give it back when I asked him about it. I also had in the back of my mind that there was a very very slight possibility that this kid was from the states (only available in US) and had the exact same one, but this isn’t a common or generic Addidas sweatshirt by any means and had a very distinct style. When I finally did walk up to him he was at the front desk and had zipped up his jacket that he had over the sweatshirt (weird he did that right before he went inside the hostel since it was freezing outside and the hostel had the heater running on high...). I could tell he was really nervous when I approached him and English was his 2nd language. As I explained to him that I thought the sweatshirt was mine and asked him if he found it on the floor I was staying on, he flat out denied it. This is where one of the front desk girls chimed in and said that he was part of the cleaning staff of the hostel so he couldn’t have found it (??). This reasoning made no sense to me at all and made it even more likely in my head that it had to be mine since I was sure I had left it in my bed since I had slept in it the night i lost it. I pressed a bit more but he kept denying it and said it was his and the front desk girl was backing him up. I wish I had pressed harder and pushed the issue but we were running late for our flight and I didn’t want to be too accusatory in the hostel lobby in front of guests saying how unlikely it is that a member of the cleaning staff had a nearly $200 sweatshirt only available in the states (which I didn’t verify until I did research online later at the airport), which I had just lost in my bed that he probably cleaned just days before. But my politeness and the fact I was self conscious about coming off as some angry/entitled American accusing the cleaning staff of stealing got the better of me and I just left. ||||In hindsight, there was no way this guy was going to admit to taking it in front of the other staff since he might have got in trouble . Surprised he had the balls to wear it at the hostel he took it from but he probably assumed we had left since we checked out and moved into the private rooms on another floor. Really sucks because I had a great time at this hostel and our group spent nearly $2,200 US, which doesn’t include the amount we spent at the other Owl Hostel Tokyo on the first leg of our trips ||||I don’t want this to be a completely negative review since other than the above our stay was positive, so I will say this - the staff (specifically Ali) was extremely helpful in helping us modify our non-refundable booking that we made through Hostel World, to help us upgrade to private rooms after our first night stay and was just an overall awesome guy to chat with and ask for tips and help with things . The guys manning the bar were all very cool and welcoming. I really wish this could be a 5 star review like I intended it to be and like I left for the other Owl hostel Tokyo (much better option between the two fyi. So I guess I’d say it’s a good, social hostel that’s walking distance to the heart of shibuya but be careful with your belongings and the cleaning staff, especially since the lockers are very small and not very secure at all. ||||To management / Owners: ||||This occurred at around 1030am on January 2nd, 2020 and we stayed in the shared dorms from December 28th-29th (when I lost the sweatshirt). The member of the cleaning staff was tall (about 6’0”, maybe taller) and of darker complexion (Indian/middle eastern/ maybe South or central American) and didn’t speak English very well. Would love for the crew logs to be checked and i would be happy to update my review if you’re able to get and send back my lost sweatshirt since I’m not sure I’ll be able to find another...

I really hate to write a negative review about Owl Hostel Shibuya since 99% of my stay there was positive and most of the staff were really great, but a really negative incident occurred literally just as my group were leaving the hostel for the airport that really ruined how I felt about our stay there. My friends and I started our 5 day stay at wise owl in one of the very large 30 person shared rooms since our privates weren’t available on the first night (stayed a total of 5 days). At some point I lost my limited edition adidas sweatshirt ($185 US) that I had bought right before the trip . I didn’t realize it until a day or so later and chalked it up to someone else taking it since they couldn’t find it in lost in found and I didn’t see it in any of the leftover clothes bins on each floor. Was really upset about it but didn’t want it to ruin my New Years or the rest of my stay in Japan. ||||But literally just as my friends and I checked out of the hostel to head to the airport, we were walking up the hill behind the building and I see a kid with my exact sweatshirt of mine walking down the hill past us. I couldn’t believe it and i gestured to my friends and pointed to it as he walked by, which he definitely noticed since he kept shifting back to look at us as he continued walking down at a slightly quicker pace. I didn’t want to be too presumptive so I waited to see if he went into the hostel to be 100% sure before I went back to talk to him, and sure enough he did . At this point I was actually really excited since I assumed another hostel guest just found it and would give it back when I asked him about it. I also had in the back of my mind that there was a very very slight possibility that this kid was from the states (only available in US) and had the exact same one, but this isn’t a common or generic Addidas sweatshirt by any means and had a very distinct style. When I finally did walk up to him he was at the front desk and had zipped up his jacket that he had over the sweatshirt (weird he did that right before he went inside the hostel since it was freezing outside and the hostel had the heater running on high...). I could tell he was really nervous when I approached him and English was his 2nd language. As I explained to him that I thought the sweatshirt was mine and asked him if he found it on the floor I was staying on, he flat out denied it. This is where one of the front desk girls chimed in and said that he was part of the cleaning staff of the hostel so he couldn’t have found it (??). This reasoning made no sense to me at all and made it even more likely in my head that it had to be mine since I was sure I had left it in my bed since I had slept in it the night i lost it. I pressed a bit more but he kept denying it and said it was his and the front desk girl was backing him up. I wish I had pressed harder and pushed the issue but we were running late for our flight and I didn’t want to be too accusatory in the hostel lobby in front of guests saying how unlikely it is that a member of the cleaning staff had a nearly $200 sweatshirt only available in the states (which I didn’t verify until I did research online later at the airport), which I had just lost in my bed that he probably cleaned just days before. But my politeness and the fact I was self conscious about coming off as some angry/entitled American accusing the cleaning staff of stealing got the better of me and I just left. ||||In hindsight, there was no way this guy was going to admit to taking it in front of the other staff since he might have got in trouble . Surprised he had the balls to wear it at the hostel he took it from but he probably assumed we had left since we checked out and moved into the private rooms on another floor. Really sucks because I had a great time at this hostel and our group spent nearly $2,200 US, which doesn’t include the amount we spent at the other Owl Hostel Tokyo on the first leg of our trips ||||I don’t want this to be a completely negative review since other than the above our stay was positive, so I will say this - the staff (specifically Ali) was extremely helpful in helping us modify our non-refundable booking that we made through Hostel World, to help us upgrade to private rooms after our first night stay and was just an overall awesome guy to chat with and ask for tips and help with things . The guys manning the bar were all very cool and welcoming. I really wish this could be a 5 star review like I intended it to be and like I left for the other Owl hostel Tokyo (much better option between the two fyi. So I guess I’d say it’s a good, social hostel that’s walking distance to the heart of shibuya but be careful with your belongings and the cleaning staff, especially since the lockers are very small and not very secure at all. ||||To management / Owners: ||||This occurred at around 1030am on January 2nd, 2020 and we stayed in the shared dorms from December 28th-29th (when I lost the sweatshirt). The member of the cleaning staff was tall (about 6’0”, maybe taller) and of darker complexion (Indian/middle eastern/ maybe South or central American) and didn’t speak English very well. Would love for the crew logs to be checked and i would be happy to update my review if you’re able to get and send back my lost sweatshirt since I’m not sure I’ll be able to find another...

The Good! Wise Owl Hostel Shibuya has very comfortable beds, lots of showers, toilets, a locker with a lock for storing valuables and they also security camera everywhere, so you know your things are safe. The staff are super nice, helpful, really fun to talk with, they also go above and beyond to make sure you stay is amazing. The staff are very informative, and if you need help with directions or recommendations on how to book tickets for something or just general questions about where to eat etc, they will be there for you. They have an elevator and stairs on the outside of the building. Its about a 15-20 min walk to Shibuya Station, if you don't want to walk there is a bus station 2 mins walk from the hostel. Its a great price for the location. There are so many restaurants, bars and grocery store, and other train lines, near the hostel. If you are going to stay here during sakura season ( cherry blossom season ) Nakameguro River is about 7 min walk from the hostel, and it was one of the most amazing places to see the blossoms. When ever I got to Tokyo, I stay here, and if I need to go to Shinjuku, Ueno, Ebisu, or Shimokitazawa or any other area, I can just take the train it only takes a few mins. Shibuya is also the best area for shopping with Parco mall only 15 mins walk from the hostel. Harajuku is about 30 mins walks from the hostel. Everything is in walking distance from here. I have stayed at this hostel for about 6 months in total over the numerous trips I have made to Japan.

The Bad! Ok the bad, I don't have a lot of bad things to say about this hostel, but my main concern with this hostel is it feels more like a hotel than a hostel, and that for me as solo traveler isn't a good thing. I stay at hostels for the most part to meet people and have fun, Wise Owl Hostel Shibuya thought it would be a good idea to put a restaurant in the lobby, and you are not allowed to sit in the lobby unless you buy something, the restaurant is open from Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 9pm. After the restaurant is closed you are allowed to use the lobby. I have stayed at this hostel in 2018, 2019 and 2023, the first 2 years of coming here they had a bar and the lobby was open all day and you could use it freely almost everyday there was a gathering of people in the lobby, you were allowed to bring your own food and drinks, and people were enjoying each others company having some drinks, eating, or whatever the activity was, but people were having a great time. Now there is none of that, maybe the odd day during the week after 9pm but there isn't a lot of it, so if you are looking for a hostel to party, or just meet people in general, find a different...