HIPPO Hostel & Cafe Bar — Restaurant in Osaka

I've never walked out of a hostel or hotel before, but this place was so bad that I couldn't bear it. Do yourself a favor and ignore all the promo pictures that were taken by a professional photographer. Look at the photos taken by guests. See the dirt? See the cockroach in the sink? That's what it's really like.

After a long day of traveling, I wanted to take a nap. The curtains on the bunks are held up with shower poles and offer zero privacy. The ones on the upper bunks don't even reach the ceiling to block out light. The room was about 30 °C with the air conditioner on full blast, and the upper bunks were like saunas. There's no ventilation in the bunks at all.

Even though it was outside of quiet hours, I didn't expect that employees and guests would stand around in the bedroom having the loudest possible conversations (video attached). Only after they woke up three different people did they decide that they should take it downstairs. The employee who showed us around seemed bored and uninterested. The whole place had a very unclean vibe with people's laundry strung about wherever. There are lockers for your items but no locks on them. Oh, and there appeared to be twice as many employees as guests all day-drinking in the cafe area. I have no idea what that's about, but the atmosphere was trashy.

If you're a student or backpacker on a tight budget, maybe you won't mind all of this. But I've stayed at quite a few budget hostels in Japan and this is the first time I've been so irritated that I just left and let them keep my money. I then booked a room at Dormy Inn and slept like a baby.

Finally, beware of the good reviews. I've read more than one review claiming that HIPPO staff bribed guests with alcohol in exchange for a good review. They posted photos of the sign promising it, so I'm inclined to believe it. This place deserves 2 stars at the absolute best.

Update 2023-09-11: I contacted the owner and explained my complaints. At first I was told that there were no refunds for a "no show," but I was not a no-show: I checked in. When I described the heat, noise, and messiness, I was told that it's all just part of the "hostel atmosphere." Nonsense.

I've stayed in plenty of hostels that were clean and comfortable. I asked for a full refund since I did not stay and had to find a different hotel. I was offered a 50% refund and then completely ignored. It has been over a week and the owner...

Hippo hostel could have been amazing, the facilities are relatively new and the cafe/bar exhibits a warm, cosy vibe. We hired out the double room which was pleasantly large and comfortably fit our belongings. However, the fridge/freezer in our room did not work (it powered on, but neither the fridge or freezer were cool) and our food spoiled (our fault for not checking if it was cold). This was reported to the staff as soon as we discovered this (they acted swiftly). The solution to this was to borrow the kitchen fridge which wasn't an issue for us - until I saw the condition of the shared area. It looked like it had not be cleaned in ages!! This also went along with the kitchen, it almost always had dirty dishes and food scraps in the sink + sink bin throughout my 4 night stay.

Noise: There were signs of quiet times from 11pm-7am which I assumed were relatively normal for hostels but I cannot say that this was followed. On the night we arrived there was rowdiness until 4am on the floor I was staying on and to 1am on my final night with excitement coming from the floor above me. Personally I wasn't too bothered by this but there were elder guests staying at the same time and I do wonder if they were a little disappointed/frustrated. Note that the kitchen, washing facilities are open 24/7.

Cleanliness: Overall the place felt a little bit dirty/dusty in most areas - bedroom, shower, kitchen, floors, bathrooms (incl shower and toilet) but the place was modern and definitely still usuable. The shared slippers could use a spin in the wash. The only places of deterrence was the kitchen which is explained above and the external shower shelves which needed a scrub. If there was a little more care or frequency in cleaning this place would definitely be the cream of the crop amongst the affordable hostels around.

Staff: A friendly bunch who enjoyed each other's company. There wasn't much interaction with them but they showed to look after each other and got along well.

Location: In the heart of Korea-town this was peak center of culture shock. Which was totally awesome. Close to convenience stores, subway stations and plenty of affordable food areas (outside of Korea-town). It was easy to get around Osaka fr om this base once figuring out the Korea-town grid.

Overall, cool place. Modern utilities. Affordable. Quiet neighborhood. Just needs some TLC and elbow grease and you will...

Our time in HIPPO hostel was disappointing. I don't think I ever paid to spend a night in a dirty frat house. We booked for 4 nights originally, but we left after one night. The main issue is that the current set of volunteers treat the place as free accommodation while they go out drinking/partying every night. Osaka is great for nightlife, however, the workplace is not the place, especially if you are disrupting your guests. The mentality of "why should I work if no one else is?", is strong. The only person I saw do anything constructive was the only female volunteer. Our one night was interrupted in the early morning while the volunteers in the kitchen below were chatting and laughing loudly and burping at 6:30 AM. The kitchen was filthy, we spent more time cleaning the dishes before use, than actually cooking and eating our meal. When I made it known that I wasn't happy with the kitchen the volunteer I spoke with blamed it on the current hostel guests claiming it's cleaned every morning. I then opened the fridge, had to hold my breath because of the smell and showed him the mould and dry filth which was clearly older than a single day. It was clear they don't clean the fridge. If you read other reviews you can find other people with similar issues. I've travelled approx. 20 odd countries and stayed in many hostels. This was the worst hostel experience I've had. The hostel itself could actually be a great place as the facilities are great, however it is only a party hostel at the moment. I was relieved to leave the place. I would highly recommend staying elsewhere unless an entire new group of volunteers takes over. If you want to enjoy your time in Osaka, I would highly recommend staying in a...