Emblem Hostel Nishiarai Tokyo Review
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.
We all know that accommodations are extremely expensive in Tokyo and it uses up most of your travelling budget (if you're on one). So during my trip to Tokyo, I wanted to save up on accommodation and decided to stay at Emblem Hostel at Nishiarai.
I had a few reasons on why I picked Emblem Hostel. Mainly, it was because I wanted to go for a modern furnished hostel which doesn't look run down for the low price I am paying (only around $50/day). Before my trip, I've done quite a fair bit of research on hostel that was within the cheaper range and most of them has different kind of bad review such as dirty toilets, smelly room, old furnitures, extremely small rooms, or even bad customer service. Fortunately, I found out that Emblem Hostel had fairly good reviews but only located really far from the city (about an hour of train ride).
I contemplated. Travelling far distance isn't my thing, but I also didn't want to pay too much on accommodation so that I can spend that money on food (because my trip was a 10-day trip). Maybe waking up 1 hour earlier everyday is fine to compensate for this long journey from the hostel to the city, and thus, I decided to stay at Emblem Hostel.
Since Tokyo was my first stop during my trip to Japan, so was Emblem Hostel. I was quite concern just in general since it was my first hostel sharing experience and didn't want it to turn into a bad one. I arrived at the hostel in the middle of the night and was greeted with friendly staff at the counter. All the staff at the reception can speak pretty fluent english so there wasn't any language barrier.
Anyway, I checked into my room and spent my first night over. However, I realized my heater wasn't working on my side and told the staff at the reception. Without hesitation, he immediately helped me switch my bed closer to the working heater.
I love that there was a curtain at each bed so it didn't feel so enclosed if you wanted some free space as compared to a capsule hotel but at the same time, you get your own privacy. There is also a cupboard that you can lock on the left for you to keep your belongings. I personally feel that the room is spacious enough as compared to other hostels that I've found online.
The next day, I woke up to the breakfast provided by the hostel. There were a few basic selection of food like cereal, bread, salad, milk and juice. I think it's quite sufficient for a simple breakfast! That said, there have a corner where you can order food done by the kitchen too.
Spacious seating area for breakfast. |
After breakfast, it was shower time. Apart from the amazing bidets in all Japan toilets, Emblem Hostel's toilet is clean and self sufficient. There were enough toilets. For the shower, usually you don't need to queue for it even though there was only two shower rooms (I only needed to wait once out of my 5-day stay).
The two shower rooms. |
Man and Women shower. |
Cannot forget the pretty bidet. |
On one of the floor, they have a resting area where you can use their computer and also find a microwave there. I used the microwave to heat up some food I got from the mart and found a spot to eat. I'd say, the ambience of this whole hostel is 10/10. They even have a mini garden outside of their resting area (or they call it the pantry)!
My point of view when I was having my food. |
If you decide to opt for a budget trip to Japan, I would highly recommend Emblem Hostel. Although it is an hour away from the city, they are located really close to the train station so travelling by train isn't a problem at all!
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