HI - Osaka - Shin-Osaka YH Hostel in Osaka … Quite possibly the best hostel I have ever been to! Close to Shin-Osaka station. very clean. big lockers for all your stuff. nice kitchen. amazing bathroom. I think the only thing they don't have going for them is the cost, but other than that this place went far beyond anything they had to for being a hostel.
J-Hoppers Osaka Central Guesthouse in Osaka … I stayed here for four nights in Oct. 2008 and seriously, this is probably the cleanest hostel I've ever stayed in. The staff are friendly and speak really good english, which is very important to the traveler who doesn't understand a single japanese word coming to Japan. The beds are very comfortable although the headroom in the bunks are a little tight but you can live with it. Although the internet is 100yen per half hour, it's free if you've got your own wireless enabled laptop. Now let me talk about the location, its next to Fukushima station which gets you to almost anywhere in the Kansai region via the expresses that ply the Osaka loop. Supermarket, fast food, japanese diners, and mister donuts is in the neighbourhood. The road just outside the hostel is a tiled pedestrian footpath, so there's no traffic noise or pollution. This is only the second time I've giving five stars to a hostel.
J-Hoppers Osaka Central Guesthouse in Osaka … I know this place has been open only for a few months, but I'm surprised I'm the first person to leave a review. This is a great hostel. It's located a short distance from Osaka central station and is a few metres from Fukushima station on the regular running JR Loop line. The directions given buy the hostel are easy to follow and accurate, so finding this place is not a problem. Everything is kept spotlessly clean here in typical Japanese fashion. The beds are very comfortable. There's lockers in the dorm rooms to store your valuables, although they only take those really small padlocks -- bring your own! There's a TV room and free wireless internet (although there's 100 yen per thirty minute charge for the hostel's own internet which seems a little odd). The only small problem was that on the second floor there was one shower to share between twelve people sleeping in the dorms. All in all I had a good stay and would come back here.
Go Osaka Hostel in Osaka … Excellent location in Minami, near Namba station and all of the food, nightlife, and shopping attractions of Osaka. Small place, very cozy, really just one female dorm with four beds and one male dorm with four beds. Was nearly empty when I was there, so the fact that there was only one bathroom and one shower wasn't a big deal, but I'd imagine if it were full that could be an issue. Free internet, living room with TV and couches, and full kitchen were great to have. Felt more like a home or an apartment than a hostel, very informal and relaxed. Seemed to be most popular among Korean travelers, and not too known among English-speaking travelers. Not that hard to find, there's a big red sign, it's just that it says Ishihashi Hotel instead of Go Osaka Hostel. Overall, a good place to stay, I'd recommend it to anyone going to Osaka.
Go Osaka Hostel in Osaka … Go Osaka is a very nice little hostel. It's tiny, but then most things in Japan are. There are just a few small rooms, a small kitchen, one toilet, and one shower. The dorm beds are sturdy wooden bunks. It's like staying in someone's apartment. Everything is Japanese style, so expect to take your shoes off when you enter. It's a bit of a walk from the subway station when you're carrying luggage, but it's not too bad. The hostel is easy to miss since it just looks like another apartment. The free internet and wifi are fast and convenient to have.
Oliver's International Hostel in Osaka … This is the cheapest place by far. However, it does seem dodgy. When I stayed at Oliver's there was no owner present, only a cell phone on the kitchen counter with a note to call the owner when you arrive. There was no internet service and some of the electricity didn't work. (Some lights and appliances in the kitchen). There were no sheets or even mattresses on the beds upstairs. Spooky. The key was left in the mailbox for the guests to come and go. When I called the owner on the phone she was very apologetic and offered not to charge me the $5 I owed above the registration fee, since she couldn't be there. I don't know what to think.
Osaka Downtown Hostel in Osaka … If you ask Oliver about a curfew and he says there isn't one, there actually is. He really means there isn't a curfew, but be back by 12 p.m. A few guys from England who came to stay there asked if there was a curfew and Oliver said no, but when they came back at 1 a.m. they were locked out on the street. After trying to call Oliver on the phone several times, they finally got him to answer, and then he got really mad at them for being back so late. Oliver also got Keiko to wake one of them up at 6 a.m. so he could borrow 5000 yen. Kind of weird. Also, the public bath doesn't open until 3 p.m., so you can't shower in the morning. Other than that, it was clean and safe and not too bad.
Oliver's International Hostel in Osaka … I had my one year trip's worst experience in this hostel. The owner (Oliver) is very aggressive and most people staying there are very afraid of him. He is the kind of person who smiles one minute and the next minute snaps to aggression. I have never met such a frightening person in my whole life. When i arrived, the police was there who were speaking to a russian girl that the owner had been screaming to. I later learned he had turned off the water for two days when a guy wanted to take a shower 11 p.m. (Apparently it was too late for that.) Whatever you do, dont go to this hostel. He has one in kyoto and another one in osaka.
Oliver's International Hostel in Osaka … Just a heads up about a hostel encounter I recently had. I have stayed in a lot of hostels around the world, Oz, NZ, Canada, Thailand etc, and I have never had a bad experience until this one. I stayed at Oliver's hostel in Osaka on my visa run from Korea, only there for two days, had to pay for three, that's fine. I'll make this short. I met a couple of guys who needed a place to stay for the weekend too, also on a visa run and I hooked them up with Oliver's. We went out in Osaka on Saturday night. The guys decided not to come back cause they were flying out early, decided to go straight to the airport, so I headed back early in the morning 5am ish by myself. I finally got back to oliver's at 7am, way later then I had ever wanted but I had had a good night out. Oliver was up and when he saw I was alone he went nuts. It turns out that one of the guys didn't pay for his stay there and he was super angry. With reason of course, I have no respect for anyone who would skip out. But then…
Osaka Downtown Hostel in Osaka … Words can only begin to describe the maltreatment guests receive and the unprofessionalism of this hostel. I apologise if this becomes quite long, I will try and keep it down, but I want to express how ridiculous this hostel is. Initially, we were told off during check-in for canceling one night for four people five days in advance. The "room" is a nine-bed shed made from chipboard built on what was a roof terrace. There is no space for luggage and holes in walls/roof. A person staying the night before us had his backpack soaked through in a storm overnight. There is also no air con and the area is one of the worst in Osaka. The manager/owner, Oliver, is, in is own words "ignorant and stupid," but also abusive and a venomous bullshitter. Once you break any of the ever-changing rules, Oliver will let you know. This man is borderline psychotic. He can snap at any minute and will not allow you to speak your side of the story. Upon returning after a night out at 6 a.m. (apparently there…
Go Osaka Hostel in Osaka … 4500 yen for two nights in this hostel is really too much. When we arrived here, our first impression was, this is a good hostel, just what we need. But when we checked in they were making problems and gave us a private room. Well, it was not even big for one person. One had to sleep on the ground, the other bed was really broken, there was a heater with real fire on the floor and the worst part was the room was behind the door of the toilets. So we were really next to the toilets and could here the running water. It was horrible and not what we paid for! We booked for a dorm for four females. We just walked out of the room and said this is not what we paid for. After a couple of minutes we finally got a big room for four people, with own sink and TV. Well, the beds were still horrible (I was afraid mine would fall apart). Next, the facilities are really old! The sink is not clean, and the shower is broken. I wanted to take a shower, but I got stuck in the room because the lock was…
Osaka Downtown Hostel in Osaka … Horrific. Stay away at all costs! My friend and I (we are both girls, twenty years old) received abuse from the staff for no provocation at all. We were yelled at and reduced to tears by the owner upon checking in, stayed for lack of choice, and were chased into the elevator upon checking out (two days earlier than booked). Upon checking in, I paid with my credit card. As I double checked my receipt and seemed confused about the amount, the owner (who insists on being called OIiver) had taken out a calculator and, thinking he was handing it over, I reached for it. At that point it was as though time froze and Oliver went into a rage, began yelling and swearing, and delivered the following speech -- "You are rude. You offend my staff and bring unhappiness into this place. I cannot let you check in if you are unhappy or you will contaminate here. Never take a calculator away from a Japanese person!" This verbal assault went on for a couple of minutes, while my friend and I were both…
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