All Hostels are not Created Equal!

So it's time to regail you with my tales (sadly, photoless) from the last few days; then onto a hostel review!

So the day before yesterday I went out shopping for a tie, as I forgot to bring my own and I have the interview on Friday and all.  So I took my friend along to interpret my wishes, and being female, I assumed she would impart some kind of magical fashion sense onto my tie choice.  Except I made a few crucial mistakes along the way.

Firstly, I forgot to bring my sole shirt with me, so there was no material to compare the tie against.  This was easily overcome however, as I pulled out a blue shirt from a rack, much to the dismay of a shop assistant whose purpose in life, presumably, is to do such things for one.

A note must be added here to say, I was not in an extremely expensive shop.  This  is simply normal customer service here.  There are always three people on hand to help every customer, and this may go some way to explaining why prices here are what they are.  In petrol stations for example, upon requesting a refill, someone pours your petrol, while any available attendants clean and buff up any shiny surface.  It's 50's america style service, times ten.  Would you like a cigar after your shave sir?

So after pulling apart their carefully crafted customer service system within five seconds of walking through the door, me and my partner proceeded to search for the perfect tie, upon which we hit on snag the second.

There's no accounting for taste.  There are no plain ties in Japan.  Apparently it's not fashionable at the moment.  The feminisation of men in Japan is complete.  Or the Italianisation, if you prefer.  Armani suits and all that junk, belong in armani stores with appropriate price tags.  I just want a plain cheap tie!  What's up with all the stripes and patterns and polka dots?

So we bothered the assistant again, who then had to search their wardrobes for a plain tie, and after a lengthy process of behind closed doors escavation, brought with her three ties.  One of which was plain.  That is the crisis of taste that is happening in Japan right now.

Anyway, I picked the plain one, I think it'll go well with my shirt, all is well.


The Great Hostel Review!

Ok so not all the hostels I've stayed in are great.

Firstly we start with the new Koyo in Taito-ku, north Tokyo.  It's a twenty minute walk from Asakusa which is a great place to visit (for most, it's all temples and whatnot), and is generally indicative of the ease by which you can access the city from the location.

So it's well placed to experience Tokyo then.  The hostel itself is quite old, and feels a bit like the old 60's prefab places in England that were so in vogue, but fell out of favour as quickly as they were put up.  Inside it looks old, with linoleum floors and great big metal fire doors everywhere.  Here's the kicker though, the people who both work there, and frequent the place, are absolutely amazing.

The staff are friendly enough that one treated me to lunch, and one of the others talked to me at length about nothing in particular, just because I was persistent...  Patience is a virtue.  If I had more Japanese under my command I'm sure I could chat to the cleaning staff for as long as I wanted too.  It's worth noting that the rooms are also quite old and shabby looking, but the staff are constantly cleaning something, so the whole place is clean; just tired looking.

The other travellers who frequent the place generally fall into similar categories as me.  Some had just started their trips around Japan, some were at an end, waiting to head to Narita.  Tokyo is the entry and exit point of Japan for most people, so it's definitely an ecclectic mix.

Of the Japanese who live in the hostel; there are  tons of homeless Japanese as I've already said in a previous post, so most of the hostels hire rooms out to the low paid workers in the area.  Infact, most hostels originally started as work houses for those very people and have since converted into tourist hostels.  Therefore, the number of native Japanese in these places is quite high.  Unfortunately the kind of person who lives in a hostel is one who isn't always able to find work, and is therefore very poor, so some might be put off by their less than kempt initial appearance - however, they pretty much keep to themselves, besides the occasional hacking cough...

So the new Koyo scores an 82/100, primarily for its' friendly staff.

The second hostel is called, 'Yokohama hostel village,' and on initial observation seemed promising.  As with a lot of things, initial observations proved wrong.  The sole female receptionist staff was very nice, friendly and extremely helpful.  The other male receptionists were bullish and quite blunt.  They weren't rude per se, but I expect their kind of service in England, not really Japan.

The facade and interiors of the rooms were clean and well kept, and were in a Japanese style; so futon and tatami floors here.  Depending on personal choice, this may be preferable or otherwise.

All in  all, I only really saw native Japanese workers who are less than forthcoming with conversation in this place, bar a couple of americans whom I chatted with for a while.

Essentially the clientele here seem to be rather boring, and there's no communal area to meet people in the same way as the new Koyo.

The cleaning staff are basically a bunch of boys, and are rather aggressive in their cleaning and communication habits.  They're not pleasant, and this annoyed me considerably on my final day.  Also, the internet is both slow and difficult to connect to here.

All in all, 55/100 - It's clean and nice looking, but that's about it.

So I've only been a day in my current hostel and will give it a couple more days before I review it!

Special mention:  Aizuya bar - open 8AM - 12AM for  breakfast, 8PM-12PM for dinner and drinks.  The staff here are really nice, it's an extremely small place and has a very nice atmosphere, again entirely  generated by the staff.  Really great place!