Emblem Hostel Nishiarai

Emblem Hostel is located just a short walking distance away from Nishiarai station. It is in fact so close that we were able to see the hostel building from the train platform.

The hostel was recently selected on Forbes’s online article as one of the “10 Best Hostels in Japan”. We booked 2 beds in a mixed gender room via agoda.com at SGD27/pax/night.

The location of the hostel is not where a typical tourist will visit. While it is located near a train station, there was only one train service, the Tobu Skytree Line. So unless you plan to visit places along the Skytree Line, chances are that you will have to change to another rail service. The nearest major rail transit is at Kita-Senju, one stop away via the Express Train.

The entire experience of staying at the hostel was great. It is one of the cleanest hostels that I have stayed in, and the facilities was very well thought out. A locker was provided for person and it was large enough for me to not only put my backpack in it, but also to unpack some of my belongings. Each bed also has its own small reading light, power sockets as well as a USB port to charge your devices. A rather thick blackout curtain provides the privacy that you need in the common room, and the bed was super comfortable.

The hostel has a central heating/cooling system not only inside the rooms, but also along the common corridors as well. This ensures that we didn’t have to dart to the common bathroom/toilet from our room because we were too cold.