Sapporo Hostels

This hotel is excellent overall, with a superb location just a 4-minute walk from Susukino subway station. All facilities and services are satisfying, and the environment is exceptionally clean. The hotel features separate floors for men and women (including separate elevators and floors), significantly enhancing privacy and safety. The self-check-in system is also very convenient, minimizing unnecessary human contact. ☃️ The hotel provides disposable slippers daily. Although there's no daily room cleaning service, it doesn't affect the overall experience at all. I stayed in a deluxe room on the 7th floor. Guests on this floor are generally very considerate, always tidying up after using public facilities, making the entire floor feel clean and comfortable. The bed in the deluxe room is spacious and can comfortably accommodate two people. The only minor drawback is that you have to continuously press a button to keep the shower running; it doesn't provide continuous water flow once turned on. You need to press it every few tens of seconds, which is a bit inconvenient. 🥹

Convenient check-in: Very convenient, close to Susukino subway station with a FamilyMart downstairs. Safety: The entire hotel spans from the 3rd to 8th floor. You'll need to check in at the front desk on the 8th floor, then transfer to an internal elevator to access rooms on other floors. Facilities: All facilities are very comprehensive, including a restaurant, public bath, entertainment, and a library. Hygiene: Clean and tidy, with private areas. I recommend booking a room type with a private space.

You can find this hostel by typing ”theatel” into Google Maps, and the navigation is pretty accurate. It's located on the third floor of a building with two entrances. One entrance has ”F-45” written on it, and there's a floor directory next to it (with the hostel's name listed on the 3rd-floor section). The other entrance has a huge 'egg' shaped sculpture in front of it. Near this egg sculpture, you can see the famous landmark beer billboard (featuring an old foreign man's face). You can also see the hostel's name when you enter the building from behind the egg sculpture. Take the elevator to the third floor, and after exiting, turn right to find the front desk. Sometimes the front desk is unattended, but there's a tablet nearby with a QR code. Just scan it with your phone's camera to self-check-in (you'll need to enter a four-digit reservation code). The female-only section has a code-locked door (I received the code on my phone during self-check-in, and also in the email I provided when I made the reservation). After entering the code, there are two more doors: one leads to the accommodation area (my capsule bed was very clean and soft, came with two hangers, a bath towel, a blackout curtain at the entrance, a power outlet by the headboard, an overhead storage cabinet, a box of tissues, and a pair of indoor slippers at the foot of the bed). The other door leads to the washroom area (which I thought was cleverly designed). The innermost part has several shower stalls + changing areas, all equipped with shower gel and shampoo. Outside of that, there are a few coin-operated washing machines, and further out, two rows of sinks. There are stools under the sinks, and hand towels and hairdryers on top. Next to the sinks, in a separate area, are several toilets. The entire washroom area was very clean, and I actually found the toilet paper quality to be quite good. Perhaps influenced by the widely held belief about 'quiet Japanese society,' the entire hostel was very quiet. I booked and paid in advance through an online platform, so I didn't have to pay anything extra from check-in to check-out. On the wall above the foot of my capsule bed, there was a 'check-in guide' (with the Wi-Fi name and password, and a check-out QR code). You need to check out before 10 AM by scanning the code and confirming. I was very satisfied with my stay.

The cabins are gorgeous and clean. The sauna was very hot. The advertised coffee machine wasn't working after 10 PM. There was hot water available, but no tea bags! I checked in, wanted to have a snack, but there was no tea. Why mislead guests about services? I could have gone down to the store, but I was already in my pajamas after the sauna. So, I ended up eating a bun with hot water.

We booked a twin room, which was clean and not cold in winter. The hotel's location is great, very close to the subway station, just a short walk away. If you don't want to take the subway, you can take a taxi. There's also a 7-Eleven nearby! The hotel provides umbrellas at the entrance, has a lounge, and a kitchen with facilities. The room is actually quite large, not as small as I imagined. We had four suitcases and other bags, which was enough for us. The only drawback is that there's no private bathroom (and it seems you have to pay two yuan to buy a toothbrush). But overall, it exceeded my expectations!