FromScratch TOKYO - Hostel

Good: Great help and communication with the owner, nice space to hang out, friendly people, cheap laundry and free dryer, soundproof windows, easy check in system. Bad: 3rd floor bathroom quite moldy, one of the sinks doesn't work, please make sure to check your A/C for mold. In Detail: I had a private room and arrived pretty late. Check-in was easy, I got some help from the restaurant owner, that was nice! Everything is very narrow and small but I didn't mind, I didn't get stuck anywhere. The room is cozy, so is the bed. I liked the japanese style and the windows had bug nets and were really soundproof which was great. The toilet and laundry room where nice, but the bath on the 3rd floor really needs some deep cleaning. The water/humidity caused a lot of black mold/dark spots on the walls, makes it feel rather dirty and not good for relaxing in the bathtub. The shower on 2nd floor was great though. Next door is a 7 Eleven which is open 24/7 so that's nice, there's also a large grocery store just a few minutes by foot. Good connection to public transport as well. However, the room I had smelled so old and musty I couldn't sleep. I tried to find where the smell was coming from until I realized it was the air conditioner (and the inside of the wardrobe)! I looked inside and the A/C was full of black mold, that is very dangerous to your health, no wonder I kept waking up from the smell even though the windows were open too. I told the owner though and he had it professionally cleaned just the next day, that was great. I do think though that the rest of the room could use a deep clean too. There's also a large gap in the side of the door from the room I had, so you can look into the room from the outside which is a bit uncomfortable for a solo travelling woman. You can also hang out in the restaurant downstairs when it's closed, so it's a good place to meet and communicate with other travelers. I really liked that! Overall I think it's a good and very affordable place to stay for a few nights, but maybe not for longer.

We enjoyed our stay at FromScratch, check in was easy with the friendly help of the restaurant manager on the bottom floor. Our room was clean and tidy, no smells as mentioned before and towels provided in our private room. Bathroom and Toilet also clean as well as a small area outside our room with a microwave and bench to eat at. 7/11 next door very handy for a cheap travellers breakfast which you can come back to the restaurant on the bottom floor to enjoy whilst it's closed. Metro station is around a 10 minute walk away which will lead you to two different lines which are good for exploring the city. I also reccomend the bar OnTap round the corner for a few good beers! Overall it's hard to fault this place, at its price it provides everything needed to keep costs down whilst living comfortably in Tokyo. We would definitely stay again!