Sapporo Hostels

Perfect, great commun room, close to station and a cute parc, was perfect

I chose Centurion, thinking the service would be great, and it was decent. You can experience a Japanese bath (furo). For the sauna, you have to wait for the top of the hour to enter. When I arrived, it was just before 9 PM, and I saw a group of men and young guys neatly lined up in three rows outside the sauna door. No pushing or shoving, just waiting for the staff to say 'go in.' They all went in naked, very obedient! The bed was a huge capsule, very comfortable. However, they charge an extra 500 yen to store luggage after check-out! This isn't really like a typical hostel; it's more of a men's bathhouse, specifically for guys who come to shower and bathe.

The environment was clean. It would be more helpful for independent travelers if there were more detailed instructions on how to use the hotel facilities and information about nearby transportation in Chinese, or even audio guides.

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.