Jaunting | Jamera

Hey world, Hey!

This weekend I had the pleasure of escaping to Sapporo Hokkaido for a little weekend getaway. If you don’t know, Sapporo is the fourth largest city in Japan and is known for having hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics and the famous annual Sapporo Snow Festival. The climate in Hokkaido is very snowy in the winter, making it perfect for winter activities and the like if that’s your thing.

It’s not mine, which is why I spent most of this weekend indoors. I booked my stay at the newly opened Guesthouse Yuyu in Sapporo for 3 days and I found the stay to be decent. Below are my ratings of the hostel from 1 -10 in categories most important to me.

Staff

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Rating: ~9/10~ 

The staff at Guesthouse Yuyu were very kind and helpful and hospitable. I enjoyed gushing over Harry Potter with Saki and Miwa. On my first night, I decided against going out for dinner and Saki prepositioned me to join her and the rest of the staff for dinner that evening. While dinner is available to all guest on a donation basis, I thought I’d just pay for the dinner and just eat at a table all by my lonesome. However, when I arrived downstairs, the staff pulled up a seat for me at their table and prepared my dish and just welcomed me to join in on conversation. It was really sweet and made me feel comfortable. 

Cleanliness

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Rating: ~9/10~

Being in Japan you can mostly always be sure that your accommodations will be spick-and-span. Guesthouse Yuyu is no exception. Everything seemed to be in such great order with a minimal aesthetic. They extensively clean the hostel everyday and replenish the items that are out. You don’t have to worry about any creepy crawlers, thankfully!

Location

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Rating: ~7/10~

Guesthouse Yuyu is a bit away from Sapporo’s central area but it’s not particularly in a bad area. During my outings, I explored the nearby Nijo Fish Market and enjoyed Hokkaido’s especially fresh seafood. There is also a section of outdoor covered shops that extends for blocks near the hostel as well. You can also find a few quaint cafe’s and conbinis within a block of Guesthouse Yuyu. It’s not in an ideal neighborhood, but it’s not far from Sapporo Station and should be fine if you choose to be more adventurous than I was.

Comfort

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Rating: ~6/10~

Out of all the hostels I’ve stayed in, I’ve found Guesthouse Yuyu to have the most comfortable beds. The full-size mattresses are perfect and they provide a nice amount of linens. My main issue here mostly has to do with how cold the hostel can be throughout the day. When it’s 23 degrees outside, I need for the heat to be on full blast indoors. I understand if maybe they’re trying to save money, but honestly, if you’re in the hospitality business, you want to  make sure your guests are comfortable and cutting off the heat in the day is not the way to do it. Another change Guesthouse Yuyu could consider making is if they invested in a comfy couch. The living space and library is chock full of chairs and tables as if it were a cafe. If you added a sofa or maybe even a bean-bag, it would make the rooms feel more inviting and less sterile.

Services / Amenities

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Rating: ~5/10~

Now because this is a hostel, they don’t really offer much in the  way of amenities, so don’t come here expecting to see a gym room. My main qualm here is with the wifi. Oh. my. goodness. I don’t know whether it was because of the snow or it was the construction of the building, but the wifi was SO bad. Even my regular cellular service was crap in the hostel. They seem to have a router for each room that came with a new wifi name and corresponding password to get access. However, out of the four I tried to connect to in different areas of the hostel, only two areas (the library and living room) worked for me. That’s unacceptable. If I were looking to take a break from the internet and just relax, I would have been fine with the dodgy service, but because I had work to do it was annoying trying to navigate through the slowness.

So there goes my review for Guesthouse Yuyu in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Despite it’s issues, I would recommend this hostel to anyone looking for a nice, affordable, quiet space away from the city center but still close enough to have a good time. I would stay here again, but it would be for a short trip and I would absolutely have to have my own room.

Yuyu Guesthouse Overall rating: 7/10

Check their website for more information and to book your stay!