Kia Ora BudgetStay

This was one of my favourite hostels in japan (and I’ve been to a few!). Location - very good. <10min walk from Hakata Station and within half an hour of a lot of the main sites and downtown. Although it was near a busy road, I didn’t hear much traffic at night. Beds - SO comfortable. Hands down the most comfortable beds at any hostel so far. They are more ‘capsule’ than actual bunk beds which is great because there’s less creaking when someone moves around. The bed is a bit wider and longer than average. There’s a large shelf inside and also a key-locker. There’s also a plug socket with an additional usb socket (so helpful) and a light. Room - I stayed in the mixed dorm on the 4th floor. I think there were 10 beds in total. Lots of floor space and (the first time I’ve seen this in japan) a dedicated luggage area in the bedroom. It didn’t feel cramped at all. Also big plus was the temperature of the room - it wasn’t too hot! A lot of places seem to go crazy in the winter and ramp up the heat which is so uncomfortable - not this place. Thank god! Staff - everyone was so nice and friendly. I chatted with several staff members as I was cooking dinner and they were great. Hostel - really well laid out and planned (the only exception is the elevator which, while extremely useful to have, is located at the top of 4 stairs so a bit of lugging around your bag is required!). There is a kitchen and dining area which is well equipped with anything you’d need to use for cooking. There’s also a separate common space with some tatami style seating and counter seating. There’s also an origami station and you can wear a yukata. Other - they include breakfast of toast and spreads. Not only that but the breakfast period is for a fairly long time - 8am-11am. Excellent for a lie in! All in all this was a fantastic hostel and I will totally stay here again if I’m back in Fukuoka. My only niggling criticism is that, once again, being in a mixed dorm is a bit annoying as the men are more noisy than the women and dirtier. A few times there were unflushed toilets (gross!) and someone hadn’t bothered to lift up the seat so had peed on it. Not the hostel’s fault but so annoying!