Hostel Tomal

I had a great stay at Tomeru Hostel. The location of the hostel is superb, off street enough to be quiet and peaceful, yet close enough to the tram station to access everywhere in town easily. Gotta climb four storeys to reach the dorm but staircases are an every day thing in Japan anyway. It was raining almost daily when I was in Kagoshima, but a variety of umbrellas were provided for our use. I especially loved the subtle light music that was put on every night in the common room. Shoko-san, Tomaru’s soft-spoken owner, is an absolute dear. She helped me practise my faltering Japanese language skills and were always willing to answer any questions I have about anything. I slept in a room with 4 dorm beds where everyone was kind and considerate. On my last night in the hostel, two fellow Japanese room mates and me had a fun chat using a jumble of Japanese, English and Chinese. Was very grateful for everyone’s patience with my poor command of the Japanese language. I have never spoken so much Japanese in one day and it gave me a tremendous sense of accomplishment!

The hostel owner is so nice. The place is very clean and comfortable, also located on good location.

Simple property run by a small group of people. There is nothing grandiose about the property but for the price, it is affordable, simple and the hostess is great. She served us Tea and Kabocha when we were waiting as she was prepping the room. We are the ones who tried to check-in 6 hours earlier than check-in time and she felt obliged nonetheless to do more than she needed. I greatly recommend this place.