Anyway, let's talk about Japan. My flight into Kansai International Airport (KIX) is scheduled to land on April 1st at 4pm. From KIX, it's two hours to my dorm. It could easily take over an hour to get through customs and get my luggage. So, best-case scenario; no flight delays, no luggage delays, no customs delays, no missed-the-train-connection delays, I won't be getting to the dorms until 7pm at the EARLIEST. I would feel less nervous about that if the cut-off time for check-in wasn't 9pm. So two hours of delay from ANYTHING would have me landing in Japan with nowhere to sleep. Additionally, the dorm doesn't do check-ins on the weekends, so I wouldn't have a place to sleep for three nights. Needless to say, this possibility made me quite nervous.
I started Googling around for some hostels around the Kansai airport and what I found was two-fold; one, they are expensive and two, they are booked for that weekend. So, I started looking in Suita, Osaka, and was finding that some had rooms on one of the three nights, but not on all three. I found full-on hotels, but they were upwards of $60/night. Which is a decent option if you can't find a hostel, but still, a bit above my price-range. Then I found J-Hoppers. J-Hoppers is a chain of hostels around Japan for people who want to "hop" around the country. Their rooms start at $32/night (for a 6-person dorm style room) to about $50 for a twin bed room. The Osaka location is about 1 hour from KIX and about 1 hour from my dorms, so it's a decent location. When you Google J-Hoppers, you find it's been reviewed frequently and received 4-stars consistently -- save one person who complained it was difficult to sleep due to other noisy patrons -- hello? You're staying in a hostel. Earplugs!
With the great reviews, good location, inexpensive rates, I decided to forget about the dorms until Monday, and spend three nights at the J-Hopper Hostel in Osaka. Now, their check-in time ends at 11, but I figured that would at least give me two extra hours to get there. Further, if you reserve but never check in, they only bill you 10% of your overall cost (so $10 for me) plus one night's stay (out $42 total then, instead of losing the entire $100). That seems pretty fair to me, so I booked three nights; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The reviews on the place say it is extremely clean and the staff is very polite and helpful; it's near Osaka Castle and other tourist-y attractions, and it comes with a slew of amenities: bicycles you can rent, full-use shared kitchen, free internet access, computer access you can rent by the hour if you don't have your own, free coffee and tea, and clerks who all speak English. When they say they speak English, they mean it. How do I know? Because I then noticed that they have a Skype account so you can call them via Skype for free from anywhere in the world.
I gave them a ring, since I had some questions. My primary question, the thing that had been nagging me since I started looking for alternate accomodations, was what happens if I miss check-in? No problem, the clerk told me. She gave me a pin code that I can use to get in the front door, should I get there late, and informed me that if I miss check-in, there will be a key on a card with my name on it waiting for me on the front counter. So even if I'm late, I can still get into the hostel and get into my (shared) room. I will just have to keep quiet so's to not wake the other guests. I also asked what would be done with my luggage while I was out and about in Osaka, and she said they have a luggage room which locks, where they store large luggage, and each guest has access to a locker in their room to store valuables.
Not only did she alleviate my fears, but she spoke perfect English, and answered all my questions competently and politely. Further, the picosecond we got off the phone, she sent me an e-mail with a ton of information in it (including the PIN code and what to do if I get there past check-in). So. Amazingly. Helpful! I haven't step foot into a J-Hopper Hostel yet and I'm already a happy customer. That's awesome.
Not only am I relieved that I have a place to sleep for the first three nights in Japan, but in a way it sort of puts off the whole "being at school" thing. I mean, I'm sure they'd leave me be at the dorms until the 6th, which is when orientation and such begins, but this feels more vacation-y. I'll have 2 full days (and three full nights!) to not only adjust to the time-change, but to explore Osaka on foot, bicycle, or public transport. I'll have 48+ delicious hours that belong solely to me, where no one will have to account for me and I won't have to account to anyone. This is going to be sweet.
