When in Rome

Tokyo International Youth Hostel was certainly an experience if nothing else.

The first minor shock concerned the beds. I shared a room with four other volunteers on two sets of bunk beds and an extra bed. My bottom bunk had a wooden base and only a few thin sheets on top of it, making it fairly hard to sleep on. Plus the pillow also seemed to be filled with small beads? It definitely wasn't the best sleep ever but I was way to tired to complain and just thankful to lie down.

The second shock commenced during my first proper encounter with a Japanese toilet! Each toilet was electronic and had a wide range of features (Most of which I have thus far avoided). The best feature by far though is the heated seats! Although unexpected it was definitely a welcome experience.

During breakfast I was pleasantly surprised to see an array of cereals! I was expecting a proper Japanese breakfast (which was available) but I can't deny the fact that I didn't think twice about taking a bowl of cornflakes.

The final and most prominent surprise arose as I ventured towards the showers. Instead of the normal shower room I expected I found myself outside of what looked like a public bath house, equipped with a fairly large shared bath inside. Thankfully they also had a few shower stalls which I tended to opt for instead.

(psst. It's the larger building on the left)