Matsumoto Backpackers
by the TopOfHotel team
Matsumoto Backpackers is a hostel inside an old wooden Japanese house right in the city center — you sleep on a real tatami futon, the staff speak English and will plan your day, and dorm beds start around $24, which makes it the pick for backpackers and social solo travelers who want to swap stories with people from all over.
Matsumoto Backpackers is a hostel inside an old wooden Japanese house right in the city center — you sleep on a real tatami futon, the staff speak English and will plan your day, and dorm beds start around $24, which makes it the pick for backpackers and social solo travelers who want to swap stories with people from all over.
In-Depth Review
Rooms and decor
Matsumoto Backpackers is the highest-rated hostel in town, set in a two-storey old Japanese house in the central Shiraita district that was renovated into a hostel while keeping its original character — tatami floors, paper shoji sliding doors, old timber walls and a small garden off the front veranda give it a genuinely Japanese feel you will not find in a modern hostel. There are several room types: a mixed dorm and a female-only dorm of 4 to 6 beds from about $24 a night, with each bed getting its own reading light, a plug, a locker and a privacy curtain, and a private tatami room for a couple or solo traveler at roughly $63 to $80 — small, but with a feel old Japanese houses have that same-priced hotels cannot match. Bathrooms and showers are shared in the Japanese-hostel style, clean and tidy, and reviewers agree the place delivers a true Japanese-hostel atmosphere unlike anywhere else.
Food and amenities
What earns this hostel such strong reviews is the common space, built for a social atmosphere. There is a shared kitchen where travelers from around the world cook breakfast or dinner and end up making new friends, plus a lounge with sofas, chairs and tables to gather around, stocked with city guides and maps. The staff speak fluent English — a selling point you do not often find at Japanese hostels — and will recommend the city, point you to good local restaurants that are not in the guidebooks, plan trips to Kamikochi, Norikura and the Kiso Valley, and book your bus ticket with the timetable for free. There is no breakfast service, so you walk 1 to 2 minutes to a nearby 7-Eleven or FamilyMart or cook your own in the kitchen. You also get free Wi-Fi, a coin laundry and luggage storage before and after check-in, which is genuinely handy for backpackers who want to explore before they can check in.
Location and getting there
Matsumoto Backpackers sits in the Shiraita district in the city center, a 5-minute walk to Matsumoto Station, which makes heading out to Kamikochi or catching an onward train easy — from the station the Alpico bus reaches Kamikochi in about 1.5 hours. Most importantly, it is a 10-minute walk to Matsumoto Castle, closer than both the Richmond Hotel and Hotel M, so you can stroll over early in the morning before the tour groups arrive. The Shiraita area is full of local eateries — a famous ramen shop, soba spots and several Showa-era cafés all within a 5-minute walk. Shinshu Matsumoto Airport is about 8 km away, 18 minutes by car.
Things to know before booking
First, the bathrooms and showers are shared in the Japanese-hostel style, clean and tidy, but if that is not for you, pick a hotel a tier up like the Richmond or Hotel M. Second, the dorms sleep 4 to 6 and can get noisy at night, so light sleepers should bring earplugs or book one of the slightly pricier private rooms. Third, there is no breakfast service, so you walk to a convenience store or cook your own in the shared kitchen — though in the social atmosphere here, cooking with fellow travelers is a highlight a lot of guests remember.
Our take
From reading through the real reviews, Matsumoto Backpackers is the best-value and most authentic-feeling option among the city's budget stays. It sells the experience of a hostel inside a renovated two-storey old Japanese house — sleeping on a real tatami futon, English-speaking staff ready to plan your day, and a social atmosphere that gets you talking to people from everywhere — from about $24 for a dorm and $63 for a private room. If your mental picture of the trip is wheeling a small bag 5 minutes from the station, slipping off your shoes into an old Japanese house, sleeping on a tatami futon, waking early to walk under 10 minutes to the castle for photos before the crowds, then coming back to cook breakfast with travelers from Australia and Taiwan in the shared kitchen, this is the answer that stays with you. It suits backpackers, social solo travelers and anyone who wants to trade stories — but if you need an en-suite bathroom and full privacy, look elsewhere. Overall we give it 8.1/10 for the best hostel in Matsumoto.
Score Breakdown
Assessed by our editorial team from data and real guest reviews
The Honest Verdict — pros & what to know
- The building itself is a two-storey old Japanese house renovated into a hostel that holds onto its original feel — tatami floors, paper sliding doors and aged wood you simply do not get in a modern hostel.
- The location is central, in the Shiraita district: a 5-minute walk to Matsumoto Station and only a 10-minute walk to Matsumoto Castle, which puts it closer to the castle than the Richmond Hotel that looks nearer on a map.
- Prices start at about $24 a night for a bed in a 4-to-6-person dorm, the cheapest on this list, and there are private tatami rooms at roughly $63 to $80 for anyone who wants their own space.
- Staff speak fluent English and will recommend the city, point you to good local restaurants and help arrange trips to Kamikochi, Norikura or the Kiso Valley — a selling point you rarely find at Japanese hostels.
- There is a shared kitchen and a social lounge where travelers from around the world sit and talk, which suits solo backpackers looking for company and someone to trade route notes with.
- Bathrooms and showers are shared in the usual Japanese-hostel style; if that is not for you, choose a step up like the Richmond or Hotel M.
- Dorms sleep 4 to 6 people and can get noisy at night, so light sleepers should pack earplugs or book one of the slightly pricier private rooms.
- There is no breakfast service — you walk to a nearby convenience store or a neighborhood café, though the shared kitchen does let you cook your own.
Who It’s For
Match Score by travel style
Amenities
Location & Nearby Spots
Things to do near Matsumoto
Day tours, attraction tickets and experiences around Matsumoto — book ahead on Klook with mobile e-tickets.
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Insider Tips
- Talk to the staff at check-in and ask for a city map and their off-the-guidebook restaurant picks — several reviewers call this the highlight of their stay.
- If you are traveling as a couple, book a Private Tatami Room instead of a dorm — the per-person price works out about the same but you get privacy and a genuinely Japanese way to sleep.
- Use the shared kitchen to make your own breakfast before heading out to the castle — it is a freedom hostels give you that hotels do not, and it saves money while you chat with other travelers.