Nozaru Hostel

outdoor hot spring is very relaxing and clean

There were only few outlets in the room to charge electronical devices

It's cheap compared to other hotels in town, which are all super expensive (around 150 a night), but you don't get access to the 9 or so public baths in town since this hostel is not a part of the ryokan association in town (maybe that's why it's' so cheap compared to them). You can pay 500 yen at the information center nearby (closes at 5pm btw) and get access to only one designated bath. However the hostel's own onsen is very nice, at least the male one (better than the public one we got access to).

Staff was very nice but all recently arrived foreigner volunteers so they were generally as clueless as we were, the owner was on vacation while I was there.

The Onsen (hot tub) and the friendly staff was nice!

The sheets were dirty, and there was only a toilet on the ground floor while the bedroom was on the third.

Had a traditional Japanese Inn feel, women’s onsen was clean and good size for inside, but outside onsen would only fit one person. The men’s onsen was bigger and had a bigger outdoor onsen. Location is fantastic! Close to monkey park (we walked). Locals were super friendly and very helpful. Traditional tatami floors and room had its own toilet but the bathroom was locked, you have to use the onsen room for showering/bathing.

I didn’t like that because the hostel is not part of the onsen association, we could not access the 9 public baths that are in the town (part of the reason you visit Shibu Onsen) but I was not told this/ (was not made clear when booking) until we arrived. I was super disappointed as this was a big part of the experience of this town. You can however, pay an additional fee to the information counter in town and use only bath number 9. The staff (backpackers) were mostly unhelpful as they only arrived the same day we did so could not answer any questions we had, or even order us a taxi!