I am preparing for my trip and I was about to book hostels and I have a few questions.

Is it ok to bring luggage with me? like in a hotel your luggage stays in your room but since its a hostel is there a place to store luggage for a few days? or should I just take my backpack and a few items. I really would not like to carry everything in a backpack and lug it around, if I can bring a bag with me along with a backpack it would be a lot easier, I can take the backpack everywhere and only move my luggage around when i move hostels like tokyo to kyoto.

My second question is in regards to private rooms within certain hostels, do they function like hotels? where you have your own room key and the only one with access to that room or is it a open room like in a guest house.

Thank you for all your help in answering many of my questions many of you have been very helpful and I know some of my questions may be a little stupid.

Private room - never seen one in a hostel. Although, what else could it me I wonder?!?!? "Private" means private I guess.

I've stayed at a few hostels in Japan, and a private room is exactly that... your own room with own key or access card, etc.

I always opt for private rooms where possible, and if the hostel has single private rooms (often, if they have private rooms, they're twin or doubles), they're normally not *that* much more expensive than a dorm... or at least I don't think so.

Generally hostel dorms will at least have a small locker where you can store valuables, but confirm this with them first, if you're particularly worried. That said, I found in Japan, tourists tended to adopt the courteous Japanese attitude, and I feel it would be unlikely things would go missing.