Ikebukuro House

Adequate stay for budget accommodation

5.0

As my family (5A) tends to lean towards the basics, the house is adequate enough for our stay. If all you required are beds to sleep in, a shower/bathroom to freshen up, a toilet, and kitchen amenities to cook or heat your food in, then it is enough for what you need. There's a fridge, microwave, stove top, kettle, and rice cooker. There were no pantry items, and they had minimal crockery/cutlery. Towels/bed linen, basic toiletries - shampoo, conditioner,  bodywash (no toothbrush), and hairdryer are provided. It had a washing machine, however there was hardly any room inside to dry your clothes unless you used hangers and the fold-up clothes rack to dry them on the shower railing. You could, as an option, dry your clothes on the clothes line outside by the side wall of the house. The place is adequately clean, however there are certain parts of the walls that looked really worn out and grimy. What was once a living/dining area by the kitchen has been converted to a "bedroom" to allow the property to be described as a 3bdr house. The staircase is a bit steep, so it can be difficult to climb up and down. There's air-con in all the rooms, and they worked fine both for heating/cooling. There's a remote control for what looked like a TV, but no TV in the house. Internet access is provided, but it was slow and would sometimes drop out. The house is in a residential area, but it's about 5-10mins walking distance to various izakayas, bars, and local restaurants, a Don Quiote shop, and combinis (7/11s and FamilyMarts), but a bit far from JR Ikebukuro Station and the Metro subway lines (15-20mins depending how fast you walk). From Ikebukuro Station, it's easy walking access to Sunshine City and major shopping areas and malls. Overall, the property can be viewed as budget accommodation, so you get what you pay for.

− - Distance to JR/Metro stations - Minimal space to move around - No table to eat and sit down

Nice affordable stay in Tokyo

8.0

Overall, the accommodation met our expectations, especially considering its relative affordability compared to other shared-bathroom rooms in Tokyo. Its location in a residential neighborhood was within a 15-20 minute walk from Ikebukuro JR Station. ,Reaching major tourist attractions took between 30-60 minutes. The kitchen and washing machine were convenient, and the separation of the toilet and shower facilitated usage. The place was clean, even though the wallpaper showed some wear.

− It was difficult to understand the house's layout based on the pictures. It's quite small with two floors. The first floor has an entrance hall with a sink, a toilet door, stairs, and another door leading to the first room. This room integrates the kitchen and has another door leading to a small room with the washing machine and shower. This layout presented an inconvenience, as accessing the shower and kitchen required passing through one of the bedrooms, compromising privacy. The second floor consisted of two small rooms, one with a coffee table and couch, and the other with a closet. Space was limited, including small beds with overly soft mattresses. Sharing one bathroom among 6 people could also be challenging. In conclusion, the suitability of this accommodation depends on your priorities. If budget is your main concern and you're comfortable with smaller, less private spaces, it's a good option. However, if you have more financial flexibility or prefer larger, more private accommodations, you might consider exploring other options.