This new property is very smart, clean and generally well-equipped. It worked well for our 3-generation family with one bedroom and bathroom at street level (very little noise came through to the bedroom from the bathroom), 2 further bedrooms on the top floor and a living area in the middle. The stairs are quite steep but all the rooms have doors that you can shut so we were able to keep the toddler in our group away from the stairs (the living area has had a door added since the photos were taken). The hosts were very responsive and once when a member of the group had taken the only key with them by mistake, our hosts were able to help the rest of the group get into the house. The location is good, walking distance to Ikebukuro Station with a 7-Eleven round the corner, other shops nearby and a small park with a children's playground more-or-less across the road.

A few extra things would make this an even better place to stay. Better instructions for the appliances would be very helpful (even with a native Japanese speaker and another fluent speaker in our group we found them difficult to use). And the worst thing was that a couple of the bedroom windows had either an inadequate curtain or none at all, and light from the street and the next door building, plus the fact that the sky got light around 4am, made it difficult to sleep. We got around this by stuffing cushions into the window aperture but curtains would be better! Also we requested a cot but were given a flat padded bed that was only suitable for a baby of up to about 6 months and far too small for the almost-2 year old in our group. A problem of translation perhaps. These were minor points though, and overall it was a good stay.