Noble Park KINSHICHO

I had a room on the highest floor, and the view from up there was stunning. Everything else was good too. I only wish there’d been an iron.

The view from the balcony was amazing, and there were convenience stores, cafes, malls, and a temple within walking distance. We chose the place for its price and location, near KINSHICHO station, though we thought the city center would be walkable at the time. I stayed for two weeks with two other people on my first trip to Japan, so my general impressions of the trip may color this review. The place is quite small. Usually, if someone needed to walk through, the rest of us had to sit still or move aside. Given the size of the building, having so many apartments on each floor is already a bit of a miracle. The couch bed was bigger than the bed, and technically four people could squeeze in, but don’t do that. The closet held all our clothes and purchases with room left over, and there were enough plugs for everyone’s phones and power banks. The TV only had YouTube, but we didn’t care about having regular channels. Sorting the rubbish was confusing. Japan generally separates plastic and paper, while here it was burnable and recyclable, so we weren’t always sure what went where. Sorry to the owner if we got it wrong a few times. Everything else was okay or fine, with nothing grand but what we needed. For me, considering the location and price, it was a solid 10/10, and I didn’t experience the problems others mention. The things I didn’t like were the cramped, small bathtub, the temperature, and the ventilation. It worked almost too well, and the sound of the wind was hard to miss.

The TV didn’t work, and the tableware was all melamine or plastic. It wasn’t suitable for microwaving or serving hot food, and several pieces were damaged. In other rentals I’ve stayed in, the dishes were ceramic and easy to clean. The filters on both the air conditioner and bathroom exhaust fan were extremely dirty, with more dust on them than the Japanese yen I’d brought. The hotel didn’t send check-in instructions, and my messages through its system got no reply. The platform eventually helped resolve it, but I still had to stand in the cold wind for an hour before I could check in.

We stayed for two weeks and didn’t see any staff, which wasn’t a problem because we didn’t really need anyone. The unit is fully self-service, very clean, roomy for Tokyo, and equipped with far more than a typical hotel room. Along with what was listed in the booking, there was an extension cord, spray to remove food smells from clothes, a laundry drying room, a clip hanger for underwear and socks, and a binder of appliance manuals. It all felt designed to make guests comfortable. Check-in was easy, but read the information they send before arriving. Both check-in and check-out use a QR code on the wall. There are also helpful reminders, such as resetting the SmartTV to clear your logins before leaving. The unit has a tablet too, but the previous guest had changed its language to Hebrew. It took me half an hour and lots of Google Translate to switch it back. Changing the language is fine, but please set it back when you’re done. The location is convenient, with supermarkets, lots of convenience stores, a mall, Metro station, and JR station all 3-15 minutes away on foot. There’s a bus to the stations, but we found walking easy. I do have a couple of suggestions: please leave an extra toilet paper roll, since a half-used roll wasn’t enough for three people over two weeks. The instructions said there would be spare garbage bags under the bins, but there weren’t any. For my booking, it was good value, clean, convenient, and well equipped. I’d happily recommend it for a Tokyo visit.