One Stage Ikebukuro - Vacation STAY 61822v

A nice budget place with small rooms, but they’re equipped with everything you might need. It’s a good fit if you’ll be out exploring most of the time and mainly come back to sleep and do laundry.

The room was standard and suitable for two people. There’s a smoking area on the first floor, and when someone smoked there, the smell drifted into our room. We later moved to the third floor. Overall, it wasn’t worth the price.

There’s no elevator, so keep that in mind. The room really didn’t look like the photos. I wouldn’t recommend it.

We had a good stay over three weeks in this small apartment in a quiet residential neighborhood just outside the busy area around Ikebukero station. The 15-minute walk to the station is pleasant, along little streets with houses. We barely noticed the neighbors, apart from the upstairs neighbor, who was noisy around midnight every night. The apartment has a washing machine and a small balcony behind the bedroom where you can hang clothes to dry, though there’s no room cleaning. The bedroom is separated by a sliding door, but it was too tight for two single beds side by side without blocking the doorway. We had to turn one bed sideways to get to the closet. Cooking is limited: there’s room for one pot and one pan on the gas stove, and the flames are weak if you try to use both. When we arrived, there was only one plate, the frying pan coating was scratched, and the spatula was green with mould. The kitchen cabinets need airing out too. We asked the owner for another plate, spatula, and pan. The replacement pan was scratched as well, so I bought one at Life supermarket. The best Life is northwest of the apartment, about a 15-minute walk. Keep the bathroom ventilation running all the time, which is easy to do with the timer. Without it, the room starts to smell like mould pretty quickly. We also bought a squeegee to clear water off the walls and floor after showering. Siphonista café is 650 m away and became our local spot for coffee and sandwiches. The owner is very friendly, and there are other small shops in the area too.