Sakura Bella Ikebukuro

The good points were limited to the reasonably spacious single room, a double bed about 1.4-1.5 meters wide, and front desk staff who spoke good English and gave clear instructions. Everything else made the stay unpleasant. My room was on the second floor. The higher levels seemed to be hostel rooms, so there wasn’t much choice of floor for hotel rooms. I didn’t care about the view, but the windows weren’t insulated well and street noise came in easily. The hotel is on inner streets where little happens, but its semi-open-air ground-floor restaurant got busy at night. I could also hear every upstairs movement, chairs being dragged, walking, stomping, and toilets flushing. The old building and thin materials may be why. The room doors shut and locked automatically with a loud noise that carried into other rooms, making it hard to fall asleep. The doors didn’t insulate sound either. Cleaning hours were 10 to 3, yet the crew showed up at 8 a.m. and chatted outside my room because it faced their supply storage room. They woke me, so I went for breakfast. It was only toast and coffee, too plain to be worth the time, and I skipped it the next day. The room had a TV and fridge, but the only outlets were under the table, easy to forget if you plug in a charger. An outlet near the bed would help. The bathroom looked very old, with separate hot and cold knobs that were hard to adjust. There were no towel hooks in or around it. It looked like hooks had been torn off and never replaced. Several parts of the room felt dirty, with visible dirt and strange black liquid stains on the wall. They looked disgusting and seemed easy to clean, so I don’t understand why they were left there. I felt so uncomfortable that I didn’t want to stay another minute. No other hotel in Japan has made me feel like that; it reminded me of staying in a property in a backwater town in South America. I understand it’s a budget hotel, but the price should match, maybe 4,000 to 5,000 yen a night. I was charged 22,000 yen for two nights. After that rough first night, I searched online while sleep-deprived and saw nearby three-star hotels mostly priced at 7,000 to 8,000 yen a night. I booked another hotel and moved out, abandoning my room here.

We stayed four nights in the Annex Building, using two rooms that were cleaned each day. The bath had all the essentials, and the front desk could lend us a kettle and hair dryer. Staff were friendly and helpful, and let us leave our luggage there before check-in. A nice cafe is downstairs; 7-11 is down the road, with a pharmacy and Family mart at the other end. Ikebukuro Station, Sunshine City, the Narita Airport shuttle bus stop, and lots of places to eat are all within walking distance.

The older man at reception ruined our vacation. He charged us a fine for checking out five minutes late and threatened to call the police. No one had explained the rules before we checked in. We also paid 20,000 yen for a room with two beds, even though we had booked separate beds. I’d never recommend this hotel.

We stayed at the Sakura for three nights. The room was small but had what we needed. We were given just one pair of slippers and one vest between two people, though those are minor things. Breakfast was simple, with bread and jam, coffee, tea, and a couple of soups, but it was all good. We enjoyed our stay!