Yoyogi House

The room had a large TV and plenty of outlets, and the toilets on both floors were clean. Hot water held up for all five of us, and the nine towel sets were enough. The cleaning was acceptable, though a little below what I’d expect from a private rental, and storage on the first floor was cluttered. The three-level layout has a living room, shower, and toilet downstairs; two semi-double beds, a pipe bed, and another toilet on the second floor; and around four futon sets in the attic. It can sleep five, but that feels like its limit. The second-floor floor slopes slightly, though it didn’t get in the way. The attic was poorly ventilated and had a noticeable foot-like smell. With seven hours between the 10 AM checkout and 5 PM check-in, I hope they can do something about that. Light from the skylight woke me early, since there are no curtains. I also found the previous guest’s foreign-language login information still on the TV. I worried about how the Wi-Fi cache was handled, so I didn’t use the Wi-Fi. I’d like to see a thorough reset at checkout for personal information. The location and price were the strongest points. It’s a five-minute walk from JR Yoyogi Station and 15 minutes from Shinjuku Station. About 70,000 yen for two nights and three days for a family of five is very appealing, and we rated those two things highly. Japanese booking sites call it “Sho House”; the English name seems to be “Yoyogi House.” We booked through Yahoo! Travel for a Friday-to-Sunday stay, two nights and three days. We’re a family in our 50s with three children, one at university, one in high school, and one in elementary school. The check-in email came from an address we didn’t recognize at first, which was confusing. You need to register every guest’s nationality, name, and photo in advance, so I’d recommend doing that by the day before. After 5 PM, check-in is handled through the email screen, and you send photos of everyone at the front door. The key is in a key box, and it wasn’t obvious how the sliding door opened and closed. Since check-in is after 5 PM, this may not suit people hoping to drop luggage early and head out sightseeing. When entering, a phone flashlight helps because the light switch near the entrance is hard to find. I hope they improve hygiene management and personal information handling.

The kids were especially excited by the attic and bunk beds, though the attic stairs were steep. We stayed for two nights with three adults and five children, and having a whole house to ourselves was a first for us. The children loved it, and the grandparents said they’d like to return too. There’s a kids’ space, plus a washer-dryer in the room that came in handy. The bathroom is shower-only, but that worked fine for us. It’s an easy walk to the station, with plenty of supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants nearby.