We stayed at the Pencil House during our stay in Tokyo. The host was very pleasant and met us at the house. The description of the Pencil House is extremely accurate. However it's hard to envision how small the house really is until you are there. We were 5 adults and a 1 year old baby. The bedrooms were adequate but very small, we had a hard time opening a second suitcase. The kitchen was ok but small with a very small refrigerator. It was difficult to seat 5 people at the table plus a high chair. The hardest part of the apartment is the living room. It has one uncomfortable sofa that seats three people and one tv. You cannot fit more than 3 people in the livingroom. The house was on a side street but very close to a major road and elevated highway, so it was noisy even during the night. The Shinjuku train station was further than we thought about a 20 minute walk.
I would recommend this house to travelers that are looking for a place to sleep but not to hang out at the house, it's claustrophobic. I would not recommend it to more than 3 or 4 people. Nonetheless we enjoyed our stay in Tokyo and thank the host for their hospitality.