I stayed at Mariko's place for a week, when I had to book a place at short notice because of extending my trip. As a solo traveller who just needs a clean and comfortable home base, it was perfect! Also my first time sleeping in a traditional tatami room, kotatsu included -- which was a lovely experience. Sleeping on the floor is such good back support. Also, unlike a number of places I've stayed, the linen was really soft (I've often encountered velvet-y pillowcases which is bizarre and uncomfortably scratchy). There were also really comfy beanbags to hang out in, but honestly I didn't need them. The kitchen is equipped with a hotplate for cooking with a pot, as well as a toast oven (no microwave). But considering there's a mosburger right across from the station, I barely brought home items that needed cooking, only refridgeratibles. (If you've never tried Mos and normally don't do burger joints, bear in mind that they have both rice and salad burgers, where the wheat is absent, and the coffees are delicious. So that was really convenient.) There's also a post office ('yuubinkyouku' if you need directions from locals), 100yen store, pharmacy, various coffee stores and lunches places within 5 minutes from the house or station. The station is JR Hirai, which means you can connect to other JR lines without scanning out and back in again with your suica/passmo/rail pass (make your life easier, don't buy tickets). Hirai is on the Chuo line, and very, very close to Akihabara. About 10-15 minutes max. And the bonus is, again, it's a JR station, so you emerge right on the edge of Akihabara Electric Town, with easy access to all the bright lights, arcades, maid cafes, figurine stores and also street food vendors. Hirai Station is just a bit far if you're more interested in Shinjuku/ Shibuya/ Harajuku, because you'd have to either get onto the Yamanote line at Akihabara, or take the Chuo through the Yamanote and change onto it at Yoyogi. But nothing serious, you'll still be there within 50min! In the interests of full disclosure, I was initially given the wrong password for the lockbox, so I was stuck out in the cold for a few hours while waiting for a reply. I understand that these things happen when you have multiple lock-boxes, but it would have been really harsh for someone that didn't have anywhere else to go for the night (I did because I overlapped check-out times). Mariko was unfortunately offline at work at the time, so she didn't get my messages until quite late that evening. She is generally very good about responding to messages and giving as much information as possible. She was very forgiving when I ran late on my last day and didn't have time to sort the plastics for recycling! So overall! If you're 1-2 people, you'll love this peaceful home-base. If you've got a child between you, it'll be comfortable enough in the tatami...