Overall we loved the place. Some tips are below!
We really liked being in the heart of Shibuya, but on a quieter alley. The street its next to is so happening, with hundreds of restaurants and bars. It’s such a fun area! Though it’s not super great for kids as there aren’t any kid things close by.
The hosts are very responsive.
The apartment has all the necessities and modern Japanese touches. We really liked the bathtub (note that you need to turn it On, let the water heat up for a few minutes, and then can press the Fill Bath button. It’s computerized so the water may start and stop, or take a while to start. Either the bathtub or the kitchen wall control can set the temperature, and you have to use the Priority button (orange light) to toggle between which temperature to use. A little confusing.)
The kitchen is tiny, like all Japanese apartment kitchens we’ve seen. We would cook eggs in the morning, but not other meals, because it was too hard to cook with just 1 square foot of counter space, and to eat on the low couches with coffee table. So expect to eat out a lot.
We couldn’t hear the neighbors. Good sound isolation I think. Though we think we could smell cigarette smoke from the neighbors, which we talked with the hosts about.
The balcony is nice. Maybe having a chair out there would be a nice touch.
The beds are firm but not too hard. The pillows are formless, I think they should get new pillows, or you might want to bring your own. One thing is that they slide around a lot. Which is hard because we pushed them together to make a double bed, but they would slide apart.
We struggled to get the electronic lock pad on the door open the first time. After you put in your code, it will show three random numbers. You have to touch these numbers. Then it will show an asterisk, and you have to touch that too. Then it will unlock. After we got used to it, it would only take us 2-3 seconds to unlock.
Also note that Shibuya Station is a huge station. While it’s an 8 minute walk to the JR Yamanote line, it’s a 15+ minute walk to the Narita Express & New South Exit. We wish we had hailed a taxi once we exited with our luggage, instead of trying to walk with it. We found the station very confusing to navigate, and google maps was useless as it doesn’t know the layout. Here’s a quick guide (and how to find the elevators if you specifically need one):
JR Yamanote line is accessed by the Hachiko exit (near the crossing) or Central exit (near the busses and Mark City). There’s an elevator at the far south of the central exit.
Keio line is accessed within Shibuya Mark City mall.
Hanzomon and Ginza lines are underground. I think there’s an elevator in Mark City mall, that requires you to walk briefly through Tokyu Food Court.