We had a wonderful time staying at Keiko's house during our recent trip to Tokyo. Excellent host!
Location: Minowa isn't a major transport hub, but it's pretty convenient for getting to locations on the east side of Tokyo (e.g. Ginza/Tsukiji/Ueno Park/Asakusa/Ryogoku). Her apartment is located literally yards from the metro entrance, so it made for super easy travel plans.
Minowa itself is a rather cute town. Very close by is a Y'smart, post office and Kintaro (an old-school hard candy store that makes beautiful candy). A little north up the road are two larger grocery stores, as well as a shopping arcade and the terminus for the last surviving single car tram service in Tokyo (sadly we didn't have a chance to ride). Wish we had had more time to explore. There are multiple restaurants in the area, Soba just downstairs, a 7-11 one block south, and quite a few chinese restaurants that direction as well.
The apartment itself is well appointed. It was a good fit for our group of four, we stayed in the two upstairs bedrooms (one western, one tatami), two to a room with super comfortable comforters. The staircase to the second floor is pretty steep and without handrails so just a note of caution for anyone with mobility issues. There is a door at the top that can be locked if you're worried about children. The first floor has a split bathroom, toilet and sink near the entrance and sink/shower/bathtub near the kitchen. The bathtub is a nice soaking tub so take advantage (we definitely did). There is also a washer/dryer in the bathroom.
Keiko was a great host to us, meeting us in the subway station when we first arrived, checking in with us several times during the trip, and very responsive when we did have questions. So very nice.
All in all, we had a great time at Keiko's and would definitely come back here in the future.