I stayed about 2 weeks at Akira’s place and I do recommend it. Akira was a great host, always replying very quickly and going out of his way to offer the best possible experience. He and his family have been super nice all the time.
The house is typical Japanese, I really liked it. 2 showers, 2 toilets, never happened that both of them were occupied. Kitchen had everything necessary. The room (101) was very small and it would have been nice to have a few more possibilities to hang up or place stuff somewhere. However it was as shown in the pictures!
The neighborhood is lovely. Very silent and laid back, however it is not far (10~15min) to several convenient stores, supermarkets, restaurants and train stations. The closest station Senkawa was only 2 stops away from Ikebukuro, and you even get to Shinjuku and Shibuya without changing trains.
The only downside and something the host cannot be made responsible for are the other guests. As I stayed for 2 weeks I witnessed a lot of different travelers, couples, etc... and sadly most to half of them have been very dirty and loud, totally not paying any attention to their surroundings, flooding the bath and leaving hair all over, taking showers at 1am, leaving the toilet without even flushing, cooking strong smelling dishes etcpp... It was very unfortunate.
But if you’re okay with sharing with other people and don’t mind these things, I highly recommend Akira’s place!