Aya's apartment was lovely and there was soooo many shops around the area (100 yen store, taiyaki shop -so yummy!, conbini, etc). However it is quite a distance if you are coming from the JR station. Its quite a walk to the subway exit, if you are lugging around with a luggage! Plus the exit and building itself does not have any escalator or lift, so you have to carry your luggage up/down the steps.