The Artist's Studio is super convenient with easy access to the city and surrounding areas via Kumegawa Station among others. The property gives you plenty of space (which is hard to come by in Tokyo) and so many additional free utilities such as use of bikes, a printer, mobile phones etc. We stayed here for a month at the start of a year in Japan and these bonus touches really made the difference when it came to finding our feet.

The area is semi-suburban with an older population, which gives the town a relaxed vibe - a welcome retreat after a busy day of sensory overload in the city. The friendly, down-to-earth locals and the quaint maze of winding backstreets and lush carp-filled canals gave us a rare glimpse into the day-to-day lives of ordinary Tokyoites.

Sohei is a welcoming, hands-on host. You can tell that he puts a lot of thought into his guests wellbeing and overall experience. He collected us from the local train station on arrival and gave us a thorough tour of the neighbourhood to make sure we had our bearings. He regularly checked-in to see if we were ok using the AirBnB app and occasionally brought us additional food and rental DVDs. Having just moved to Japan we had a lot to plan and research, so Sohei was even happy to upgrade his wifi contract to accommodate our hours of websurfing. He was keen to show us some genuine Japanese experiences - traditional onsen/bathhouse and yakitori to name a few - which can difficult to access if you're an outsider in Japan for the first time.

We'd highly recommend Sohei's Artist Studio and wouldn't hesitate to stay with Sohei again in the future.