Fir the location and price this place is hard to beat. The apartment was clean and just as described. Check in was pretty easy ( after we figured out to use the 2nd phone number listed as opposed to the first). Tomoko's dad was very helpful and we felt like we had great privacy (we only saw him once after check-in). As many have mentioned, to take a shower you need to turn it on and wait 5 minutes before it is even lukewarm enough to get in. Then five minutes later it might actually be warm. I felt bad given California's drought conditions. Also, many mentioned that you are only a few blocks from the beach. No one I saw mentioned that is for a "view" of the beach from the top of the cliff. It is another 10-20 minute walk to a bridge to get down to the beach. But it is a really nice walk :) All in all I'd recommend Tomoko's place if you want to visit Santa Monica.