I’m sure most of you already know about Air BnB and how it works. Some may even have already tried renting an apartment from Air BnB. I personally think that Airbnb’s are really are made for travelers like me because it’s more affordable, you get more space and sometimes you get amenities that you don’t really get in hotels.
In this post, I wanted to share with you my very first Air BnB experience and also a tour of our apartment. We traveled to Tokyo last year and it was the perfect Air BnB experience simply because hotels in Japan are quite expensive and they’re usually small. After asking friends, they all recommended for me to find an Air BnB instead, just to give us extra room to move around plus it’s cheaper.
We rented an apartment in Setagaya, Tokyo. The ad said that it’s three minutes away from Shibuya via train. We wanted an apartment near Shibuya because I think Shibuya has a lot of places to visit, places to shop at, and basically everything is happening at Shibuya. It’s also kinda like a hub when going around the places of Tokyo.
Upon walking in, you’d see the narrow corridor. This is pretty normal in Japan apartments as I’ve seen in other vlogs and blogs.
The host provided us with slippers and an umbrella. I actually asked her if there’s an umbrella (that’s why she provided one), because the forecast said that it will rain when we get to Tokyo and I didn’t want to bring an umbrella from the Philippines all the way to Japan.
There was a washing machine in the apartment that also had a spin function. We initially didn’t have plans of using it but actually ended up using it once or twice. This is a big advantage because you wouldn’t need to bring lots of clothes anymore, you simply need to wash them and reuse.
On the left side is the kitchen and fridge and on the right is the toilet and bath.
Again, major plus points of Air BnB is that they usually have a working kitchen as compared to hotels. We didn’t use the stove anymore though because we didn’t cook. We’d just buy food from Family Mart and most of the day, we’re out anyway so we just eat out. We did use their glasses, plates and washed them in the sink.
There’s a microwave which we also used to heat our breakfast and a mini ref.
On the opposite side is the bath. The toilet and bath are in different rooms. When I first saw the bath, I thought it was sooo cute, so kawaii. It was so tiny! Imagine my 6 foot husband trying to make his way in the bath. Haha!
Our host provided us with pretty much all the toiletries that we need. So we didn’t have to worry about our shampoo, bath gel, toothpaste etc.
You may also notice that the shower head is separate from the tub. The logic is that you wash yourself first with the shower before entering the tub. We didn’t use the tub actually but it was nice to have.
The mini tub that isn’t suited for my family. Haha!
I also saw that my host restocked some cleaning supplies that really helped us out during our stay because we stayed there for more than a week, and you know what they say, cleanliness is next to?
Here is the toilet room. This was a small room. In fact if my husband needs to go number 2, he can’t close the door because his legs don’t fit. Yup, that’s how small and compact this is.
I love how unique the toilet bowl and sink is though. When you flush the toilet, the faucet automatically turns on so you could wash your hands. And the water used for hand washing goes straight to the water reservoir of the toilet, that way, you can use the same water to flush the next time you use it. Isn’t that genius?
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The bedroom is quite spacious. There’s a sofa bed that can be pulled out. So this apartment can actually fit 3 people comfortably. I think if you won’t mind, you can even fit 4. Robyn actually slept on the sofa. We just turned it around and put it right beside the bed.
There was a TV and a coffee or center table which we used every morning when we’re having our breakfast. We would sit on the floor and eat there.
There was a cabinet but inside was a huge pile of comforter and beddings. I think this is for the 4th person if there is any. So we didn’t really get to put our clothes there. Our host provided us with towels too.
What I’ve come to realize is you should ask all your questions to the host prior to booking the apartment. I asked a couple of questions such as the amenities, whatever is included, wifi and toiletries. I also asked if they have a bed for my daughter who was three years old that time. She sent me a guideline which included a map of the place, how to go to the place from the airport, and also some manual and instructions on how to use the appliances inside the apartment. They also gave us rules of want to do and what not to do in the apartment and the building.
Everything was smooth and the Air BnB transaction was very quick and easy. Now let me share with you the part that I didn’t quite like. One is the location of the apartment, it was near the main road so can be pretty loud. It wasn’t a big thing for me, simply because I’m exhausted when I get back to the apartment that I don’t really notice it that much anymore. But my husband would always wake because of the loud noise coming from the main road.
The one thing that we hated was this. Upon checking the guidelines, we learned that the apartment was a little far from the train station so I decided to ask my host about it and she mentioned that it’s eight minutes walk from the train station. We have already reserved and book the Air BnB so we couldn’t and didn’t want to change anymore. When we got there, the apartment was 15-20 minutes walk from the train station. Now you might be thinking, what’s 15 minutes? Remember, we have a toddler in tow, luggages and usually we’re already tired from the day’s activities. So this was really a bummer. We didn’t appreciate that we had to walk another 15-20 minutes, sometimes carrying our 20kg daughter, with some of our baggage. We were already tired and just want to get back to the apartment and rest.
We did save some money because we chose an apartment that was relatively more affordable, however, we wouldn’t stay here anymore because of how far the apartment is from the train station (given that we have a toddler).
I learned a thing or two from my first Air BnB experience and since I know that this will not be my last, I think I’ll be able to apply the lessons on my next trip! How about you? Any recommended listings? š
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