OYO 486 Sakura Ryokan

The room itself was fine - tatami floors; no toilet or shower but a separate nook for a sink area at least; two thin futons; a desk; a TV and air con. Yukatas and slippers were provided, and the shared bath/shower room is actually nice - you can lock the room so it's private, and share it with family members. The bath/shower room is onsen-style, so you hose yourself down first (toiletries and towels are provided) and then get in the always-hot bath. It's like a sauna and it's very relaxing, if a bit grungy in terms of decor. The property is a 20 minute walk from the nearest JR station (Uguisudani), but that station is on the very convenient Yamanote line and only a few stops from Ueno and Akihabara, and there are lots of cheap places to eat in the surrounding area.

First impressions really do make the difference. We arrived at the property to find a run-down looking building next to a garage. You practically walk through the garage (which always had a shirtless man in it, staring at us) to get to the stairs - no ramp or elevator available - to reach reception, whereupon you may be unlucky enough to be greeted by Grumpy Grandpa (as we took to calling him during our stay). Clearly disgruntled at having been called away from his TV show in the adjacent room, Grumpy Grandpa grunted his way through check in, neglecting to tell us the following useful information: where the showers and bathrooms were (the showers were on a different floor, near the common room area, annoyingly); how to connect to the internet (if you have the Japan WiFi app there is a strong connection for it here); and if there was a curfew (this last omission meant we rushed back from a night out when we perhaps hadn't needed to). We found the shared bathroom on our floor - rather laughably there is a cubicle set aside just for women but it's impossible to get into this cubicle without seeing the urinal (and anyone who might be using it) unless you cover your eyes. The entire place is rather dark and seems run-down, and there were yellow stains on the sheets. Staff also entered our room to lay out the futons, despite the fact that we had already done so and had specifically asked them not to - and they moved our things in the process. It's hard to tell how much English staff actually understand - some are better than others, such as the father and granddaughter (presumably - it seems to be a family-run operation), but Grumpy Grandpa gave little indication of having understood us (or even trying to), which was always frustrating.

Near iriya st. Quiet place

The toilet and bathroom of lady guests are so scary . Coz they are located on the underground and this floor is dark and quiet.