846 Apartment

The kitchen here has a refrigerator, microwave and stove, more complete than just an electric kettle in an ordinary hotel room. If I stayed three or four nights, I would buy some fruit or hot food on the way home in the evening, so the trip feels less pressured by eating out every day; but whether you are willing to tidy the kitchen yourself also decides whether it is a good choice.

The private bathroom has a bathtub, shower, bidet and hair dryer. For someone who wants a bath after walking 20,000 steps, these are more appealing than some budget stays that only offer shared washing facilities. Of course, the point of choosing an apartment is still sleep and space; there is no need to pack every day full just because of the bathtub.

One unit’s room and photos should be understood as a whole living environment. Beyond the beds, the refrigerator, laundry equipment and living space in the room photos help imagine how to organise clothes over four nights and five days; there is no need to prove it is large with ten nearly identical bed photos.

If your flight arrives in the morning, this place only allows check-in from 6 p.m., so the first day needs a half-day plan. My approach would be to arrange luggage and post-arrival activities somewhere convenient for transfers until the evening, then head to the apartment, rather than waiting at the entrance.

The easiest thing to overlook is that checkout is only until 9 a.m. Suppose on the last day you still need to pack souvenirs, cook a simple breakfast and put washed clothes back into your suitcase — leaving at nine means getting up early. If two friends stayed together, I would finish most of the packing the night before and leave only washing up and a simple meal for the morning; for people who like a slow coffee on the last day, this time really does not suit them.

For people who spend a long time in the room, the kitchen, bathtub and a separate bedroom are concrete advantages. Every evening you can go back to the room to heat a simple meal without queuing for a restaurant, and relax in the bathtub; but if the itinerary means leaving early and returning late every day, these facilities may only be used once, and choosing the cheapest stay is not necessarily a loss — matching needs to room type matters more.

The Shin-Mikawashima living area and the area around Nippori Station are not quite the same kind of walking convenience. Travellers who like Tokyo residential streets can walk slowly back to the apartment and pick up snacks on the way in the evening; if the trip almost always uses the JR Yamanote Line, each time you must weigh transfers and walking, and you may prefer staying directly in Nippori. Before deciding, I would first list on paper the three areas I mainly visit each day, then compare whether transport is convenient.