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Tokyo Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro station is the second most busiest train station in Tokyo after Shinjuku. It accessible by the major train route JR line, Tokyo Tobu line and the Marounouchi subway line, as well as being the directly reachable via the Skyliner from the Narita airport which takes about 1.5 hrs to reach Ikebukuro. We decided to take the Skyaccess route which was notably much cheaper than the skyliner though you will have to switch trains at Nippori station and is not as comfortable.
Tokyu Stay Hotel at Ikebukuro
We selected to stay at the Tokyu Stay Hotel, which is a part of a chain of hotels that is located
all across Tokyo. The hotel is situated close to exit C6 of the station which is about a 5-10 minute walk from the JR subway line. There are escalators to reach ground in case you are lugging a lot of heavy items.
The hotel room like all hotels in Tokyo is pretty tiny. It is about 160 sqft which is just about big enough to fit a double bed, small desk, and a fridge in the main area.
However, one of the more useful amenities that it comes with is a washer and dryer right inside your room. We selected this hotel for this very reason as it allowed us to pack very light. The hotel provides you with a packet of detergent which is good enough for three loads. Additional detergent can be purchased at the front desk for a reasonable price of 50yen.
Hot Breakfast from 7am to 9:30 am
The hotel also serves a complimentary warm breakfast which comprises of a selection of bread, a meat dish, rice, eggs, salad, and a soup of the day. The food is generally very delicious. I usually load up on the salad as I find Japanese dishes tend to lack veggies.
One of the downsides to the hotel is that they do not tidy your room or make your bed daily. This service is provided once every 7 days should you stay that long. However, they do provide you a fresh set of towels and clear your garbage daily.
In general, our stay was pleasant and the customer service is generally as you would expect from any decent hotel in Japan. For a price of $130 CAD per night, the complimentary breakfast and in room laundry we could not have been more satisfied.
