Dai-Ichi Inn Ikebukuro — Hotel in Tokyo

I know it’s hard to find Tokyo hotels that comfortably fit four people. We are a family with two elementary-aged kids and this hotel worked perfectly for us for 10 days.

For North Americans reading this, I'd compare it to staying at a Comfort Inn, Hamptons Inn, Holiday Inn Express, etc.

PROS: Affordable. About 1/3rd what I saw for Mimaru rates. Of course, this hotel is 2-star and Mimaru is 4 or 5 stars, so that makes sense! Clean (at least by my standards) - room service was every 3 days, or on demand (based on little magnet signs you put on the the door) All rooms and all floors are non-smoking. There is an elevator from the ground floor and 2 elevators in the hotel total. Never an issue waiting for them. (in spite of the single escalator that changes directions, YES THERE IS A GROUND FLOOR elevator so don't worry) We stayed in a 4-bed room, literally 4 single beds. The beds were pretty comfortable to all of us. Room was reasonably spacious. Not huge, but not cramped. Enough space for us for 10 days. Excellent water pressure! Nice hot showers. Decent and plentiful amenities - some in the room like fabric deodorizer/refresher and shampoo, etc. Some from a self-serve area in the lobby. A few minutes walk from Ikebukuro station - lots of trains, including the JR Yamanote Line to easily get around Tokyo. Very commercial area, easy walk to tons of stores and restaurants. Restaurant onsite, for breakfast, and a Family Mart on the ground floor. Super convenient for mini mart meals or snacks. You can open the windows for a nice breeze and fresh air.

CONS: It’s a bit dated, total 80s vibe. Not fancy or modern. Some public spaces may even seem a little dingy (I think because of the dark paneling and carpets?). No onsite laundry Very little in-room storage (no dressers, no shelves, no closet, etc. Just 3 wall hooks. We brought hangers with clips and shoved our suitcases under the beds and used them like pull-out drawers. This worked fine and saved space storing the suitcases. Very close to the train tracks - you hear train noise even from higher floors (we were on 8) Keeping the windows shut helps a lot! But even then, you still hear it a bit. The room includes a humidifier thingy which we used like a white noise machine. Very commercial area - also means busy, crowded, and not quaint, peaceful, or traditionally beautiful. Because Ikebukuro Station is one of the largest in Tokyo, it's confusing which exit you want to easily get back to the hotel (you get used to it, and Google Maps helps, but there are LOTS of exits and some of them are a 2 minute walk and some of them are a 10 minute walk from the hotel)

Anyway, if you’re looking for a solid and affordable option for a family of four, Dai Ichi Inn is worth...

The only good thing I can say about this hotel is the location. It’s very close to Ikebukuro Station and several malls, restaurants, food shops, convenience stores as well as the popular Sunshine 60 Street leading to Sunshine City (mall/entertainment center) ||I don’t know why this hotel lists wheel chair accessibility in their profile because it is not wheel chair/disability-friendly at all in its layout. You walk through the entrance and see a very narrow escalator that only goes one way. According to the time of day it either goes up or down. You have to use a spiral staircase in the back to go the other way or ask the reception to get the key and switch the escalator if you really are unable to use they staircase (example: with strollers or walkers) It’s very bothersome and impractical. ||The rooms are not very spacious, but that’s quite normal for Tokyo. However if you are rooming as a family of 4 or more you better make sure to reserve a bigger room/suite. We booked a casual twin room for us and our two toddlers and with two suitcases we could hardly turn around without bumping into each other or furniture. Speaking of the interior: it is very old and dated as well as worn down, not to say dirty at times. We usually put the two twin beds together to have one big family bed but the one night stand in between the beds was not movable at all and so we had to play a game of Tetris to have the beds together somehow. |The bathroom was a tiny built-in plastic wet cell. You can sit on the toilet (that had a toilet seat not matching the shape of the toilet bowl - AWKWARD!) brush your teeth over the sink and have your feet in the bath tub at the same time. Not so practical if you are not of tiny size or pregnant like me. The worst thing regarding the room was the big opening between window and window-frame. You could easily shove a coin in between. This is an absolute no-go. Just imagine staying in that room during winter!! ||The overall feel was not very clean. I mean with two toddlers it can happen that they drop something and pick it off the floor (carpet) but picking up loads of thick black hairs (clearly not from us) with does leave us with an icky overall feeling. ||I think most of the guests are drawn to the hotel purely due to its location, not the rooms or...

The only good thing I can say about this hotel is the location. It’s very close to Ikebukuro Station and several malls, restaurants, food shops, convenience stores as well as the popular Sunshine 60 Street leading to Sunshine City (mall/entertainment center) ||I don’t know why this hotel lists wheel chair accessibility in their profile because it is not wheel chair/disability-friendly at all in its layout. You walk through the entrance and see a very narrow escalator that only goes one way. According to the time of day it either goes up or down. You have to use a spiral staircase in the back to go the other way or ask the reception to get the key and switch the escalator if you really are unable to use they staircase (example: with strollers or walkers) It’s very bothersome and impractical. ||The rooms are not very spacious, but that’s quite normal for Tokyo. However if you are rooming as a family of 4 or more you better make sure to reserve a bigger room/suite. We booked a casual twin room for us and our two toddlers and with two suitcases we could hardly turn around without bumping into each other or furniture. Speaking of the interior: it is very old and dated as well as worn down, not to say dirty at times. We usually put the two twin beds together to have one big family bed but the one night stand in between the beds was not movable at all and so we had to play a game of Tetris to have the beds together somehow. |The bathroom was a tiny built-in plastic wet cell. You can sit on the toilet (that had a toilet seat not matching the shape of the toilet bowl - AWKWARD!) brush your teeth over the sink and have your feet in the bath tub at the same time. Not so practical if you are not of tiny size or pregnant like me. The worst thing regarding the room was the big opening between window and window-frame. You could easily shove a coin in between. This is an absolute no-go. Just imagine staying in that room during winter!! ||The overall feel was not very clean. I mean with two toddlers it can happen that they drop something and pick it off the floor (carpet) but picking up loads of thick black hairs (clearly not from us) with does leave us with an icky overall feeling. ||I think most of the guests are drawn to the hotel purely due to its location, not the rooms or...