MIMARU Tokyo Ikebukuro

First thing first, I don't think I can recommend this hotel/service apartment (full comment below) Location is not bad, about 5-7 minutes walk from JR Ikebukuro station and there are many restaurants on the way (some open after midnight) and Donki is nearby too. The 2 bedrooms family suite itself is very clean and spacious for us (5 adults+ a 4 yrs old child). Overall the facility is nice and very ideal for family with young children, as hotel room is generally quite small in Japan. Would like to share a special experience during my stay thou. The fire alarm went off on our 1st night at 02:30am and the kept on for about 15mins. Interestingly the recorded warning/evacuating announcement is in Japanese ONLY and I think over 90% of the guests that night didn't understand any of it (me included). Everyone came out from their room and there was no clear sign of fire, still for safety sake many people started evacuating using the stairs and when we almost reached the ground floor, a so-called hotel staff (wearing a staff card or something not in hotel uniform) yelled that there was no fire and everyone could return to their room - but again in Japanese! The reason I understood was I believe that lady is a Chinese and she yelled in Mandarin for 2 or 3 times when she was running around. The hotel front desk was close after 11pm and seems she was the only overnight staff on duty. The alarm was shut down and a few announcements were made thru the PA system 15mins after but again ONLY in Japanese, and many Korean, Thai, Westerners guests still had no idea what was going on. Anyways, they unlocked the elevators so everyone started going back to the room. My overall comment, the hard product (apartment/facility/cleanliness) is good but hotel management esp. the crisis management is way below standard, clearly there is no SOP in place for these situations and announcements in Japanese ONLY is totally unacceptable,

We quite enjoy their idea as a hotel/apartment service. We can stay together like home but it is a hotel type of service. However, the hotel just come to take away your rubbish but no room service to clean up your room during our 3 night stay there.

Had a great stay. Always greeted by cheerful and professional front desk team. Great work by housekeeping in keeping the room clean. It's like a home away from home.

Good location and good hotel. Staff are nice and helpful, room is clean and comfortable. Full of cooking facilities and enough space for a family

My family enjoyed the stay very much! Staff are friendly and helpful and provided luggage storage for us before check-in timel. The Loft Bed Apartment was clean and spacious with comfortable beds. Very convenient location, about 7mins walk to Ikebukuro Station and with many convenient shops / eateries available nearby. Laundry Area which is located on the 2nd level even has a very spacious and nice relaxing waiting area. A great place to stay with family especially the room also comes with a fridge, microwave oven, induction stove and kitchenwares etc.

Love the convenience of food options around. The number of washing machines and Dryers and a nice kiddo area makes laundry a breeze. Friendly and helpful staff Highly recommended.

V spacious and clean. Loved the bunk bed and the partition between living room and bed room.. recommended for all families w young kids. Also loved the TV screen which can be doubled up as a computer.

Ikebukuro is a great neighbourhood to base yourself in Tokyo and MIMARU Tokyo Ikebukuro is a short work from the Metro/JR Station. There are plenty to eat and do around the area and the station is well connected. The hotel was clean and we really liked the spaciousness of the room. We definitely made good use of the microwave machine and the fridge in the room as well and appreciated that laundry machines (paid) were available in the second floor of the building. That said, the bed was a bit low and matterress a bit thin for people with weak knees and backaches. Also the path from the hotel to the metro is not sheltered - meaning you will be exposed to the elements should it rain. Service was good and we found that the staff were fluent in English, but otherwise nothing stood out to the point of exceptional performance.

Convenient location. 5-8 minutes walk to metro station, just cross a small street with lots of restaurants. Rooms are clean and in ok size. Staff is friendly. Our two bed-room flat comes with laundry-drying machine which is quite practical for family travel.