Guides
Guides for your stay
Area guides and practical tips from the team behind our apartments in Tokyo and Sapporo.
Japan with a Baby: What the Room Actually Needs
A baby changes the shortlist: the dryer matters more than the view, and the crib is a different amenity from the high chair. What to check before you pay.
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New Chitose Airport to Sapporo: Train, Bus, or Taxi
The train is the answer in almost every case, and the reason is not speed: it is the one option that does not share a road with traffic. What snow breaks first, what to do with heavy luggage, and how long the last four minutes take.
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Where to Stay in Tokyo with a Group of Eight or More
A hotel sells you rooms built for two, so a party of ten lands on three different floors with nowhere to sit together. What a whole house changes, where it stops working, and how to tell which one your group needs.
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Packing for Hokkaido in Winter: What You Need and What the Dryer Makes Redundant
Most people pack a Hokkaido winter backwards: too many clothes, the wrong shoes. What actually keeps you comfortable, what to buy after you land, and what you can leave at home when the apartment has a washer-dryer.
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Landing Late at Haneda: Getting to Your Room After the Last Train
The trains out of Haneda stop before your body clock does. What still runs, what a taxi from the airport actually costs, and the question most travellers forget to ask: will anyone let you in?
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Internet in Japan: eSIM, Pocket Wi-Fi, or the Wi-Fi Where You Stay
The hour you really need mobile data is the first one, before you reach the door. What to arrange before you fly, and what the apartment already covers.
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Autumn in Sapporo: What Is in Season and Where to Eat It
Autumn is the season Hokkaido feeds itself: new rice, autumn salmon, scallops, mushrooms. What is in season, where to buy it, and where we actually eat, a few minutes from the door.
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Autumn in Tokyo: Where to Base Yourself So the City Is Easy
October and November are the best weeks to walk Tokyo. Where to base yourself, how far things really are, and when to book, from the people who run the apartments.
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Sapporo Snow Festival 2027: Where to Stay (and Why to Book Now)
Rooms near Odori Park vanish months ahead. How the festival works, when to book, and why an apartment a few subway stops away is the smart move.
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Long Stay in Tokyo: Weekly and Monthly Apartments Without a Lease
Hotels get expensive after a week and a lease wants a guarantor. What sits in between, how the discounts work, and which kitchen you actually need for a month.
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Where to Stay in Sapporo: An Honest Neighborhood Guide
Odori, Susukino, the Station, or the local north side: what each area is actually like, what it costs, and who it suits. Written by hosts who live with the answer.
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Where to Stay Near Haneda Airport: A Local Guide to Heiwajima
Ten minutes from Haneda, twenty from central Tokyo: why Heiwajima is the smart base for early flights, late arrivals, and everything in between.
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Kameari: Tokyo's Old Town, a Half-Day Walk, and Where to Stay
Shopping streets, local food, bronze statues and a river bank: a half-day walking route through Tokyo's old town, plus what to check before you book a room in Katsushika and where the neighbourhood genuinely does not suit.
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Family Apartments in Tokyo: How to Find One That Actually Fits (2026)
Small rooms, extra-bed fees, nowhere to do laundry: the hotel math rarely works for families in Tokyo. An apartment changes everything.
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Sapporo in Winter: A Practical Guide to Snow, Food, and Where to Stay
Snow Festival crowds, miso ramen, icy sidewalks, and why a warm apartment near the subway is the right way to do a Sapporo winter.
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Skiing from a Sapporo Base: Day Trips vs the Niseko Trek
Ski by day, Sapporo food by night: three resorts you can day-trip from the city, why Niseko is really an overnight, and what makes a warm apartment the smart ski base.
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Long Stays in Japan: How to Live in Tokyo or Sapporo for Weeks, Not Days
Wi-Fi you can work on, a kitchen you will actually use, laundry at home: what turns a rental into a life for a few weeks.
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Monthly Stays in Sapporo: An Apartment You Can Live In
For a month in Sapporo you want a real home, not a hotel room: a kitchen, a dryer for winter, fast Wi-Fi, and a quiet neighborhood a few subway minutes from the center.
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Accommodation Tax in Tokyo and Sapporo: What You Actually Pay
Japan charges a small accommodation tax at check-in for some stays. Here is exactly how it works for our Tokyo and Sapporo apartments, and how to get a receipt.
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Minpaku vs Hotel in Japan: What the Label Means and What to Check
Every legal vacation rental in Japan runs under one of three licensing frameworks. An operator explains what they mean for your stay, and how to check a listing in 30 seconds.
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Why Book Direct: What You Get by Skipping the Booking Platforms
Same apartments, better deal, and a real person on the other end: what changes when you book on our site instead of a platform.
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