Do you live...have lived in a guest house in Japan?

Hey everyone
I am looking for people who live, or have lived in a guest house in Japan.
I run a new website Gaijin House Japan listing all the guest houses across Japan. I am looking for new guest houses, small or large all across Japan.
More importantly I am looking for your comments on those guest houses! I want to let the public know the good, the bad, and the down right dirty! Your comments will help people coming to Japan make an informed decision where to live on their first adventures in Japan.
Feel free to post here, message me, email me...
Thanks too everyone in advance for your help.
If you wish to place a comment on the guest houses page itself take a look if I have written an article on it. www.gaijinhousejapan.com If it is not there let me know and I will write it up a.s.a.p.

I lived at Sakura House in Tokyo for a few months. My roommates were agreeable, place was nice. Only issue was a loud train station nearby, but I could have chosen a different place.

Ichi3 said:

If you can afford it, spending the extra money to have your own apartment (really more a room with a kitchen corner and a bathroom/shower) is well worth the money.

Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more with you. But the downside of renting an appartment is the huge first payment you have to make (most of the time) with included key money, deposit and sometimes a few months of rent in advance.

I will be in Japan for a year starting September and although I've lived in Tokyo before in a great appartment (for free) right underneath the skyscrapers of Nishi-Shinjuku, I now realize that a guesthouse is a better alternative for me if I have to pay for it myself.

And one advantage you have: there are always people around you to go out with. You can easily feel lonely in Japan when you live on your own..

Anyway, nice site !

I lived in a gaijin house for about three years. It was located about a five-minute walk from Ishikawacho Station in Yokohama. Unfortunately (actually fortunately!), it was purchased by an individual and has since been converted to a private residence.

But to comment on gaijin houses in general, I enjoyed my time there because of the convenient location, the people I met while living there, and the flexibility it provided with regard to my living situation, so overall I think a gaijin house is a worthwhile lodging option to consider while in Japan!