The biggest clarification to point out, is this is a private residence and not a conventional public hotel. If you're not looking for an AirBnB type of, shared, experience this place might not be for you. I had no issues with this arrangement, but it wasn't too clear to me initially. I traveled from Tokyo with my dog and the home owner, Tetsu, came to pick us up at Fujisawa station. This was a really nice gesture as it was extremely hot and his place, being in a residential neighborhood, would have been very difficult to find on our own by foot. The room reserved for me was nice, nothing fancy, but quite suitable and comfortable for both me and my dog. The shared kitchen was very clean and modern. I didn't actually use any of the appliances, except for the refrigerator, but Tetsu said to help myself to the washing machine or do all the cooking I wanted to. The bathroom and shower, similar to my bedroom was clean, everything in perfect condition and suited my needs. If you actually follow the shortcut that Tetsu points out upon arrival, you can walk to Ishigami station in under 5 minutes. The shortcut requires you to pass through a small cemetery, which for me, was certainly more interesting than it was scary or creepy. From tiny Ishigami station, you're set to head South towards Kamakura and Enoshima to enjoy the beaches and historical sites, or North back towards Fujisawa where it feels more like Tokyo with big malls for shopping and restaurants. From the house itself, there's a small children's park, a local market, 7-11 and Yaoko supermarket (very much reminded me of Whole Foods at non-Whole Foods prices back in the US), all within roughly 5-10 minutes walking. The best part about my stay was the owner, Tetsu. I felt like he was genuinely concerned about how my stay was going. Not just at his house, but in the area in general. He had great recommendations for restaurants and places to take my dog.

I would have liked to have had the place all to myself. There was another guest staying there that was nice enough and friendly, but I wasn't always feeling social and felt a little bad about returning home some nights and just going to my room and closing the door. I tend to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom a couple of times and my bedroom door was a bit creaky, so I was a bit nervous I might be waking other people up when I went. These were small things though, and more my personal issues than anything to do with the house or other guests.