Family Apartments in Tokyo: Houses With Space for Kids

The best family apartment in Tokyo is usually not an apartment at all. It is a small whole house in a residential neighborhood, with two or three bedrooms, a kitchen, a washing machine and a train station within a 15-minute walk. Our three nightly houses in Ekoda and Nerima, in northwest Tokyo, start at ¥12,000 (about US$80) a night and sleep 6 to 9 people, which is often less than two hotel rooms in the city center.

This guide is written by the team that runs those houses. It covers what to look for in a family rental, how much space you actually get, where the trade-offs are, and how short trips differ from 1–3 month stays. We name our own homes because we know them room by room, but the checklist works for any listing you are comparing.

What makes a Tokyo apartment work for a family?

Tokyo hotel rooms are compact. A standard double or twin room often leaves little floor space once two suitcases are open, and very few hotel rooms sleep four people without an extra charge or a second room. With kids, the problems add up quickly: nowhere to put a stroller, nowhere to dry clothes, and dinner in a restaurant every single night.

When we help families choose a place, we suggest checking six things before price:

• Separate bedrooms. Kids who nap or go to bed at 7:30 p.m. need a door that closes while the adults stay up.
• A real kitchen. A stove, rice cooker, fridge and microwave let you make breakfast and simple dinners. A Japanese supermarket run costs far less than three meals out.
• A washing machine. Kids go through clothes. Being able to wash a load every second day means you can pack half as much.
• Walking time to the station. Under 15 minutes on foot is comfortable with a stroller. Under 5 minutes is ideal with toddlers.
• Direct trains to one big hub. One line straight into Ikebukuro or Shinjuku saves you transfers with tired children.
• Quiet streets. A residential block means kids can sleep at night, and you can walk to a park or a playground without crossing major roads.

Hotel, apartment or private house: which is better with kids?

All three work. They suit different trip lengths and family sizes.

Feature	Hotel room	Serviced or monthly apartment	Whole private house
Space	Small	Medium	Largest
Kitchen	Rarely	Usually	Yes
Washing machine	Coin laundry on another floor, if any	Sometimes	Yes
Separate bedrooms	Only with a second room	1–2	2–3
Daily housekeeping	Yes	No	No
Front desk	Yes	Rarely	No (self check-in)
Best for	1–3 nights, central location	Couples or small families, 2+ weeks	Families of 4+, grandparents along, 4+ nights

A hotel is the easier choice for a two-night stopover. Once you are staying four nights or more with two or more kids, the house usually wins on space and on cost per person. If you are traveling with another family or with grandparents, see our guide to where to stay in Ekoda and Nerima, which compares the neighborhoods in more detail.

Which of our houses fits your family?

We run three houses with nightly rates and several monthly homes, all on or near the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. Here is how they compare for families. Prices are our current listed rates; the final total depends on dates and guest count.

House	Bedrooms	Sleeps	From (per night)	Cleaning fee	Min. stay	Walk to station
Nana House Nerima	2	6	¥12,000 (about US$80)	¥8,000 (about US$53)	1 night	About 14 minutes to Nerima Station
Nana House Ekoda	3	8	¥14,000 (about US$93)	¥8,000 (about US$53)	2 nights	8 minutes to Ekoda Station
Nana House Sakaecho	3	9	¥25,000 (about US$167)	¥10,000 (about US$67)	2 nights	3 minutes to Ekoda Station

The base rate covers the first guests. Each extra guest costs ¥4,000 (about US$27) a night at Nerima and Ekoda, and ¥5,000 (about US$33) at Sakaecho. The cleaning fee is charged once per stay, not per night. Sakaecho also takes 10% off the accommodation fee for stays of 7 nights or longer.

Nana House Nerima: a family of four to six on a budget

This is our smallest nightly house, at 41 square meters (about 440 sq ft). The ground floor has the kitchen, bathroom and toilet. Upstairs there are two bedrooms with a semi-double bed, a semi-double mattress, a queen mattress and three more mattresses, plus an air conditioner in each room. It is one stop from Toshimaen, the station for the Harry Potter studio, so it suits families planning that day. It is the only one of our houses with a one-night minimum.

Nana House Ekoda: three bedrooms for a family of five to eight

Nana House Ekoda is a two-story house of 51 square meters (about 550 sq ft), 8 minutes on foot from Ekoda Station. All three bedrooms are on the second floor, which gives parents a quiet floor for kids while the kitchen and living area are downstairs. Each bedroom has its own air conditioner. The washing machine is on the second-floor balcony, so drying clothes outside is easy on sunny days.

Nana House Sakaecho: two families or three generations

Sakaecho is 3 minutes from Ekoda Station and sleeps up to 9. The layout is the reverse of the other two: two bedrooms, a shower room, a washbasin and a toilet are on the first floor, and the third bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen and a second toilet are upstairs. Two toilets matter more than most people expect when nine people share a morning. Beds are three double beds plus three futon sets, and there are four air conditioners. It is also the only house with a parking space (one car, up to 4.2 meters long).

Do you need to bring baby gear?

A baby bed (crib) and a stroller are available at all three nightly houses on request. Tell us before check-in, because we set them up in advance. Bath towels are provided at check-in, one per person; for longer stays you wash them in the house machine. Body soap, shampoo, conditioner and laundry detergent are supplied.

What we suggest you still bring: a travel high chair or booster seat if your child needs one, any formula brand your baby is used to, and a small night light. Japanese drugstores and supermarkets carry diapers and baby food, and there is a drugstore and a supermarket about a minute's walk from Sakaecho.

Which Tokyo neighborhoods are best for families?

For a holiday, the deciding factor is train time to the places you want to see. For a relocation, it is schools and commute. These are different questions, so here are both answers.

For a 1–3 week family trip

• Ekoda and Nerima (Nerima City). Low-rise residential streets, parks, local shopping streets and direct Seibu Ikebukuro Line trains to Ikebukuro. From Ekoda the ride to Ikebukuro is about 6–8 minutes. This is where our houses are, and why we chose it.
• Ikebukuro. A major hub with department stores, Sunshine City and its aquarium, and JR, Metro and private lines. Convenient, but hotel rooms here are the same size as anywhere else in central Tokyo. Our guide to an Ikebukuro monthly apartment covers the area for longer stays.
• Central districts (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza). Shortest travel times, but crowded stations, smaller rooms and the highest prices per square meter.

For families relocating to Tokyo

Families moving for work often look at Setagaya, Minato, Nakano or Koto, depending on which international school or office they need to reach. Many arrive before their long-term lease starts and need a furnished place for one to three months while they look at schools and apartments in person. A furnished house in Nerima works well as that first base: it is on direct lines to Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, and you are not paying hotel rates while you search.

Staying 1–3 months with kids: what changes?

Families stay longer for school holidays, remote work, or relocation prep. A long stay changes the math and the routine.

• Housing cost. A standard Japanese lease asks for reikin (key money, a non-refundable gift to the landlord), shikikin (a refundable deposit), an agent fee and often a Japanese guarantor. Together that can mean several months of rent before you move in, on a contract of one or two years. A furnished monthly rental avoids all of that.
• What our monthly homes include. Our monthly homes are rented with no key money, no guarantor and no agent fee, and the rent includes electricity, gas, water and internet. Hasu House (3 bedrooms, sleeps 6) starts at ¥100,000 (about US$667) a month, and the Toda 3DK house near AEON STYLE Kita-Toda sleeps 8 for ¥150,000 (about US$1,000) a month. Nana House Ekoda is also offered as a monthly house at ¥350,000 (about US$2,333) a month for up to 4 people.
• Routine. Kids settle better with predictable days: a park in the morning, one outing, and rest days with no sightseeing at all. Shop at the local supermarket, cook at home most nights, and keep big-ticket days for weekends when you have both parents free.
• Health. Keep travel insurance active, carry basic children's medicine from home, and note the nearest clinic when you arrive. In an emergency in Japan, dial 119 for an ambulance or fire and 110 for police.

How easy is it to get around Tokyo with kids from Ekoda or Nerima?

Easy, if you plan around rush hour. Seibu Ikebukuro Line trains toward Ikebukuro are packed from roughly 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on weekdays, which is hard with a stroller. Leave after 9:30 and the same train is calm.

• Get an IC card (Suica or PASMO) for each adult. It works on trains, buses and in convenience stores.
• From Ikebukuro you change to the JR Yamanote Line or Tokyo Metro for Shinjuku, Ueno, Shibuya and Tokyo Station.
• Nerima Station is also on the Toei Oedo Line, which runs without a transfer to Tochomae Station in west Shinjuku, next to the free observation decks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
• The Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo is at Toshimaen Station, one stop from Nerima. Tickets are sold only in advance for a set date and entry time, so book them before you fix the rest of the itinerary.

From the airports, our check-in guide lists Haneda to Ekoda at about 55–65 minutes (Keikyu Line, JR Yamanote Line, then the Seibu Ikebukuro Line) and Narita to Ekoda at about 85–95 minutes via the Narita Express to Ikebukuro. With small kids and a lot of luggage, many families take an Airport Limousine bus to Ikebukuro and a taxi from there.

Booking tips for families

• Book school-holiday weeks early. Late March (cherry blossoms and US spring break), the July–August summer break and mid-December to January (Australian and New Zealand summer holidays) fill first.
• Count every guest, including babies. Our houses can only be used by the registered number of guests.
• Read the cancellation terms. Our nightly houses offer free cancellation until 5:00 p.m., 14 days before check-in. After that the full amount is charged.
• Check in after 3:00 p.m. Check-in is self-service with a keypad or lockbox from 3:00 p.m.; check-out is by 11:00 a.m. If you land early, plan a park or lunch before heading to the house.
• Ask about baby gear when you book, not on arrival.

FAQ

Is Tokyo a good city for families with young kids?

Yes. Trains are clean and punctual, streets are safe, and convenience stores are everywhere. The main challenges are small hotel rooms and crowded rush-hour trains, and both are easier to manage from a house in a residential area.

How much does a family apartment in Tokyo cost per night?

Our nightly houses start at ¥12,000 (about US$80) for two guests, plus ¥4,000–¥5,000 (about US$27–33) per extra guest and a one-time cleaning fee of ¥8,000–¥10,000 (about US$53–67). A family of four at Nana House Nerima pays about ¥20,000 (about US$133) a night before the cleaning fee.

Do I need a Japanese guarantor to rent a family apartment?

Not for our homes. Nightly stays are booked like any vacation rental, and our monthly homes require no guarantor, no key money and no agent fee.

Can we get a crib?

Yes. A baby bed and a stroller are available at Nana House Nerima, Ekoda and Sakaecho. Request them before check-in so we can set them up.

Which house is best for a family with grandparents?

Nana House Sakaecho. It is 3 minutes from Ekoda Station and has two bedrooms, a shower room and a toilet on the ground floor, so older guests can avoid the stairs at night.

Ready to compare dates?

Check dates for a 3-bedroom family house near Ekoda Station, or browse all our family homes in Tokyo to compare sizes and rates. Send us your dates, the number of adults and kids, and any baby gear you need, and we will reply with an exact quote.

Dollar figures use ¥150 = US$1.