Two weeks in Japan, five ABB and my experiences

Actually Airbnb has always been illegal in Japan. The government is currently looking at relaxing legislation to make it legal since its clearly happening anyway.

The combination of illegality across the board and your party size is the reason you ended up in serviced appartments. The extreme pressure on housing in Japan and its general poor quality means actually you did get a reasonably good experience. The only thing I would take issue with is cleanliness and any appartments that were dirty would get a lower score from me.

Heating is likely to be like mine: I too have a system where water is heated overnight and once it’s gone it’s gone. I have had times when some guests thought 40 minutes each in the shower was a good idea but they soon learned.

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I am going to repost your experience to the Japan hosts community. It does seem you stayed in some mediocre places. But there are thousands of better Airbnbs I know in Japan, so half the blame does seem to lie with the person making the bookings. Unfortunately, yes, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who just want to make a quick buck and could not really care about the guest experience.

Just to clarify, Airbnb is not illegal in Japan. It is in a “gray area” since current laws have no defined rules for homesharing or short term (less than one month) rentals. Under the current laws, weekly rentals have always been allowed, and homestays also, but the quick rise of Airbnb and influx of irresponsible hosts have made some disturbances in some communities, also the hotel industry lobby is trying all it can to repress it.
However, there is huge demand for it - tourists are coming to Japan in record numbers - so nobody is trying to enforce the Hotel Law (as in, you must have a front desk and at least two bathrooms per floor, etc) on Airbnbs. Legally, this is an evolving situation. Some jurisdictions have already set special rules for homesharing/STR, and some have not.
A new national homesharing/STR law is being drawn up and will probably start next year.
Contrast this with places like say, Singapore, where it is explicitly illegal.

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Regarding heating, this is a broad generalization, as is your statement that ABB has always been illegal. My hot water in my guest inn came from a tankless water heater which never ran out. Also the water pressure was amazing, and this is a 1920s era building. Have you actually ever traveled to Japan?

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Yes. I taught English there - but I have no experience of Airbnbs in Japan I stayed with a family. I have used a shikibuton ever since and even use a buckwheat pillow but that’s by the by.

The hot water running out is probably because of a tank … note i said likely in my original reply. I am aware that not every household would necessarily run a tank system, it’s a pretty outdated system these days.

My statement about Airbnb’s being illegal was based on the fact that Airbnb has no legal basis in Japan. No the Japanese government hasn’t said : we are banning some Airbnb activity (like in Berlin or New York) but at the moment STR activity (which Airbnb falls under) in Japan isnt really allowed. Some say grey area others would say illegal. There’s a lot in the news about how the Japanese government are going to make their position clear but I don’t know if it’s actually happened yet…

To be honest Airbnb and its popularity has caught most governments on the back foot and they’re all scrabbling to catch up.

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It is sad you felt that way,but as airbnb host I have a few things I need you to understand.

I think most of airbnb host in Japan does not like guest to talk about their listing to neighbor because public opinion to airbnb and hosts are not in favor to them.

Airbnb hosting is regarded as trouble maker to residents,which is smear image made by mass media.I know this is not true but they like to come up with story which looks very shocking and scary to public.

You need to understand that most of airbnb listing room/house is based on regular residence and there is neighbor watching every move what you do,which mean you can not behave like you are in hotel.You are required to behave like residents and if you are out of line,all mess come back to hosts and worst case scenario is contract with landlord will be canceled.This is very serious damage to hosts and this is why they ask you to comply with house rule which might sounds too over reacting to you.But it is not.

If this is bothering to you,I suggest you never use airbnb.Using regular residence means there is rule you need to follow.If you see it is not acceptable,then better not use it.

I also want to add this.

There is gem and stone from airbnb listing and it is totally up to you to chose good one.

You have let your daughter pick up some for you and you blame result on host,but I think it is not fair because you did not chose by yourself.Wonder who should be blamed for?

If you have skill to find good listing,you will see airbnb is very valuable source to find good accommodation place to stay with much reasonable rate than booking.com or Expedia.

Easy choice without hassle cost expensive always.

If you want easy choice,better use booking.com or Expedia.

I don’t like the tone of your reply.
My daughter arranged the accommodation as she was living there.
3 of the 5 were NOT clean.
A comment was made to a host on arrival about the state of the unit. It looked clean, but stained sheets, Long black hair on the floor, bath, beds, soap scum on the shower floor. We went out to eat and the host said she sent her cleaner in whilst we were out - without advising us - who said everything was fine, then my daughter sent the photos.
Not mentioning Airbnb to the neighbours makes you feel anxious about where you are staying and wonder if someone is going to ask you to leave due to the hosts illegal actions.
If the hot water is not sufficient for 6 people who are reasonable, to have showers then don’t advertise it 6 + people.
Advertising free wifi and find you only have 500 MGs a day between 6 people who are self employed and need to remain in contact with home, and the frail mother in a nursing home… And if you use it up there is none for 3 days!
Insufficient crockery, cutlery, cooking equipment - which is why you want a kitchen.
Meeting only one host who made the effort to meet you, show you the neighbourhood and check that all was well.
Airbnb advertises the experience! My experience was completely opposite to what I offer to my guests.
Yes - I could have booked myself - but it was a family trip, to have an experience in Japan.
After this a hotel would have been better as there is a front desk to take a complaint to.
And I did not feel like a welcome guest, but a commodity that was there to make profit from with penny pinching and doing everything with the cheapest possible option.
One gem among 5 stones… Not a good average!

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Firstly,I`d like to say thank you for sharing your experience like this way because your story give me a lot about insight how guest see listing.I can see a lot to learn from it and it help me to learn guest behavior and standard.

You haven`t describe detail of situation under how your booking made other than it was your daughter did it,so I just comment what I think with some assumption(correct me if it was wrong)

I got a impression you(or your daughter) made booking just before your trip schedule,maybe a week or so?If so,you better think about reason why dates are available.It could be because that room is not so popular,or could be too expensive.

Normally “good” listing is very quick to be sold away early such as 3-6 weeks.

Golden week is very popular and busy season.If dates are available even last minute and rate are cheap(no idea how much you paid although),you better wonder why.

Picking up listing from host with many listing is also bad sign because I am sure host must outsource cleaning task to cleaning company.I do not say all of them are bad on quality but it is very likely host did not check in detail.

Listing you should have look for is,

-Super Host with less than 3 listing.
-Whole one house,not apartment room
-price is more than average(higher price mean you got better chance to have better service and quality)
-Calendar date looks busy up to two month away.

Risky choice you are likely to be not satisfied with,

-Host with many listing like more than 10
-Small apartment
-Price is lower than average.
-Calendar date looks empty even at busy season.

I think they better focus on quality issue rather than increasing number of listing.

They even does not check if listing is really exist.

I always think they better adapt certification system which they check listing by hosts expense.