I booked my reservation via fax a couple of weeks ahead of arrival date, and reconfirmed about a week before arrival. They take guests for a minimum three-night stay, and they have special rates for stays lasting a week, a month, and other long-term plans. Upon check-in you will pay a deposit for your room and its accompanying padlock. You have the option for heating kerosene for the room. Even though it was cool in mid-November, my friend and I chose not to pay the nominal charge for the heating oil. Our room 21 was very basic, with tatami mats, rolled-up sleeping pads, thin sheets, a bit of closet space, and not a whole lot else. It seemed like "indoor camping" to us, as I had to wear an extra sweatshirt at bedtime. The room did have a small window to the outside world, but we kept it closed to retain the room's limited level of warmth. Green Peace has private or shared rooms, and there is no strict curfew.

The shared facilities are "down the hall" in this cross between a youth hostel and a ryokan. The sink, toilet and shower are all separate, and there is a common kitchen as well. You are provided with a large washcloth, so you may be inclined to buy a larger towel from a local store if you are staying for a lengthy period (we stayed four nights so we were able to tolerate the small towel). Bring your own soap and toilet paper just in case. The toilet is not a western toilet, but a floor-level Asian-style toilet. Many Japanese institutions have public facilities with both kinds of toilets, but this is the first place I encountered that had only the Asian-style. So you have to squat on the back of your heels like a catcher in baseball, facing the wall and water pipe, and you try to do your business as quickly as possible. So no lingering in the john with a newspaper here!

There is a communal living room with a TV, where you can flip through a magazine or newspaper. Meet like-minded travelers from around the world; we met folks from New Zealand, Switzerland and Israel. The front door is strewn with the shoes of guests, as you are supposed to walk in socks or slippers within the establishment. This is not a bad place to stay, and the price is dirt-cheap, but there are absolutely no luxuries at all here. The location is just south of trendy Kitayama Street, near a brook and not far from a subway station.