A Night In A Capsule

When you are planning on places to sleep in most big cities in Japan you have a few choices. There's hotels, hostels, guest houses, and the wonder accommodation known as the Capsule Hotel. The magic of these places lie in the name being pretty much exactly what they are. You sleep in a capsule which are very small but at least long enough to hold my 192cm body in stacked on top of each other like bunk beds of the future.

A hall full of sleeping rooms.

 Now with some Capsule hotels you will even get breakfast or be able to use a sauna room amongst other things but it wont be like a night in a hotel and you've probably only decided to stay in one based on 1 of 3 reasons.
1. Its cheap. (And by cheap I'm talking by Japan standards.)
2. You're a middle aged salary man who went out drinking after work and missed your last train. (Probably the most common customer here.)
3. You just wanna experience it. (This is reason I first slept in one a year ago with some friends on vacation. #1 is the reason I just recently slept in one.)

Some Capsule Hotels are only for men and some like the one you see here also have 2 or 3 floors dedicated to women though it seems men frequent this kind of place much more often. The prices vary depending on the options you want but this one here at it's basic price is 2500yen which is pretty much about $25. This will get you the capsule which includes a TV and radio and also use of the bathroom including shower.

The Capsule

As you can see it is indeed small but while you wont be able to sleep your whole family in a single capsule it has plenty of space for it's primary function which is sleeping. There is a pull down curtain that helps you maintain some privacy. As you can see there is a pillow and blankets provided as well.

Looking in from the outside.

Looking out from the inside.

 

 

In this particular one you will also find a TV, a light, and a radio.

They even manage to get a TV in there.

 

 

 

 

 

Radio/TV/Light controls

The downside to a Capsule Hotel besides the size is the chance that you may not have hot water to shower with when you really want it. Also you aren't gonna muffle out a lot of sounds while in your capsule so if the sound of old men snoring or the chatter of TV bother you, you may wanna bring some ear plugs.

If you happen to be traveling in Osaka I'd like to recommend this Capsule Hotel. It is quite near to the exit at Namba station which is a good area for visiting a lot of popular spots in Osaka including Den Den Town and Doutonbori and more. The staff are kind and the price is good. You won't find a lot of plugs to charge your electronic gear though.