Capsule hotels
 

Hey everyone!
I’ve been to a few capsule hotels and I can’t get enough of them. I adore them. Usually I don’t spend more than 3000yen a night (at most) on accommodation and just stick to backpacker hostels and shared dormitories, but I think I can expand my budget to look for a night in a great capsule hotel. And so I’m looking for recommendations on capsule hotels, any price! Since I’ll be touring Japan, really any area is fine.

Basically I’m looking for a futuristic / sci-fi kind of atmosphere. Maybe with cool lighting (for example a blue light inside my pod?), cold surfaces, a sense of high tech and systematic order. Lines, uniformity, clean to the point of giving off a clinical or hospital feeling. One pod in the middle of a hundred others! (If there’s a possibility I might get lost in my own room because of how many pods there are I would be ecstatic).
So far I’ve found Kyoto Capsule 9 hours that looks okay, but I’d like something more… large scale maybe? I don’t know. I know that’s asking for a lot or it might be hard to find something perfect, but I’m sure whatever you can find won’t disappoint. I’m putting my wish list out there just for the record, I’ll be happy even if it doesn’t have everything on the list. Please help me? ;)

PS: Sliding doors are preferable over curtains

Things that are NOT necessary or important by the way: TV, good common area, onsen / spa / relaxation area, restaurant or meals… I’m more interested in the sleeping area!
Thanks in advance, I hope you can help me out.

I've never stayed in a capsule hotel, although I know it's one of the Japanese experiences that a lot of people enjoy, I'm too attached to my en suite bathroom! But I love your quest and wish you luck in finding a fun place!

But here's some finds that may be of interest:

For some reason I'm not being allowed to post links, so I'll have to describe what to google for.

Tokyo capsule hotels. Search on site tokyoful dot com for an article on capsule hotels in Tokyo. It showcases a nice selection, including chain called First Cabin which also has a place in Kyoto too.

Another thought is to look up 24 hour internet cafes, the ones that offer a private room which people often sleep overnight in, so I've read.

This piece references a traditional tatami mat offering in Kyoto, and the first capsule hotel in Osaka. Google for kotaku dot com for article 5990496, a guide to japanese capsule hotels.

Sauna & Capsule Hotel Rumor Plaza in Kyoto has standard-looking capsules but also a sauna and baths.

Lastly, check Centurio Cabin and Spa in Kyoto, looks amazing but it's women only. I wonder if there is a similar one for men?

Kavey, I had to chuckle about those 24 hour internet cafes. My sons freshman roommate did a study abroad in Tokyo. Sometimes he would go out to party in Shibuya or Shinjuku and miss the last train back to school. He would end up at one of those cafes or a 24 hour karaoke bar, wait for the first train in the morning and drag himself to class.

Curious Geo
That's the stamina and craziness of youth for you! ;-)

Thank you Kavey for the suggestions! :)

I stayed at the First Cabin in Haneda Airport as my plane landed there from NYC and I was flying domestically the next morning so it was perfect. I did upgrade to the First Class cabin though. It was fine, clean of course and there was a nice bathroom area and snack room....

You are welcome! Let us know what you find / book!

Can married people share a capsule, or do you have to rent two capsules? If the latter, can you visit your partners capsule , and is there room to conjugate?

Ozborn Bakarati
Las Vegas NV

Ozborn
I've never come across double capacity capsules when searching online or reading up about capsule hotels and in any case, men and women are allocated capsules on different floors.
I guess same sex married couples could "visit" each other's capsules but for different sex married couples, that would not be possible.

Perhaps I've just become too accustomed to the notion that I've earned a little more comfort and luxury in my middle age, but can someone explain the appeal of these capsule hotels to me? I'm envisioning something that looks not unlike a morgue.

I guess it depends on everyone’s taste, really.
I’ve never thought that capsule hotels lack comfort. Quite the opposite really, I usually feel much more comfortable in the capsules I’ve been to than the bigger more expensive rooms in other hotels. I think capsule hotels are like a cacoon; cozy, homey, safe, whatever you want to call it.
Since I always travel solo I often spend a very long time without talking to people (unless it’s asking for directions or quick conversations with strangers or the like), so it’s nice to share a room with others, which is why I tend more towards hostels. I always have the privacy of my own pod to get away from them if needed.
And I guess I like the order of the place, how everything is uniform and in lines. Systematic. That also means I don’t have to talk to the staff -talking to staff is always stressful because of all the formalities I have to keep up- since it’s more detached and distant.
And as for the pods themselves, everything is within reach and especially during the winter it’s very warm. And in general capsule hotels are cheaper, so…