I think
most people have heard of the crazy phenomenon that is capsule hotels. As there are a lot of mixed reviews out
there, ranging from horrible (“disappointing and very dirty, never again”) to amazing (“unique, awesome experience”), I
was eager to try it out myself. It was pretty hard to find one allowing women,
but I did and I spent two nights there!
So what is a capsule hotel?
It’s a super space efficient, basic and cheap way of hosting people, developed
in Japan. In one room about 20 tiny ‘rooms’, capsules, are stacked up above and
next to each other. Every capsule sleeps one person and I guess they were about
2.00 x 1.20 m in size. Bigger than I thought but maybe still not recommended for
claustrophobes. They look like… well, do you remember one of those scenes from
a science fiction movie where they are breeding slimy humans or aliens or
whatever in pods.. the look of the capsules kinda remind me of that.
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| About 30 capsules in 1 room |
.... see what I mean?
No.
Also, it doesn't look / sound very appealing…
I know.. but to me it’s basically like a
hostel dorm where you spend the night in a room with strangers, but here you
have your own little lair where you can hide.
To be honest, I can sleep comfortable in most beds (or floors, chairs etc) but this wasn't bad at
all. They give you clean sheets, towels and A PAJAMA every day. Yes, the pajama part got me excited as they
looked a little bit like a traditional kimono..
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| Ready for bed in the kimono wannabe |
Also, the capsule has little tv, radio,
light, mirror and alarm, and you get a free locker. The free locker wasn't big enough for my luggage and I was too cheap to pay for
a bigger one so I just left it on the floor. Not sure if that was the safest
choice ever but it worked out fine. The one thing missing was a power outlet.
And
wifi.
But I feel like there is a chronic
deficit of power outlets and wifi all over the world.
Why was it hard to find one allowing women?
The thing with the capsules is.. there’s no door. You can not close or lock your
capsule, you just have some sort of curtain you can pull down. Apparently
Japanese men (especially when drunk..which is often) have a hard time
controlling themselves so it’s not very safe for women to sleep in an ‘open’
capsule next to a man. This capsule hotel had different, closed, floors for men and
women and as far as I can remember, nothing weird has happened to me or the other ladies at night.
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| My capsule, open |
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| Old lady's capsule, closed |
So what kind of people stay at capsule hotels?
In the male-only hotels it’s supposed to be mostly businessmen who either live pretty
far away from the city/their work or got too drunk to go home, so it’s easier
to stay the night at a capsule hotel. As
I spent most of my time on the women’s floor I only saw a few of them. In my
room there was a diverse group of people.
One older woman with a black eye who seemed homeless. Another grandma. Two businesswomen. Some girls who missed their last train home. And of course, a tourist here and there.
How was the rest of the experience?
Pretty comfortable too. When you enter the hotel you are supposed to take your
shoes off, put them in a locker and use the slippers they provide. When you’re
lucky there is someone at the desk to help you (not that they speak a word of
English), but if not, there is a machine where you can pay for the room
too. There is a common room with a
computer and wifi, big pay lockers, drink and food vending machines and
iphone/ipod chargers.
All facilities are shared and you’d better not be shy when you want to wash
yourself as there is only a
sento. Showers where you can sit and wash yourself
and a nice hot bath to soak in afterwards. My first shower and bath was shared with the
lovely homeless grandma who kept blabbering in Japanese to me. Just nod and
smile and it’s all good.
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| First a shower... |
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| ..then a bath |
What was the specific hotel you stayed at and would you recommend it?
I stayed at Asakusa Capsule Hotel Riverside. It is very near a subway
station and in a nice area, in walking distance from the famous Senso-ji, the oldest temple in Japan! It’s a little worn, occasionally smelly and the staff speak very limited to no English at
all but they are friendly and try to help you in any way they can. For a $30 bed
in Tokyo, you can’t complain too much. True, it’s not as comfortable as a regular
hotel room and when travelling as a
couple it sucks you can’t sleep together, but when you’re by yourself, down for something new and are a
cheapskate like me.. give it a try!
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| A busy Senso-ji |
