Free chocolate

When work finished on Thursday there were no longer any flights out of Tokyo, so my flight back to Sapporo from Kawasaki was scheduled for the next morning. I found a capsule hotel to stay in. A capsule hotel means you get a plastic tube to climb into which is high enough for you to sit in if you are short like me and which is pretty much exactly the size of a small bed. There are normally two or three layers of capsules on top of each other, and they are stacked 30 to 50 in a room, so if you are disturbed by people snoring, you will not get a good sleep in a capsule hotel. You only have a curtain to close your capsule with, and the capsule walls and floors are just a few millimeters of plastic.

Capsule hotels are usually cheap compared to their relatively good locations. This time, they also gave me free chocolate for staying there! They also have shared baths that are normally of pretty good quality. Sometimes they have saunas and other things too. They also provide free combs, toothbrushes, etc. like all hotels do in Japan.

Tokyo capsule hotel, with very uncool pajamas

The full extent of my capsule

For our business trips we get a fixed allowance for hotels, so staying in a hotel as cheap as possible is in some sense the best thing to do. I stayed in a capsule hotel this time. You get a locker to put your stuff (though it is a very small locker, so even a small suitcase would not fit), and you get a bed sized (if you have a small bed) plastic tube to sleep in. Each room has lots (50 or so is common) of these plastic tubes stacked on top of and beside each other, so if you are easily disturbed by people snoring, capsule hotels are not for you. There is only a thin plastic wall between capsules, and only a cloth curtain covering the entrance.

If you are short like me, you can even sit up in the capsule

Capsule hotels do come with pajamas, that are generally very uncool, a great public bath (sometimes only showers, but most have nice baths), free razors, toothbrushes, combs, etc. This place had cell phone chargers for any available cell phone in each capsule too, which was convenient since I did not bring my charger on this trip. There is also a TV in the capsule.

Not very cool pajamas (that you are required to wear when in the capsule rooms)

I uploaded a photo of me in the capsule to Facebook and a Japanese acquaintance commented that: "Wow, capsules have become very spacious recently!" I answered that maybe it was just that I had gotten skinny lately and thus the capsule just looked big, but he said: "No".

Conveniently sized hotel room

During my trip to Tokyo, I could not find any hotels with reasonable room rates that actually had rooms for me. I stayed in a capsule hotel, which means you get a locker to put your stuff and a small tube to sleep in. This is actually not that bad, and I have stayed in capsule hotels many times. This time it also came with free drinks, TV (which all capsule hotels have), and a very nice public bath. Location was great, price was cheap.

Capsule hotels

In Japan, there is a type of hotels called "capsule hotels". They do not give you a room, they give you a plastic tube to sleep in. It is about the size of a small bed and if you are not too tall you can probably sit upright inside the capsule. The capsule usually has a small TV, a radio, and an alarm clock. The hotel itself also has either a public bath style bathing facility or showers. Sometimes there is also a sauna. You can lock your stuff away in a small locker (but a suitcase would not fit).

Some capsule hotels allow women to stay, and then there are usually separate floors for men and women, and separate times for the shared bath. Most capsule hotels are for men only.

Capsule hotels are usually cheap (by Tokyo standards) and located in popular entertainment areas. The main target audience is drunk sarariman (office workers) who missed the last train home and need somewhere to sleep until morning when it is time to go to work again.

Capsule hotels are not for people who are claustrophobic  though the capsule is not actually that small. It is also not recommended for people who need it to be quiet when they sleep, since there are usually two or three layers of capsules stacked on top of each other with a total of around 50 capsules in each room. The capsule walls are very thin plastic, so you can hear everyone else snoring. Also, the capsule opening through which you enter is usually only closed with a curtain (i.e. not sound proof). Sometimes drunk men who mistake your capsule for their capsule in the middle of the night might try climbing into your capsule too.

In the morning, everyone has their alarm clock go off at different times, since some people need to go to work early and leave at 5:30, some get up at around 6, other around 7 etc. So there will be the sound of alarm clocks beeping more or less constantly from 5:30 to 10:00 (when you have to check out). Some people leave their capsule before their alarm goes off, so no one is there to turn off the alarm in their capsules once they go off either...

I stayed in a capsule hotel after having been in the magic bar but before I had to get up and go to the airport to fly home. It is fun to try, but not recommended for longer trips.