I have a couple questions about them:
Has anyone here every spent a night in one?
Are they comfortable?
How expensive are they?
What's in it? Just a bed thing?
From what I've seen online, it's seems like an interesting experience. I just want to know the views of people who actually stayed in one.
ありがとうございます!
~Tommy
Greetings,
I spent a great deal of time in capsule hotels during my last trip to Japan where I was urban backpacking.
Has anyone here every spent a night in one?
I spent at least 7 days in several.
I've used ones in Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. All of them were men only.
Are they comfortable?
I personally like them more than regular hotels when I'm traveling alone, because they're cheap, need no reservations, have much better group facilities than you'd get in a standard hotel, and just feel great.
To give an example, the one in Fukuoka was great:
Floors
1 Lobby
2 - 5 Normal rooms
6 Locker rooms for normal rooms
7 - 8 Deluxe rooms
9 Lounge (TVs/Manga/Massage Chairs)
10 Restaurant
11 Public Bath
roof Rotemburo (Rooftop bath)
How expensive are they?
I've spent anywhere from 3,000 for just "sauna" which doesn't actually give you a capsule (you sleep in the main TV room on a reclining chair), to 4,500 for a "deluxe" room.
What's in it? Just a bed thing?
Dang, I can't find the photos I took on my Flickr account, and I'm out of space and don't have the time to post it somewhere.
Yeah, it's roughly 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long.
Keep in mind you tend to spend most of your time in the lounge/bath areas, and really only go to the capsule to retire for the night. All the ones I've been in had a TV/Radio built in with earphones. The privacy is moderate: you can close your capsule at the end, but only with a bamboo shade. You will hear people when they walk by, but everyone's respectful.
Also, I cannot recommend them for people who are not comfortable with their Japanese ability. They are heavy in Japanese culture, and are not set up for foreigners at all.