After a whole day of travelling and sightseeing it was finally time to rest. We chose a capsule hotel, to experience this unique form of accommodation. Here’s the whole review of this interesting place!

Finding a hotel was not as easy as it may seem, since most of them are male only (to the point that when my friend tried to enter the hallway of a place her boyfriend stayed in, the staff immediately reacted, asking her to leave, because females are not allowed). Just after we landed we went to our capsule hotel (previously reserved) to check in and leave our things. We were allowed to leave our suitcases in the back of the front desk, so we didn’t have to take them with us during our sightseeing. We came back late at night, when the hall was much more lively and full of people who missed the last train and had to find a place to stay - and from what I’ve seen this is the main purpose of capsule hotel, a place with everything you might need for unplanned night out. First thing we had to do was leaving our shoes just behind the door in a locked mini-drawer.

How it works?

The package we got at the front desk was simple and the same for everyone: a key on a soft spring bracelet and a bag with towel and pyjama (there were two pieces sets with trousers and blouse, and one piece variant with a nightgown. I was too tall for a nightgown...). There were also toothbrushes, toothpastes, combs and razors for everyone who needed one, just laying on the front desk. First thing we had to do was move to the changing room - male and female ones were set on different sides of the corridor. One thing you have to check out immediately in a capsule hotel are routes - the ones for men had walls painted blue, the one for women were painted pink. There were male only floors and women only floors as well as floors for both sexes. So make sure you’re not walking down the wrong part of the building. As a women I must admit that I felt quite comfortable with this arrangement, since the whole building was designed in a way so that women won’t be disturbed (which also ties in with my previous post about stalking and perverts problem in Japan as another precaution against it). A few more words about this arrangement and why: most of the people in capsule hotels were there because they missed a train, often they were working men who went for drinks with friends and stayed late. And drunk guys can be unpleasant. So it’s good to know that the place is making sure everyone is safe. 

The entrance to women’s changing room was hidden behind a  curtain (bright pink) and just after it the corridor was twisting two times, so there was no way that someone would peek. There were rows of lockers there (the guy at the front office seeing my large backpack gave me the key to one of bigger ones without even asking. So nice of him!). The locker was handy, there was  two hangers, a shelf on the bottom where I stuffed my backpack, a shelf on top for my other clothes, a mirror and a tiny box that was perfect for my hair pins. (The men’s lockers form what I’ve heard were not so great - so narrow that nothing thicker than a briefcase wouldn’t fit in, and yes I mean a briefcase put in in a way so the side is facing the person putting it in. They were also much lower while my was as high as I am). There was no changing room and nobody seemed to need one, people were changing without being bothered by others who in turn could care less. Other things that could be found there: a TV with two armchairs and a coffee table, four sinks with huge beautiful mirrors and basic cosmetics (make-up cleansers and lots of other things I couldn’t recognise because they were labelled in Japanese ;) along with cotton pads and cotton swabs. There was also a hairdryer (and surprise! it was a really good one with lots of options, not one of those cheap ones some hotel uses) and hair curler. There was also a vending machine with underwear. On the side of the room, behind the sinks was the entrance to hot baths area -  the only way to get there was to go through changing room and walk down the stairs. The bath area was working just like onsen (which is a long story for a different post) and was a really good  and relaxing after such an eventful day.

Capsule

After the bath it was time (at least for me) to go to sleep. Again, ladies capsules were much better than men’s ones. Mine was in a room with a lock in the door and only four spacious capsules inside. From what I’ve heard from my friend, his was in a room without a door and it was full of small capsules (I’ve caught a glimpse of them, they indeed were much smaller).  What surprised me was that the entrance to the capsule had only a material roller-blind as a “door”. Inside was a set of a pillow and a blanket with a sheet. There was also a tiny tv, shelf and control panel with temperature, light dimmer and alarm clock. The capsule was not big enough for me to sleep with my legs straight but it was not as small as to make it uncomfortable. Two disadvantages were that the light switch was located outside of the capsule, and that the construction was not strong enough to stop shaking when someone climbed to the upper capsules (because yes, there were two “floors” of them). All in all, I slept really well. For people with light sleep the lack of proper “doors” to the capsule might be a problem too - it’s definitely not soundproof so if someone in a room is snoring, well... you’ll certainly know about it. As for space itself, hearing a lot about how capsules are tiny and one have to be prepared for it I was actually surprised with how spacious mine was (for a capsule I mean). I could twist in my sleep from side to side, it was wider than my single bed and I was able to sit there without worrying about hitting my head. All in all - what more would I need to sleep? I even got a fluffy blanket.

My capsule in all its glory

In the morning it was time to check out the restaurant. When checking in we received a coupon for a free drink in a bar so it was the highest time to use it (no, it didn’t have to be an alcohol containing drink ;). The restaurant didn’t have a vide variety of offered meals but there was enough to find something to eat, whether someone wants to eat typical Japanese breakfast or something more continental. Some other things in hotel’s offer were: laundry service that would give you back your clothes after the night, massage room, sauna, TV room and manga corner.

To sum up

When someone is wondering about checking out capsule hotels there’s only one question to ask: are you claustrophobic? Would you mind sleeping in a capsule? If space is not an issue, then capsule hotel is actually a great accommodation for three reasons: they have everything you might need from a hot bath (BATH! not just a shower but an actual bath) and food to fresh underwear. There’s actually a lot to do there and it’s all in common areas so you might meet other people, you don’t have to lock yourself in your room. It’s designed with people coming unplanned in the middle of the night in mind, so you don’t have to worry that you’ll miss the check-in hour and the restaurant will be closed or anything. Everything will be ready for you.  

A few tips for capsule hotel:

• Change into hotel’s clothes first thing after checking in. It’s not allowed to go around in your clothes.
• leave your things in the locker, don’t bring them to the capsule. It’s both safer and more convenient. 
• Mind the floors especially if you’re a man. The hotel (at least the one I was in) really makes sure that women won’t be disturbed. Don’t wander on the floors that are the wrong colour.
• Enjoy yourself. 

Spadio Spa & Capsule Hotel on Tripadvisor