Capsule Inn AKIHABARA
+ AKIHABARA, TOKYO

Lets face it, there’s no getting around the fact that Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. So where do you stay on a budget when you visit Tokyo? Probably not the average hotel, which starts at around $100USD per night, and considering it’s Tokyo, sometimes that’s per person, not per room. Then what? Youth hostel? Or… capsule hotel? No doubt you’ve seen them once on a television documentary or foreign comedy. Those mysterious yet funny coffin-style rooms with built-in tv, radio and fax machine. Who would ever think a capsule hotel would be a suitable, if not more respectable, alternative to a youth hostel? If you look at the facts, it really adds up to a smart deal. Capsule hotel, $30USD per night, generally quiet, includes clean shower room, key locker, bathrobe, free toothbrush, and sometimes free internet and free bathhouse.

Capsule Inn AKIHABARA, my first capsule hotel experience around the Tokyo area, and hopefully not the last. Right next to Akihabara center, 5~ minutes by train from Ueno, 10~ minutes by train from Asakusa, 35~ minutes by train from Shibuya. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect, I walked in with my shoes on and the desk clerk politely asked me to take my shoes off first. Feeling foolish, I took them off and placed them into one of the shoe lockers by the front desk and took a key. I told them my name, paid my 3,500 yen, and was handed a room key in exchange for my shoe locker key(part of their system). I decided first to surf the internet a little in their free internet cafe, then head out for some dinner before calling it a night.

Capsule hotels are usually open 24 hours a day. This is an important fact to consider if your friends are trying to persuade you into a Japanese-style ryokan. Those are fun, yes, but I’ve honestly never seen one under $50USD per night to start with, and most have curfews. That means you have to be back, usually before 10PM, before they lock you out. At a capsule hotel, you can stay out until the wee hours and get obliterated, then stumble back into your sleeping pod without any hassle. When leaving the capsule hotel, they took my key and handed me my shoe locker keys. The process repeated itself when I returned later from dinner, I received my room key again. This time I proceeded to the 2nd floor to stow my belongings in their lockers. Within my locker was a clean towel and bathrobe. I was a little disappointed that their lockers were small, in fact, it was just big enough for my coat, my shoulder bag, and my pants(the locker room doubles as a changing room). This was fine since it was one night, but I saw a few people with rolling luggage, so I am guessing that the front desk holds your suitcases for you while you sleep(I will confirm this later and update this article).

Each floor has a bathroom area, the second floor having a shower room and bath. My floor was the 7th, when I arrived, I checked the map in front of the main room entrance to see where my capsule was. Inside the main area, it was almost silent, it was around 11:30PM. The capsules are setup in two levels, one on top of the other. My capsule was on the bottom. I crawled in to a fairly decent sized space. I could sit up fully with some space above my head. Once inside your capsule, there is no door with a key, but a thick, plastic blind which you pull down that covers your capsule entrance completely. Inside I was able to stretch out completely, the size was about that of a double bed, and it was just long enough to fit a big 6′2″ foreigner. There was a TV, radio, clock with alarm(in English), long slim shelf, and a mirror. The bed was fairly comfortable, almost identical in feeling to a hospital bed, and the pillow was of the typical Japanese bean-filled variety.

It wasn’t hard to fall asleep, and when I awoke the next day, I felt quite good actually. It was very comfortable and big enough for me to roll around a little while I was sleeping. No hitting my head when I woke up either, since the space was more than adequate. I went through my usual morning routine, got my things out of my locker, dropped my key off at the front desk and off I went for a breakfast at Mister Donut(honey old fashioned donut, how I love thee…).

Word of caution. Reservations can be made online, in English through their English website, however the price is 4,000 yen for one night for both men and women. If you have a Japanese friend(or feel daring enough), ask them to make the reservation for you on the Japanese side of the website, it’s 3,500 yen for their standard plan for both men and women(their normal Japanese plan is 4,000 yen for men, and 3,500 yen for women). Either way, 4,000 yen is still cheap, but 500 yen is a decent lunch or breakfast so it’s up to you. Staff does not speak English, but there is not much to ask anyway, and I doubt their system will change much after you read this review. I highly recommend this capsule hotel, I slept well and it was clean, friendly and nice.

Capsule Inn AKIHABARA
6-9 Akihabara, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-006
Tel: (+81)03-3251-0841
Fax: (+81)03-3251-0844
URL: http://www.capsuleinn.com
Email: troilus@troiluscorp.com

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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