Bonus Japan post: the capsule hotel experience

While reposting pictures on this blog, I realized that I never talked about my capsule hotel experience in Tokyo, back in 2012. Following a lodging booking mistake on my part, I nearly ended up homeless in Asakusa. I was able to find a bed in a capsule hotel and spent two nights there. In a way, while it was stressful going around Tokyo with a friend and colleague without knowing for sure where I would be spending the night, I am glad I got to experience the capsule hotel.

The hotel was far from luxurious, but safe, clean and the staff was professional. That pretty much describes Japan.

Much like a hostel, you are essentially renting a bunk bed in a dormitory style room. However, your bunk bed is outfitted with full privacy, your own outlet and light. You can read at night without disturbing other people in the dorm and you have a dark, quiet space to sleep. It is a great low-cost accommodation.

The hotel was gender separated, with men on different floors from the women.

The door to the dorm room.

The capsule bunk bed. A heavy curtain closed off the entrance if I wanted privacy.

Next to each bunk bed, there were personal lockers for valuables

There was a common storage space for luggage, and a personal locker for valuables.

The rest of the hotel was setup to accommodate a high population density, while minimizing wait times for access to the miscellaneous facilities.

Outside the bunk beds room, there was a common area with low sinks to brush our teeth and do our makeup.

There were also restrooms on the same floor. This is where I first learned how to use a Japanese toilet (they had helpful diagrams on the walls to help with that, as it is not intuitive).

A Japanese toilet. Now you understand the use of special slippers to use the toilet (see post on the slipper etiquette)

The washroom was on a different floor. There was a common bath and even a small sauna. I elaborate on the Japanese bath in a post on the Japanese bath etiquette. 

There was also a surprisingly nice common area for meals. And I am not sure if that was included in the price, or if the old lady who took care of the place felt that I was not having a healthy breakfast, but I was treated to a very nice miso soup and rice in the morning. It gave me the opportunity to practice my "gochisosama" (see Japanese table etiquette) as I was leaving and spotted her sweeping the stairs. 

The dining room