Compact berth hotels built around a single sleeping module, with washing, storage and lounging kept in shared rooms.
Port of call no. I
The Millennials Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan
A capsule hotel built for people who intend to work as well as sleep. The berths recline electrically into a bed or a seat, each with a projector aimed at the ceiling, and the surrounding floors are given over to a long shared lounge, a kitchen and desks that stay busy through the evening. Luggage lives in lockers by the entrance. It is a short walk from Shibuya station, which means the building is never entirely quiet, and the design does not pretend otherwise.
Logged — Opened 2017 · Reclining “smart pod” berths · Shared lounge, kitchen and co-working floor
Port of call no. II
First Cabin Haneda Terminal 1
Ota, Tokyo, Japan
A cabin hotel built into an airport terminal, arranged along corridors with the vocabulary of a ship or an aircraft: first-class and business-class cabins, differing chiefly in floor space and ceiling height. Walls are solid to head height and closed with a screen rather than a door, so the rule of the place is quiet. Communal bathing rooms sit at the end of each wing. For an early departure or a long layover it is a short indoor walk to the gates.
Logged — Inside Haneda Airport Terminal 1 · Cabin sizes graded by floor area · Communal bath and shower rooms
Port of call no. III
Capsule Hotel Anshin Oyado Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
An older idea of the capsule hotel done carefully: a compact berth to sleep in, and a whole floor of bathing, sauna and reclining chairs to spend the evening in. Amenities are laid out for guests arriving with nothing — sleepwear, towels, toothbrushes — and the front desk works on the assumption that most people are coming off a late train. The capsules themselves are ventilated and individually lit, and the house rules about noise are enforced rather than merely posted.
Logged — Adults-only · Capsules with individual air control · Large communal bath and relaxation floor
Port of call no. IV
Nadeshiko Hotel Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
A women-only capsule hotel finished in pale wood rather than moulded plastic, which changes the temperature of the whole building. Berths are stacked in two tiers behind curtains, and a small bathhouse downstairs is the centre of the evening. The hotel also lends kimono and runs its own dressing service, a hospitality idea that belongs to a much older kind of inn. Location is central Shibuya, a few minutes from the crossing.
Logged — Women-only · Wooden capsule berths · In-house bathhouse with a cedar-scented bath