A capsule hotel (), also known in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

as a pod hotel, is a type of

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

developed in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

that features many small, bed-sized rooms known as capsules. Capsule hotels provide cheap, basic overnight accommodation for guests who do not require or who cannot afford larger, more expensive rooms offered by more conventional hotels. The first capsule hotel in the world opened in 1979 and was the Capsule Inn Osaka, located in the

Umeda is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, where the city's main northern railway termini ( Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station) are located. The district's name means "plum field". History Umeda ...

district of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan and designed by

Kisho Kurokawa (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement. Biography Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...

. From there, it spread to other cities within Japan. Since then, the concept has further spread to various other territories, including Belgium, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.

Description

The guest room is a chamber roughly the length and width of a single bed, with sufficient height for a hotel guest to crawl in and sit up on the bed. The chamber walls may be made of wood, metal or any rigid material, but are often fibreglass or plastic. Amenities within the room generally include a small television, air conditioning, an electronic console, and

power socket AC power plugs and sockets connect devices to mains electricity to supply them with electrical power. A plug is the connector attached to an electrically operated device, often via a cable. A socket (also known as a receptacle or outlet) is fi ...

s. The capsules are stacked side-by-side, two units high, with steps or ladders providing access to the second-level rooms, similar to

bunk beds A bunk bed or set of bunks is a type of bed in which one bed frame (a bunk) is stacked on top of another bed, allowing two or more sleeping-places to occupy the floor space usually required by just one. Bunks are commonly seen on ships, in ...

. The open end of the capsule can be closed with a curtain or a solid door for privacy, and can be locked from the inside only. CapsuleHotelCapsule

Like a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

, many amenities are communally shared, including

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...

shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers are set up to have adjustable temperature, spray pressure and showerhead nozzle angle. The si ...

wireless internet Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided mediu ...

, and

dining room A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually next to the kitchen for convenience in serving, though in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically the dining room is furnished with ...

s. In Japan, a capsule hotel may have a communal bath and sauna. Some hotels also provide restaurants, snack bars, bars, or

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

s, pools, and other entertainment facilities. There may be a lounge with upholstered chairs for relaxing, along with newspapers and reading material. Capsule hotels vary in size, from 50 or so capsules to 700, and primarily cater to men. Some capsule hotels offer separate sections for male and female guests, or even separate floors and elevators. Clothes and shoes are exchanged for a ''

yukata A is an unlined cotton summer kimono, worn in casual settings such as summer festivals and to nearby bathhouses. The name is translated literally as "bathing cloth" and originally were worn as bathrobes; their modern use is much broader, and ar ...

'' and slippers on entry, and a towel and

bathrobe A bathrobe, also known as a housecoat or a dressing gown, is a loose-fitting outer clothing, garment (a robe) worn by people, often after washing the body or around a pool. A bathrobe is considered to be very informal clothing, and is not worn w ...

may also be provided. Luggage and valuables are usually stored in

locker A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like. They vary ...

s or—if available—in-room

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...

s. Guests are asked not to smoke or eat in the capsules.

Customer base

The benefits of these hotels are their convenience and low price, usually around ¥2000–4000 (USD –) a night. In Japan, capsule hotels have been stereotypically used by Japanese

salarymen The term is a Japanese word for salaried workers. In Japanese popular culture, it is portrayed as a white-collar worker who shows unwavering loyalty and commitment to his employer, prioritizing work over anything else, including family. "Salary ...

who may be too drunk to return home safely, have missed the last train of the day to make a return trip home due to working late hours, or are too embarrassed to face their spouses. During the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, some unemployed or underemployed workers who had become homeless during the crisis temporarily rented capsules by the month. As of 2010, these customers made up 30% of visitors at the Capsule Hotel Shinjuku 510 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Tabuchi, Hiroko
"For Some in Japan, Home Is a Tiny Plastic Bunk"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 2010-01-01. Retrieved on 2010-01-18.

References

External links

A list of capsule hotels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capsule Hotel Hotel types Hotels in Japan Homelessness Japanese inventions 1979 introductions 1979 establishments in Japan

Description

Customer base

See also

References

Further reading

External links