Capsule hotel
A capsule hotel (kapuseru hoteru カプセルホテル) is a type of hotel in Japan with a large number of extremely small "rooms" (capsules) intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels.
Description
The guest space is reduced in size to a modular plastic or fiberglass block roughly 2 m by 1 m by 1.25 m, providing room to sleep. Facilities range in entertainment offerings (most include a television, an electronic console, and a wireless internet connection). These capsules are stacked side by side and two units top to bottom, with steps providing access to the second-level rooms. Luggage is stored in a locker. Privacy is ensured by a curtain or a fiberglass door at the open end of the capsule. Washrooms are communal and some hotels include restaurants (or at least vending machines), pools, and other entertainment facilities.
This style of hotel accommodation was developed in Japan and has not gained popularity outside of the country, although Western variants with larger accommodations and often private baths are being developed. Guests are asked not to smoke or eat in the capsules.
Capsule hotels vary widely in size, some having only fifty or so capsules and others over 700. Many are used primarily by men.
There are also capsule hotels with separate male and female sleeping quarters. Clothes and shoes are sometimes exchanged for a yukata gown (a casual summer kimono) and slippers on entry. A towel may also be provided. The benefit of these hotels is convenience and price, usually around ¥2000-4000 (US$25-50) a night.
Others (especially on weekdays) are often too inebriated to safely travel to their homes, or too embarrassed to face their spouses. With the continued recession in Japan, as of early 2010, more and more guests - roughly 30% at the Capsule Hotel Shinjuku 510 in Tokyo -- were either unemployed or underemployed and were renting capsules by the month
History
The first capsule hotel to open was the Capsule Inn Osaka, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and located in the Umeda district of Osaka. It opened in 1979.
- Capsule Inn Osaka (site up 10/2019 R/)
- All about capsule hotels (site up 10/2019 R/)
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