Capsule Hotels

[Robert Maxwell]

They actually look kinda cozy. If they're really cheap it would be a good alternative to a real hotel room, if all I was interested in was getting a good night's sleep.

 

[TheSeeker]

I would sleep in one if they were located next to an airport and I was stuck in an airport. Is there anywhere to put your luggage?

If they had these right in an airport I can see them doing pretty well.

 

[Franklin]

Why do I think this may be the next direction in the U.S. penal system?

In practice, it may be no worse than a typical sleeping berth in a pullman car on a train. That said, I'm a bit claustrophobic, so I don't think I could even make it an hour in one.

 

[Count Zero]

If you only need a place to sleep it's ok, I guess, but otherwise I'd prefer staying in a hostel, despite the free porn.

 

[Dart]

Security would be a worry.

 

[trekkiedane]

Is there anywhere to put your luggage?

I think that's where they get you: not only do yu have to pay for your "room" you also need to pay for a locker

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Security would be a worry.

I don't see any exterior locks so presumably they remain unlocked until you go inside, and you can most likely lock it from within. Wouldn't make much sense if you couldn't lock it.

Or is there some other kind of security you're worried about? I don't think these are fundamentally any less safe than a standard hotel room.

 

[trekkiedane]

Security would be a worry.

I don't see any exterior locks so presumably they remain unlocked until you go inside, and you can most likely lock it from within. Wouldn't make much sense if you couldn't lock it.

Or is there some other kind of security you're worried about? I don't think these are fundamentally any less safe than a standard hotel room.

Plus you would usually have a locker for your stuff and aren't such hotels gender-segregated?

 

[Holdfast]

I used to stay in them when I traveled to Tokyo. I love capsule hotels. The thing is, you need to be able to speak a bit of the native language, they usually aren't too pumped about idiot drunk foreigners around.

Amazing deal, though. $40 for a comfortable place to sleep, free tea, coffee and cookies, showers AND porn on the little TVs inside? Just outstanding.

The price is the key attraction, yes. Especially in Tokyo, with every hotel seeming to charge more than the one next to it. When I was there, I found a nice place to stay that wasn't too expensive (I was a student at the time, so had to think about this sort of thing) but a capsule hotel would still have been a fraction of the price I ended up paying.

For one night, if you just need somewhere to crash, they're perfect and much more economical than a normal hotel room.