Tokyo Kiba Hotel
Different from most capsule hotels because it offers double rooms and couples' accommodation. It also provides the unusual experience of buying fresh underwear from a vending machine… which is a novelty if you are a Westerner.
Also uncommon for foreigners is that bathing suits are banned from single-sex showers and baths, so expect some casual nudity thrown into your stay.
Your capsule includes a small TV, plug socket, dimmer light, and air conditioning. Your ‘door’ is a woven bamboo blind in a nod to traditional Japanese interiors.
The hotel will provide slippers and pajamas; you can snack and refresh yourself in the café downstairs. One of Tokyo’s least expensive places, it still manages to maintain a clean and comfortable experience.
The typical Tokyo-style building with an external staircase is right next to the Kiba subway station.
The reception is on the second floor, the bathrooms and sauna (yes, that's standard for the Japanese capsule hotels!) are on the third, and the rooms are on the fourth, fifth, and sixth.
After check-in, you will get a key to your locker in case your luggage is too big to fit inside the capsules.
Luckily, there is a large communal space where you can eat, research what to do around Tokyo, or get some work done. So, you don't have to struggle with all of that in the rather small capsules.
Kiba Hotel is one of the few capsule hotels in Tokyo that allows mixed-gender occupancy.
As you can see in the photos, the capsules are wider than usual, so they fit two people in a single pod.
The capsules are numbered and lit up at night, so you won't get lost or try to jump into someone else's bed.
The tiny rooms are fitted with an old school TV. You are unlikely to use them instead of your tablet/laptop, but for retro Instagram pictures they are perfect!
The shared bathrooms function as a single wet room where the toilet and the shower are inches away.
However, the washrooms are spacious, and you don't have to bring your own toiletries.
The small on-site shop has classic Japanese instant noodles and soft drinks.
As with all traditional capsule hotels, this has a basic spa too. The hot tub and the sauna are gender segregated, and each day is split into male/female hours.
