Well today’s story can only come from the world of weird and whacky- Japan. Well there’s certainly no mini bar or luxurious queen bed on this unique style of hotel. It’s the capsule hotel and they are found all over the big Japanese cities usually around the train stations and cater primarily for businessman who have had that one (or several) too many beers after work and missed the the last train home or can’t quiet face the wife and kids. The capsule hotel are a communal collection of small plastic cells about two feet wide and high and around six foot long. They have a mattress, a pillow and some linen, sometimes a small TV and DVD player and not much else.
The capsule hotels usually feature community rooms where men can carry on the celebration with a few more beers or even a meal usually from a vending machine. Sometimes the lodger can even relax in a sauna, spa or even take a massage. Costs are usually around the 20-40 dollars a mark night and payments are often made by vending machine. The facility also offer communal showers and bathrooms and many even sell pajamas or other forms of sleepwear. Being a cheap accommodation option in the huge citys like Tokyo and Osaka sometimes they become home. People who are working in low paying jobs have been known to have extended stays in the hotels and call them home. The capsule hotel isn’t the most private or luxurious accommodation you will find in Japan but no one can disagree about it being one of the more unique and cheapest.
