Capsule Hotels

Kyoto, Japan

First Cabin Kyoto Karasuma is one address of the First Cabin chain, which runs a number of houses in Japan. This one stands on Karasuma in central Kyoto, within walking distance of the subway line that runs the length of the street. The company borrows its plan from ship accommodation, and the cabins are larger than a standard capsule berth but smaller than a room.

Cabins are grouped along corridors and closed with screens rather than locking doors, so valuables go in separate lockers. Floors are separated by gender. A shared bathing area with a large bath is part of the house, and there is a lounge with seating and vending machines. Shoes come off at the entrance to the accommodation floors.

Because the chain has more than one address in the city, name this one when you write. Ask about the hours of the bathing area, about the curfew and cleaning window if one applies, and about what luggage can be stored on the floor before check-in.

• Category Capsule Hotels
• Location Kyoto, Japan
• Checked July 2031

Osaka, Japan

The Bay Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi belongs to the Bay Hotel group, which runs several houses in Japan under the same name. This address sits in Shinsaibashi, in the centre of Osaka, inside an ordinary city building rather than a purpose-built block. The group names each house after its district, so the district has to be given when the booking is made.

Berths are set into the wall in two tiers and closed with a blind. The plan puts washrooms, showers and a lounge on shared floors, with lockers for luggage near the entrance. Floors are separated by gender, and the corridors are kept quiet by house rule rather than by construction. Slippers are used inside the accommodation floors.

Write to the house rather than to the group if a detail matters, since the addresses differ from one another. Worth asking about: the size of the lockers, whether large suitcases can be left at reception, and the hours during which the shower rooms are open.

• Category Capsule Hotels
• Location Osaka, Japan
• Checked July 2031

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bunk Hotel Amsterdam occupies a former church in the north of the city, across the water from the central station. Bunk runs a second house in Utrecht, so the city has to be named when writing. The building kept its shell, its arched windows and its height, and the accommodation was built inside it as a separate timber structure rather than as fitted rooms.

Sleeping modules are stacked in tiers under the roof, each closed with a curtain and fitted with a light and a socket. Private rooms sit on the upper level of the same volume. The nave floor is used as a bar and dining room, open to people who are not staying, and a stage stands at one end for evening programmes.

Ask the house what the evening programme is on the nights of your stay, because the bar and the sleeping modules share one volume. Check-in hours, the availability of lockers and the difference between the module types are all worth confirming in the same message.

• Category Capsule Hotels
• Location Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Checked July 2031

Boston, United States

YOTEL Boston stands in the Seaport district on the south side of Fort Point Channel, within walking distance of the convention centre. YOTEL runs houses in a number of cities, so this address should be named rather than the brand alone. The company builds compact cabins on an aircraft cabin logic, with everything within reach of the bed.

Each cabin holds a bed that folds towards a sofa position, a wet room and a narrow work surface, and the plan is repeated on every floor. Shared space is gathered on one level: a lounge, a bar, a terrace and a small fitness room. Check-in is done at screens in the entrance hall, with staff on hand beside them.

Ask the house about the terrace, which is seasonal, and about the hours of the shared level. If you need a cabin with a particular outlook or a quieter position on the floor, that request goes to this address rather than to the central booking line.

• Category Capsule Hotels
• Location Boston, United States
• Checked July 2031