Capsule hotels / sleeping pods in Japan?
I have a book from 1985 (A Day in the Life of Japan) that shows a photo on pages 210-11 of what is referred to as a “capsule hotel”. They look like long rectangular sleeping pods with a door like you’d see on a commercial dryer. A person crawls in, pulls down a blind, and can sleep inside on a mattress with a pillow. There is enough room to sit up. Each has a small TV mounted from the ceiling, and a small sink, a mirror, etc. Here is the caption for the photo: “This capsule hotel in Osaka rents roomlets by the night for the equivalent of $12 US. Originally built for the entertainment district of Osaka for people who missed the last train home, capsule hotels now provide mini-accomodations for all sorts of people around Japan. They are strictly for one person.”
My question is, do these still exist in Japan? What else can you tell me about them? Thanks.
Yes, they still exist. But the number of them are decreasing. Because staying all night at internet cafe with private space is more economical.
Japanese Pods