Space ship in Kyoto

What do you think this is?　It looks like a chamber in a space ship, doesn’t it? 

Actually, this is a hotel that I stayed in Kyoto!  If you are traveling around Japan, what are the choices for a reasonable accommodation?   Capsule hotels are definitely one of them.  When I was looking for a hotel during my Kyoto trip, a lot of hotels didn’t have vacancies.  I guess it was a peak season.  Instead, what I found was this capsule hotel, which is quite new and stylish.  The price was very reasonable.  Here are some pictures of the hotel.

Entrance: You check in and receive the key for your locker. 

They have the separate floors for men and women.

This is a floor for lockers and showers.

In your locker, you will find pajamas and a toothbrush.

You must leave all your belongings in this locker.

Here is lavatory and behind it the shower stalls

The shower stall

The sleeping floor:

After you’ve taken your shower and put your things in the locker, it’s time to go to bed.  Most Japanese prefer to take a bath before going to bed.  This floor is dark and quiet.

This is your Capsule.  You crawl into your cell and just sleep.  The capsule's height is tall enough to sit down properly.  The "door" to go in the capsule is simply a curtain in which you draw up so that you can enter.  You will be able to hear other people coughing or snoring.  Fortunately, that night I stayed was peaceful and I had a good sleep.  The only space that is yours is the capsule and the locker assigned to you

There was a rule that I found silly.   It is that you can use an alarm on your cell-phone but only in vibration mode.  With a rational point of view, I can understand the rule because I don’t want to be bothered by someone’s alarm.   On the other hand, I wondered if I have to keep my phone with me all night long to feel it vibrate.  Hahaha, how do I do that?   I was not confident to wake up with a vibration alarm.  How would you wake up?  As I was wondering about it, I got into the cell and found an alarm system on the control panel in the cell.  Of course it is not an ordinary alarm. 

I was ashamed of myself for being only with the typical alarm clock.  Indeed, sound is not the only factor to wake you up!  This alarm wakes you up with the light on the ceiling.  When the time comes, it makes the cell bright.  Wow that’s cool.  I was so delighted and excited with this system.   I set the timer and fell asleep.  I found this cell quite comfortable and had a good sleep.  Next morning, I woke up naturally before the alarm hit on.  I could not experience the alarm.  Damn!  Hahaha!

You may not find capsule hotels in the countryside but big cities usually have them.  It’s a pretty interesting experience.  You should try it!

This is the website that I found this hotel (Japanese) >>> Nine Hours