My review of Capsule Hotel Hakodate
For our 1-night stay in Hakodate, as anticipated in this post, we have decided to book a budget place and that’s why we stayed at the Capsule Hotel Hakodate. To be honest, only a few times before we had been so satisfied with our choice of accommodation!
Here is my review and pictures!
This was not our first experience in a “capsule” hotel, having stayed in the stunning Nine Hours Shinjuku in Tokyo last year. This new hotel was of the same quality, but at a third of the price!
In fact, we paid about £15 per person for a standard capsule and the list of the things we got was MASSIVE!!!
The Reception and Common Area
As soon as we arrived, a kind man that was behind the reception desk ran over to welcome us, in perfect Japanese style. Also in perfect Japanese style, he asked us to remove our shoes and put them in one of the free lockers available near the entrance door.
The ground floor, where also the reception is located, is spacious and has a relaxed feeling. During our stay, we had free use of all the following amenities:
tables and chairs
Japanese “floor-tables”
board games
free drinks (different types of hot tea)
hot water (to make your own soups/noodles/teas)
microwave
mini-oven
free bike rentals
free use of shoe lockers at the entrance, so nowhere around the hotel there is someone walking with outside shoes!
vending machines and a selection of food and snacks at a very cheap price
Like most of the other capsule hotels in Japan, the dorm areas are divided by gender. For my short stay (too short!), I was lucky enough to get upgraded to a superior capsule because the female dorm was almost empty! This was the first time I had an upgrade, yey!
The Female Floor
Face towels, bath towels, bath mats AND pyjamas (red and green, depending on the size) are available for free!!!
Washing machines and dryers are available on each floor for a small fee. There are also hangers available for free!
The Dorm
The corridor in the first picture below has benches where people can seat, relax, make phone calls and chat before entering the Silence Area (on the right). From the corridor, it is possible to access different dorms.
The Standard Capsule
Angelo, my husband, was not as lucky as me with the free upgrade, so he stayed in a standard capsule and he kindly provided this picture!
He said that the capsule is comfortable for sleeping and is big enough to seat with a laptop and relax. All the bedding, duvet and pillow are included of course.
This classic Japanese capsule has only the space for the person, so all the luggage needs to be stored in the lockers available on the same floor.
The Superior Capsule
As you can see from the pictures below, the Superior capsule is a very tiny private room. It is located in the same place as the standard, but has its own door (lockable), a small desk with chair and even a rope to hang clothes on!
The rooms are created like a jigsaw puzzle, so you can end up in a room with the upper bed or the lower one!
Finally, there is a curtain that prevents the light from the rest of the dorm to get into your eyes when you sleep.
For the price difference, I would definitely recommend booking the superior capsule if you are staying few days, or you need a place where to work from, or if you don’t want to keep putting your things in the lockers and just want to have the freedom of leaving everything in your room and go!
The Toilets
If I have learnt anything in Japan is this! In public places (restaurants, hostels, etc), guests are required to leave their outside shoes at the entrance and walk shoeless or with indoor slippers kindly provided.
In many hotels and even restaurants, in Japan, specific “bathroom slippers” are provided at the entrance of the toilets! I find it so comfortable and cozy to know that everybody that goes into the bathroom is using these shoes, it’s like keeping everything a bit cleaner!
At Capsule Hotel Hakodate, the bathroom slippers are blue on the males floor and red for the females!
Shower Rooms and Beauty Stations
Numerous, perfectly clean, beautifully presented and fully equipped shower rooms and sink/beauty stations can be found on every floor.
There were SO MANY beauty products and tools available, that I have never found even in 4* hotels: tissues, hand soap, shower cream, shampoo, conditioner, 2 types of moisturizers/tonic lotions/face cleaners, razors, toothbrushes and toothpaste, cotton buds, combs, hair bands, hairdryers and so on… Absolutely amazing!
Each shower has a large “pre-shower” room, lockable, where you can comfortably get dressed/undressed without being seen and without sweating in a tiny space!
The Overall Experience
On top of everything mentioned above, I must say that the staff at reception are extremely caring and nice! At check-in, they even take the time to escort everyone to their own floor and explain how everything works!
And this is me, in my green pyjamas, ready for a good night’ sleep! 🙂
My Verdict!
As a travelling couple, we wouldn’t consider staying here for many days, because we wouldn’t like being on separate floors for long.
Having said that, the whole experience is made so comfortable and enjoyable by all the amenities included and the effort of the staff, that I would definitely do it again! I would recommend it even just as an experience, to save some money while still enjoying a lot your time!
Check prices and availability for the lovely Capsule Hotel Hakodate HERE!
Have you stayed here or in another capsule hotel that you would recommend? Let me know your experience in the comment box! 🙂
Until next time… thank you so much for reading!
Daniela
