Two years ago, my boyfriend, Jaiman, and I visited Japan together and accomplished a number of Life List goals, including sleeping in a capsule hotel for me. Jaiman is a bit claustrophobic so he opted out of the capsule hotel then. But after I told him about how wonderful my experience was (and you can read my glowing review here), he became more open to it. We recently returned to Japan for another visit, and this time, we made reservations for both of us at a capsule hotel. I chose a different one this time to put us in Akihabara, and in doing so, had very much a different experience (some positive and some negative). I thought I'd share a little bit here, to update my general 
recommendations around capsule hotels for visitors so you know what you may want to look for, and what could be useful for future developments as well. First of all, most capsule hotels are for men only, so the selection for women are limited. As such, I can only visit and review a small portion of capsule hotels. The one I selected this time is called Glansit Akihabara Comfort Capsule Hotel. I was a bit bummed to learn that there was no restaurant on property, so after
checking in and putting our things away, we had to retrieve our shoes and head back out for dinner. It is worth noting, however, that there was a really good ramen place just next door that we really enjoyed. Both capsule hotels had a good Wifi signal and plenty of places to charge your phone and other devices. As with my previous capsule hotel, shoes are removed right in the lobby and you wear slippers provided to you for the rest of your stay. The capsule hotel is really set up to provide just about everything you need to stay over, even if you didn't intend to stay away from home that
night. Meaning, they provide toiletries, pajamas and towels, and they had a vending machine in the lobby to buy fresh underwear (for men), socks, undershirts, etc. Further comparing this capsule hotel to my previous one, there were quite a few drawbacks from my perspective. The biggest I think was that the capsules
weren't very soundproof, so it was quite noisy as the woman in the capsule above mine moved around. I don't recall this being an issue at my previous hotel. The lounges were separated by gender (i.e., a male lounge and a female lounge on separate floors), which meant I couldn't hang out with Jaiman like I would have been able to at the previous hotel. This may be a plus for single travelers or same-gender groups, because you can perhaps be a bit more comfortable with your own gender. The showers/bath were on the same floors as the lounges, which meant in order to go bathe, I had to get into the elevator to change floors, which I found quite awkward. The good news is that the men's floors were all the bottom floors, so in theory, the men shouldn't be in the elevator going up to 
the women's floors, but it did happen once while I was there. Also, the shower stalls were open, which I don't think was the case at my previous capsule hotel. The toilets were on the same floor as the capsules, but the stalls were very small and there wasn't a hand washing station with soap on the floor, just a sink with water. The changing room / locker room was also very small, such that if I was changing, there wasn't enough clearance for another woman to go around me. In general, everything was just very, very tight, which obviously does not need to be the case based on my previous capsule hotel experience. 
The pillows here were, I believe, more "traditional Japanese", meaning not the conventional pillows an American might expect - I'm not sure how to explain them but they are more firm and filled with something like rice, versus soft and fluffy. I would lean on calling this a negative, but the pillows weren't actually uncomfortable, so I'm a bit on the fence on them. 
On the plus side of this capsule hotel, the pajamas provided to me by the hotel actually fit, which is especially impressive since I'm larger than the average Japanese woman and often have difficulties finding things that fit. Also, a big plus was that the pull down shade on the capsule was much darker / more 
effective than my previous hotel, making the capsule darker when 
my lights were out. The TV in this capsule was much larger, and came with headphones to listen to it. A bonus from my perspective was the large soaking tub that was constantly replenished with perfectly comfortably hot water. I don't believe it was a hot spring or onsen, I believe it was tap water, giving the bath the name of sento. Either way, I am a big fan of baths, and taking a nice hot bath after my shower really hit the spot. Now, for what it's worth, Jaiman had a very positive experience at this capsule hotel. He is 6'2" and I thought he might be challenged with the length of the capsule, but he said he was fine, although if he really tried, he could hit the curtain with his 
toes. Even with his claustrophobia, he had no issues or concerns sleeping in the capsule. One additional bonus was that the back of this capsule was super cushy and comfortable to lean up against, without even needing a pillow or anything to lean on.All in all, I still think capsule hotels are a really inexpensive and practical way to stay in Tokyo, especially if you're traveling with a group or by yourself. It's also lots of fun to post pictures of your capsule for the sole purpose of shocking your facebook friends and family. If I've sufficiently encouraged you to visit a capsule hotel on your next trip to Japan, feel free to use the below table that summarizes my experiences at the two capsule hotels to decide which one you want to visit, or use these notes to look for a different hotel.
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| Here are some additional pictures of Glansit Akihabara: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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