HOTEL THE GATE KUMAMOTO - Hostel

The reception staff were friendly, and the instructions were clear. The room is small, but it works for one person, with a bit of noise around. For a capsule hotel, I'd give it five stars. It was an interesting stay and a good way to try capsule hotel travel. If you're a light sleeper, bring earplugs.

You can hear everything from outside because the rooms have no soundproofing. The facilities are good, though: each bed has its own light, AC, and USB sockets, and the bathroom has all the essentials.

That shared bathroom made me nervous at first, but it turned out to be a silly worry. Every area was always immaculately clean, and there was loads of space to get ready or wind down. The booking also included everything we needed, like PJs and towels. My friend and I stayed here over a year ago, and we still rave about it. It was one of our favorite hotels during a month-long trip. The room was just big enough, and having storage lockers kept all our travel gear from making it feel cramped. The Gate is right across from the station, which was incredibly convenient. When I hopefully return to Kumamoto, I'll book here again without looking elsewhere, and I'll keep recommending it to friends visiting the city.

The room is nice, and the shower is clean, comfortable, and spacious. The rooms don't have ceilings, though, so everyone shares the same space and air conditioner. I woke up a few times in the morning because alarms were going off in other rooms.