Capsule Land Yushima

The lockers are very tight, though you can put larger bags upstairs next to your cabin. I did that and never had a problem with my luggage. The capsules are an older style, but I found them comfortable to sleep in. They clean daily, the onsen and sauna are nicely hot, and they provide a cool kimono-like pajama. Employees and other guests were friendly. It was a perfect place for my first experience with Japanese culture and capsule hotels, and since then I’ve compared every capsule hotel I’ve stayed in with this one.

They prepared nearly everything you might need, down to the details, and the service was good. The owners seem on top of most things. It’s a well-run, clean, and thoughtful hostel. In April, though, the room was a little hot, and I couldn’t figure out how to turn on the small fan in the capsule.

The location is great, and the sauna downstairs is good, with plenty of amenities. But the beds are small and the capsules smell bad. The place was full of middle-aged Japanese salarymen, and I didn’t like the vibe. Staff were impolite, and they wouldn’t let me use any facilities before check-in or after checkout.

I travel a lot, and I know rules can vary from place to place. Still, guests should be told the checkout time and any extra fees when they arrive. Here, nothing was explained, and the only notice about the rules was posted around the hotel in Japanese. I spent time in the ground-floor hall sorting my luggage on checkout day. Staff saw me there and said nothing. When I returned the key, they told me I was 25 minutes late and had to pay extra. They hadn't mentioned the deadline earlier, or said anything while I was downstairs, even though I hadn't passed checkout yet when they saw me. When I tried to explain, they acted as if they didn't understand English and used a translator to tell me to pay, or they wouldn't return my shoe locker key or let me leave. The front desk was rude, and the location isn't very convenient either. If you don't speak Japanese, I wouldn't recommend staying here. Even if you do, the service put me off.