First Cabin Akasaka

Everything else was reasonably good for a hostel, but the mattresses made the stay miserable. I’ve never had a bed I couldn’t sleep on in all my years of travel, and this was the first, like a park bench. I had four nights booked and couldn’t change places after the first, so I bought a floor cushion from Nitori to make the mattress a little more bearable. One other thing: the cafe shown in much of the promotional material isn’t a lounge. It’s a cafe you have to pay to use, though it happens to be next to reception.

The location is the best part for me. It’s tucked into town, around 5-10 minutes on foot from Sannno Shrine and 10-15 minutes from the nearest train station, with convenient routes to places like Shibuya and Asakusa. Convenience stores are about a 4-8 minute walk away, with a few near First Cabin. The price is reasonable, and I’d suggest it to anyone wanting convenience without booking a full hotel room. You can hear every noise because each room has open gaps for air circulation. There’s a public bath and private shower rooms on the ground floor. The bed is very comfortable, and I’d say it’s worth reserving the whole room for yourself.

The hotel was very clean, in good shape, and the staff were friendly. It was my first capsule hotel, and it seemed fine compared with what I’d heard about them. I think earplugs and a lighter blanket would have helped me sleep okay. The bed was quite hard, the blanket heavy, and the room too warm for me, with no way to adjust the temperature. I was beside the sliding door to the bathroom, and while it wasn’t very loud, it disturbed my sleep.

The neighborhood is lively, and the subway station is only across the street. The rooms are spacious, and the hostel was good overall, though I ran into a few small hassles I hadn’t had elsewhere. The bed was hard for me. There’s no shared locker area, and the large-luggage storage on each floor is limited. People end up sorting their bags in front of or inside their cabins at random times, so it’s rarely quiet. The shutters are much louder than in other hostels I’ve stayed at, and I woke whenever someone nearby opened or closed one. The showers are in the basement, accessible only by elevator, which can get crowded. Check-in at 17:00 is too late.