Akihabara Bay Hotel — Hotel in Tokyo

I made a reservation at this hotel only because I was curious about capsule hotels after hearing about them on a TV show on visiting Japan. I selected this particular one because it is a female only hotel, and it was in the Akihabara area of Tokyo where I wanted to stay. If you have a phobia about small spaces, do not stay at this hotel.||||I stayed only one week day night which was about $35 USD, the price varies on what day you stay or what time of the year it is. I checked in at about 11:00 pm. The woman at the front desk buzzed me in and after a quick check in process mostly using a machine that looks like an ATM; I got a key and was ready to go. They require you to take off your shoes and put them in a locker in the lobby and they give you house slippers to walk around in before they give you the room key. They also give you a shower bag with room wear (Japanese style pajamas), a towel, washcloth and some toiletries. They prefer you wear the room wear when you are in your room. I did not notice any of the other guests that were in the room area wearing anything else. The room wear is pretty comfortable and they have sizes small to extra-large. ||||If you want to get past the lobby or ride in the elevator you have to have your room key with you. It is attached to a lanyard that you can wear around your wrist. I believe the hotel has 5 levels, 3 room levels, 1 lobby level where the shower rooms are and a basement level where the lounge area is. The key is a proximity key, you just wave it in front of the sensor at the door and it should open. To get to the elevator or the showers from the lobby you use your room key to open the door. The elevator also requires the key to go up and then you need the key to open the door to where your room is. ||||Before you enter to where the rooms are there is a small room on the side where you have locker storage. They do not allow you to keep your luggage in the room areas. The key to the locker is attached to the room key and the number corresponds to your room. You can keep your purse and small bags in the room while you are in it, but not large suitcases or carryons. The lockers are pretty small so if your luggage is too big to fit in it, you will have to store it downstairs in the lobby. You would most likely have to unpack what you need, put it in the locker then take the luggage downstairs. That was one major inconvenience for me because when I travel I don't unpack; I live out of my open suitcase. Another major inconvenience was the fact that cleaning hours were something like 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, I don't remember the exact times, but you cannot stay in your room during that time and you cannot leave anything in your room during that time. If you do not want to leave the hotel, you have to stay in the lounge for the whole time.||||So getting to the room, the room is pretty much a large cubby hole in the wall. With all the doors on each individual room closed someone described it as resembling a morgue, which I thought was funny. There are about 30 or so cubby holes on each room floor, not sure of the exact number. If I remember correctly the room floor is shaped somewhat in a "T" formation and along the walls are two levels of cubby hole "rooms". The construction of each room is very solid, the walls and floors are pretty thick. The "door" to each room is a thick roll up shade that is secured by hooking the ends to two hooks on the inside of the room walls. You cannot lock the door. If you have a cubby hole on the second level, there are small solid steps to use and bars to pull yourself up. The steps and bars are between two cubby holes, so you have to step up while pulling yourself up and then kind of lean in to the side to enter the door to your cubby hole. If you are a heavy person or do not have the upper body strength or agility to pull yourself up and to the side, you may not be able to get into your cubby hole. If you get a room on the lower level, you will have to bend down and crawl on your knees to get into the cubby hole. There are pro's and con's to both levels. I was on the second level and didn't have a problem with the room itself or getting into the room. ||||The cubby hole has a futon style mattress covering the whole "floor" of it. The mattress is on the firm side and I slept well on it. There is a pillow and blankets and sheets as well. The cubby hole is pretty sizable. I am 5'7" and could lie down straight and my head and feet did not touch the ends, there was several inches clearance both ways. There was also a pretty good clearance on the sides of me, several inches in fact and I could move about without hitting the walls. I could also sit up without touching the ceiling. So if you are the kind of person that has a habit of sitting up suddenly in bed when startled, you will not hit your head unless you are a very tall person. Slightly tall people, average height and short people shouldn't have a problem. I am 5’7” and if I was standing on the floor directly outside of a cubby hole on the second level, the bottom of it was slightly below eye level. The top of the lower level cubby hole was well below eye level. There are two types of room cubby holes available, with a TV and without a TV. I got the one without the TV. There are outlets and USB ports and a port for headphones as you cannot hear the TV without the headphones. There is also a small shelf and some hooks to hang stuff on it. Like I said, if you stay more than one night, you have to remove your personal items from the room during cleaning hours. The air conditioning is controlled by the hotel, so if it’s too cold or too warm, you cannot adjust it in your individual room.||||There are toilet facilities on every level and the shower facilities are on the first (lobby) level. The showers are individual stalls that you can close the door on, and I think there are about 10 or so of them. There are a row of sinks with chairs along one wall and they provide various toiletries, including soap and shampoo etc. There are also two coin washers and two dryers in the shower room. The lounge is just a large room with a TV, tables and chairs, a microwave and kettles and drink machines. You are not allowed to eat in your room.||||For me, to stay here more than one night would not be desirable, if you are a light traveler and did not want to spend a lot on your hotel room, then this may be the option for you. If you like to sleep in or spend a casual day inside your room lazing away, this hotel is not for you, this aspect was the biggest con for me because I like to spend at least one day just hibernating in my cave with the do not disturb sign hanging on the door and only emerge to get food and bring it back...

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So, I've added a photo that I think highlights and fairly sums up Akihabara Bay Hotel. You can paint a pretty picture pink but you can't quite wash away the stink. ||||Check-in is at 4pm. Upon check-in, you will receive a shower bag and slippers to wear inside the hotel. You will also receive a bracelet with your locker key on it. The lockers are tall but not very wide. If you are traveling with a full-size or hardshell suitcase it will not fit in the locker. ||||The capsules do not have individual temperature regulators. There is no airflow through the capsule unless you have your curtain raised. There is a space heater/cooler at one end of the large room that helps to regulate the temperature of the room but it is quite hot and stuffy in the individual capsules. Guests are not allowed to eat or drink in the capsules or talk on their cell phones in the capsule. There is a basement room where guests can microwave food items, purchase water tea and juice from a vending machine, and hang out to watch television. This room is showcased in the attached photo.||||The Fine Print: Each guest must vacate the hotel from the hours of 10am until 4pm EVERY day. A guest does not have access to any of the hotels' facilities during these hours including the bathrooms and showers. If you happen to wake up late and have not accessed the facilities to shower and get ready by 10am, well, you're SOL. Seriously. Access the showers and facilities before 10am or wait until you are allowed back into the "hotel" at 4pm. ||||The location is great; Very close to Akihabara train station. There are restaurants, shops, and convenience stores within walking distance. The location really is the only selling point of this accommodation. ||||I made a reservation at Akihabara Bay Hotel after reading positive reviews and a blog recommending Akihabara Bay Hotel for solo female travelers. Having had limited experience with hostel-style accommodations I thought I would take a chance. After my experience, I would recommend that anyone boking a capsule/hostel accommodation in Japan would be wise to book for just one night to have a place upon arrival but to decide whether to extend the booking after arrival. Unfortunately for me, I had booked this accommodation for my entire trip, 9 nights, and after one night decided to find other accommodation despite not receiving a refund. ||||||||Overall, just completely...

This is the fourth capsule hotel I’ve stayed in (across Zurich Airport, Warsaw, Copenhagens’ CityHub, Narita 9Hours and this one in Akihabara.)

The good? Price ($60CAD a night). Location (a 5-minute walk from Akihabara Station, 10-minutes to two other metros, 20 minutes to Ueno). There’s a lovely parkette with benches if the weather is nice, to sit and have a snack. Two Lawsons within a block along with a 7/11 for meals. Enough restaurants in the vicinity (fast food, to casual). Caffe Veloce across the street had lovely coffee. It is all women at this hotel which was a welcome change after the Kapsula Warsaw which while not a men’s hostel, only seemed to attract men in March.

A lot of the reviews are complaining about the customer service and the cleanliness. The beds were very clean. The entire building has pink carpet, and anyone who grew up in the 90s into Y2K, knows pastel carpets soak up grime. It is what it is, so I gave it a pass. Customer service was fine - polite, and provided sufficient direction and assistance. I was also able to store my luggage for a few hours after I checked out. Luggage is kept in the lobby if it’s not small enough to fit in the personal locker, though by day 3, I just moved my luggage up to the locker room along with other guests’. At no point did I feel my luggage was at risk, though I did keep cash and my passport in my personal pocket at all times.

Size-wise, I could sit up but I am short. The 9Hours capsules were noticeably more spacious than these.

I still gave the hotel 4 stars overall due to the following - the bathrooms and showers. There is only one toilet in the shower room on the 1st floor. The toilet was used for both its intended purpose, along as as a changeroom which made it crowded in the AMs. God help you if you did not get out by 9AM - you were waiting a while to use a sink to blow dry and brush your teeth. It also seemed like there were a few guests who hogged the beauty spaces, despite a wait time or a number of women trying to find space. I do feel the hotel could benefit from a second shower room on a top floor, especially for the amount of guests it can hold.

Being out of the capsules from 10-4 is a bit of a bummer if you find yourself overstimulated in Tokyo. For that reason, I think I would choose another accommodation if I were to be in Tokyo for more than a few nights (I stayed 5.) I would consider staying again and probably...