9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review | Budget Accommodation in Tokyo, Japan
Monday, April 3, 2017
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| 9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review |
It's as if heavens answered my prayers for cheap and convenient accommodation in Japan with capsules hotels, which have been steadily gaining popularity with Japan tourists. For my budget Japan solo travel, I stayed in 9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel — the airport's answer to my hatred for early morning flights.
9 Hours Capsule Hotel is named after Japan's belief that you only need nine hours to recharge yourself after a busy day: one hour to shower, seven hours of sleep, one hour of preparation. Popular with tourists for its unique concept, 9 Hours Capsule Hotel has four capsule hotels around Japan — in Kyoto, Narita, Sendai and Shinjuku-North.
Similar to my stay at Imano Tokyo Hostel, I booked 9 Hours Capsule Hotel via Booking.com, and checking in was super convenient! A few taps on the iPad and confirmation with my passport was all it took. The staff at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel then passed me a key to my locker, and a bag with a body towel, face towel, a bathrobe and bedroom slippers.
God, I was already impressed by the service provided by 9 Hours Capsule Hotel — I didn't expect much because a capsule hotel is meant for guests to just check in, sleep, check out but I guess Japan has its way of surprising everyone with its hospitality.
9 Hours Capsule Hotel's locker comes with two hangers, and was spacious enough to fit my 28 inch luggage, amongst the other tons of personal belongings I was bringing around. I also had space to open up my luggage in the luggage area for some last minute desperate repacking because I stupidly forgot to bring an extra bag for my last minute shopping in Tokyo.
The next room after the locker area was the wash up area. 9 Hours Capsule Hotel's wash up area was extremely spacious and clean, and they had enough basins to go around even during the morning rush hour. 9 Hours Capsule Hotel also provided hairdryers, toothbrush and toothpaste for their guests.
For a capsule hotel, 9 Hours Capsule Hotel's toilet and shower area was surprisingly spacious and. Not to mention, clean — as expected from any hotel in Japan.
9 Hours Capsule Hotel's shower area was also well stocked up with shower essentials like body soap, shampoo, and even conditioner! I didn't use their shower essentials because I brought my own but I imagine the stay at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel to be very convenient, especially for business travellers.
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| Changed into my bathrobe after showering |
The arrangement in 9 Hours Capsule Hotel was: locker → wash up / basin area → toilets / shower cubicles → sleeping pods.
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| Your locker number is also the number of your sleep pod, and each pod is labelled clearly. |
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| Entrance to 9 Hours Capsule Hotel's sleeping pods |
What greeted me after I turned the door as silently as my clumsy hands could was an air of stillness, broken only by the occasional whisper. As 9 Hours Capsule Hotel caters to mostly business travellers — and occasionally, very rarely, families / friends — everyone was considerate as there was an unspoken agreement that we were all there to rest.
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| Bedroom slippers provided by 9 Hours Capsule Hotel |
I was assigned to pod 49, located on the upper deck. The upper deck, surprisingly, wasn't too inconvenient as I was there for only one night and had all my necessities with me already.
I settled in rather quickly despite my initial worries that a capsule hotel might not be suitable for a claustrophobic person like me.
As with every capsule hotel, the sleeping pods at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel are simple with just a soft bed and fluffy comforter. Simple and fuss-free because that's all you need for a good night's sleep.
The 'U' shape at the head of 9 Hours Capsule Hotel's bed has a charger port and an ambiance light switch (instead of just on/off, you can adjust the brightness gradually). I found the charger pod a tad too loose as my travel adapter kept falling off but I appreciated the ambiance light switch. The pod was too bright when the light is switched on all the way, but due to my claustrophobia, I didn't want the lights completely off either. I found balancing it somewhere in the middle, then putting on an eye mask perfect for me.
Each pod at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel also comes equipped with a speaker playing waves ambiance sound to help you relax. Despite the general belief that the ambiance sound can be annoying, I found that the relaxing sounds of waves hitting the shores greatly helped my insomnia. I had a great sleep at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel, and woke up the next day for my flight feeling refreshed!
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| I am 154cm so the capsule hotel fits me wonderfully well, with lots of extra space |
I checked out early in the morning to catch my morning flight, but do note that if you were to stay at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel, or any other capsule hotels in Japan, over an extended period of time, you'll need to check out every 11am or so because there's no designated capsule for you over a few days.
9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel
Address
Narita International Airport Terminal 2, 1-1 Furugome, Narita-City, Chiba 282-0004 Japan
Phone Number
+81 476-33-5109
Price
¥4,000 (approx. SGD $50)
I made my booking via booking.com and got to enjoy their lowest price guarantee.
(This blog post is based on my true opinion from my personal experience, and is in no way sponsored.)
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Japan Solo Travel (January 2017)
Osaka Summary | Osaka Couchsurfing Experience | Osaka Castle Park and Tsuyunoten Shrine | Shopping at Dotonbori and Glico Man
Kyoto Summary | AEON Mall Kyoto and The Cube Shopping Mall | Arashiyama Bamboo Groves and Nonomiya-jinja Shrine | Kyoto Tower Public Bathhouse ~YUU~
Hiroshima Summary and Atomic Bomb Dome | Children's Peace Monument and Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Peace Bell
Miyajima Day Trip Summary | Omotesando Shopping Street | Itsukushima Shrine, Deers and Miyajima Sunset
9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review