Edit 8 October 2019: This hotel has been renamed the Tokyo Ekimae Bay Hotel.
Have you ever stayed in a capsule hotel? It is a most unique form of budget lodgings in Japan, and I have wanted to try it for some time. With my holiday in Japan coming to a close, I finally had the perfect opportunity. Coming back from Hiroshima, I didn't want to have to rush all the way across the country in order to make my flight on the same day, so I gave myself a buffer with another night's stay in Tokyo. This, of course, gave me the opportunity to see the winter lights of Shinjuku and Roppongi. My evening wanderings left my physically drained, so of course I needed somewhere to crash for the night. To that end, I stayed overnight in a capsule hotel -- and not just any one, but the Tokyo Nihonbashi Bay Hotel.
The first capsule hotel was founded in Osaka in 1979. Since then, they have been an attractively cheap accommodation choice for city workers who have missed the last train home, or are just too drunk to get back home safely. Bay Hotel is a young, but growing, chain of capsule hotels in Tokyo. Their Nihonbashi hotel was not even a year old when I stayed there. But among capsule hotels, I have to imagine this was one of the nicer ones, in that the facilities were clean and modern. The concierge even let me check in just shy of the posted check-in time of 4 PM! Also, to save some money, I booked a capsule without a TV, and indeed paid the rate for that, but got one with a TV nonetheless. Not that I used it; I don't have much use for television anymore, even when I do understand the language!
 |
| A post shared by TokyoNihonbashi-bayhotel (@tokyo_nihonbashi_bayhotel) on |
On each floor, there are locker rooms for guests to store their personal items and change into their pajamas for the night. If you have suitcases or other items too large to fit in the lockers, ask the staff if they can hold on to them separately, which they did for me. They also have shared washrooms; the Nihonbashi Bay Hotel just had showers, but other capsule hotels may have onsen-style baths. Due to this setup, floors or even entire hotels will be gender-segregated. The Nihonbashi Bay Hotel accepts both male and female guests, and assigns them to separate floors, each locked by keycards for security. Other capsule hotels may instead accept only men, or in rare cases, only women. In fact, Bay Hotel itself has a new branch in Akihabara that is female-exclusive. Eating, drinking, and smoking are not allowed within the capsules. To that end, there are common lounge areas where one can pick up a light meal from one of the vending machines. Other capsule hotels may have their own little restaurants.
 |
| A post shared by TokyoNihonbashi-bayhotel (@tokyo_nihonbashi_bayhotel) on |
Whatever issues I had with the Nihonbashi Bay Hotel could, for all I know, just be problems common among all capsule hotels. Other capsule hotels may have additional facilities that this place lacks, but it had everything I needed and did it well. Whether here or elsewhere, I would be willing to try capsule hotels again, although I would hope for capsules with better beds! I did not take any pictures of my own at this hotel, due to how shortly I stayed there, but fortunately they do have their own Instagram account, so I hope they don't mind me embedding a couple of their posts.
And... that's all I have from my vacation. The following morning brought an early snowstorm to Tokyo. I didn't take any pictures of that either, because I was too busy doing some last-minute gift shopping, and trying in vain to send some money to the Fuji View Hotel, so they could send back the souvenir I had left there. I eventually gave up on that effort, being unable to work with either the banks or the post office, plus, it wasn't a very expensive thing I had lost either. And then I had to scramble to make it to the train station and airport on time, with just barely enough time to spare, so that's some added stressors there. So maybe my holiday came apart slightly by the end, but all in all it was a fulfilling experience. I came in to take in lots of autumn leaves and winter lights, and I got my money's worth in that regard.
The only question is, what does this mean for the future of this blog? Well, I do have another holiday in Japan planned for May of 2018, and I've drafted even more itineraries for the future. You could say that working on this blog has left me obsessed with exploring Japan. But, until then, expect my output here to slow down a bit. I will start to shift focus to tutorials and itinerary ideas. Who knows, I may even do videos in the future! I hope you all enjoyed joining me, virtually, on my adventures in Japan. Here's to many more. *clink* Kanpai!
Hours: Check-in from 4:00 PM, check-out before 10:00 AM.
Costs: Rates start at ¥4,000 per night for capsules without a TV, or ¥4,300 with one. Rates may vary on weekends, holidays, or other peak seasons.
Address: 3-8-13 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo-to 〒103-0027
Access: Tokyo Nihonbashi Bay Hotel is 2-4 minutes on foot from Nihonbashi Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza (G), Tozai (T), and Toei Asakusa (A) lines), or 7 minutes on foot from Tokyo Station (JR Tokaido/Tohoku/Joetsu/Hokuriku Shinkansen, Yamanote (JY), Chuo (Rapid) (JC), Keihin-Tohoku (JK), Tokaido (JT), Utsunomiya/Takasaki (JU), Joban (JJ), Sobu/Yokosuka (JO), Keiyo (JE), and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi (M) lines).
Directions: From Nihonbashi Station (Ginza and Tozai lines), take exit B1. At street level, take the second left. The hotel will be on your left side, near the end of the block.
From the Asakusa line platform, take exit D3. At street level, turn left and head straight down the road. After the pedestrian overpass, take the second right. The hotel will be on your right side, just past the next intersection.
From Tokyo Station, turn left out of the Yaesu Central Exit. At the next traffic light, turn right and cross the street. Continue for two blocks. When you reach the Takashimaya department store, turn right, then left. The hotel will be on your left side, near the end of the block.
You can also go part of the way through the underground Yaesu Shopping Mall. Go down the stairs in front of the Yaesu Central Exit, and keep going straight until you reach the end. Turn left, through exit 23, and turn right. At street level, turn left, cross the street, and turn left again. Take the third right; the hotel will be on your left side.
Website: (English) (Japanese)
