Japanese Capsule Hotels

Its midnight in downtown Tokyo. You are a Japanese businessman working late hours and you missed the train to go home. Your wife and kids live 20 miles south in the city of Yokohama. You need a place to sleep. Where do you go?

To a capsule hotel. Welcome to your room.

Feeling a little claustrophobic? No, those are not fiberglass coffins.

Those are sleeping capsules at the Shinjuku Kuyakushomae Capsule Hotel in downtown Tokyo.

Why in the world would any successful Japanese businessmen resort to this kind of personal sacrifice?

Consider that the annual salary of a two income Japanese household was 518,226 yen ($6,242 USD) in 2009. If you do the math and currency conversion, this amounts to $23 USD per day in wages. An overnight stay at the Best Western Shinjuki Hotel in Tokyo costs $151 a night, six times more than the daily wage.

You can quickly see that the wife would not approve of your "luxurious" lodging. But here's the sad part. A capsule hotel will run around $45 a night, amounting to two days of wages. You can't win! You might as well tell the boss you can't afford to work for him!

So what do you get for this capsule hotel style of living?

A one night stay in a fiberglass "room". Inside your capsule, there is a pillow and blanket. You can set an alarm, listen to the radio, and even watch television. Never mind that the guy next to you snores like a bear or has the television volume cranked up loud.

You also get a locker to store your shoes, clothes and belongings. Some toothpaste, a toothbrush, towel and soap for personal hygiene. And, the use of a public wash room and sauna.

So the next time you whine about having to stay in a Motel 6, remember this story. In life, there are those that sacrifice themselves to the extremes and slug it out everyday. Be grateful that this isn't you.

About Kerry Kobashi

Kerry is the founder of KerryOnWorld. He lives in Silicon Valley and has worked as an engineer and project manager. He owns Kobashi Computing a consulting company.