Capsule Hotels
 

Im planning a 7 day trip to akihabara this summer, i want to conserve cash for games and anime. So to the point has anyone experienced a capsule hotel? I Know they are cheaper (much cheaper) than ryokan but are they bearable for 7 days?

I serched about capsuleinn Akihabara by internet.
you can stay 7days, but you have to leave the room 10:00AM everyday.
You can leave the baggage with a rocker.

It's cleaning time in the building at five p.m. from ten a.m., and it isn't possible to be in inside of the building.

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Capsule Inn Akihabara | hotel rooms in Tokyo Japan | unique accommodations

I don't see why you couldn't survive for 7 days.. its just a place to sleep while you go out and do things during the day.

Seven days in Akihabara? So what are you going to do on day 2?

Whatever springs into mind, i dont just want to go solely to buy games and anime (thats just my main reason), i also want to go sightseeing and get a good feel for the culture, also get very very drunk off of the native drinks heheh :D

Don't bother with the capsule hotels, you can get a stall at an internet cafe for less money, and you don't have to leave at any particular time. I can't recommend any particular one, but friends visiting Tokyo from other parts of Japan have stayed at internet cafes and swear by them.

I think that he meant to say that there isn`t a whole lot else in Akihabara.
It`s a neighborhood, not a city. If you love anime and games, 2 or 3 days may not be all that hard to pull off - but you`re going to be walking around the same streets day after day, likely all day. In other words, you`re going to see pretty much all there is to see in that area before you know it. While likely on a much smaller scale, imagine how it would sound to hear someone say they were going to visit a specific neighborhood in the city/town where you live for a whole week.

While there is nothing wrong with visiting Akihabara - it`s an incredible waste if you make that your whole trip.

Ohhh no what confusion, i dont plan on only staying around akihabara for a whole 7 days that as you said would be a waste, but its sort of the main point of my trip though

That`s a relief - Your first post says "a 7 day trip to akihabara", so it is easy to misinterpret your meaning.

Personally, I`d look around at youth hostels instead of capsule hotels.
Despite the image of being cheap, they really aren`t that much. They usually have great baths, but you can almost always find a real room at a cheapy business hotel for the same amount... Or a room at a youth hostel for even cheaper.
There are lockers at capsule hotels, but in general they are small and will not hold a regular sized suitcase. You`ll have to check it at the desk which can be a real pain.

Think of them more as last resort types of lodging. They have a near monopoly on middle of the night sudden check-ins, etc, so can be very crappy but still cost as much as a regular hotel room.

I spent four nights at a capsule hotel in Akihabara about two years ago, just wanted to try for the sake of it.

I agree with the other replies, capsule hotels are surprisingly expensive for what they are (when I went there, the standard fee was 4000 yen per night). You'd better find a room at a cheap guesthouse, plus it'll be easier to store your luggage.

I wrote a small post about capsule hotels on my blog (in the accommodation category) check it out, there are a few pictures so you can see what it looks like.

I'm planning a trip to Tokyo in September and want to try the capsule hotel experience just to say that I have. 2 days is probably the most i'll be able to stomach before i get claustrophobic but am intruiged i have to say.

In the process of trying to book a couple of nights somwhere in Tokyo but if the booking sites aren't down then it's in japanese, which Ican't read. Is there a website that can help me out with the booking that anyone knows of?

Capsule Inn shimbashi hotel Tokyo Japan coffin hotel

http://www.hgpshinjuku.jp/pdf/english.pdf

Tokyo

Where were you looking? There are so many in English.

Cheers for the links.

I suppose at this point anywhere roughly around Asakusa as we'll be staying in a K's house for most of the trip and the last couple of days in a capsule hotel.

Capsule Hotels are a spezial experience and my experience was ok in all of them. However like stated before they are not so cheap, what makes them expensive is that they are usually very central / close to trainstations.
Another negative point is that you would have to leave in the morning and that you only get a very small locker. And if you get a noisy neigbouhr you might have a short night.
If you want to save money but have your own room to sleep i´d recommend Economy Backpackers Hotel NEW KOYO
Its not a fancy place and the rooms are very small but 2700yen for a private room is hard to beat in Tokyo. Its only 2 stations to Akiba by train/subway and the stations are around 5 min walk from the hotel. They also feature a japanese style bath, but most foreigners don´t use it (i thought it was quite good).
Internet cafe´s are probably cheaper, but i wouldn´t want to do that for a week. You could crash in 24h Sauna places, there are some scattered around Ueno and i think it was around 2000yen but i´d take the hotel or a youth hostel.

Out of the eleven days we were in Tokyo, we spent four of them in a capsule hotel, the other seven in a hostel.
The capsule hotel was alright, it could warrant a stay for a night or two just for the experience, but that is all. The closing period during the day sucks. There were a few times when we could have come back to chill for an hour or two during the day but couldn't as the hotel was locked up.
The hostel was also 1000 yen cheaper too, if you look at how much space you get in a capsule for your money too...
So, if you do go, stay for one or two nights but no more, there is much better and cheaper accommodation around.

My grandfather went to Japan in 1992 and also slept in a capsule for 1 night. He has said we really should do this for 1 night. But at that time, the capsule hotels were only for men. Did time change ?
Does my boyfriend and me have to sleep in different capsule hotels, or can we sleep in the same hotel (but ofcourse a different capsule) ?

It really depends on the hotel, but most of them are men only. There are a few major chains that are for both men and women though - generally so many floors for men, and so many for women. Just check ahead to be sure of the policies before you go to stay.