Capsule Hotels

The format is simple. Guests get a private sleeping pod, a locker and access to shared bathrooms and a lounge.

Pods are compact and consistent. A mattress, a reading light, a power point, a curtain or shutter for privacy. Quiet is the house rule, and the shared areas are designed to keep noise and clutter down.

Saitama sits just north of Tokyo. Its Omiya district is one of the busiest rail junctions in the region, with Shinkansen lines fanning out to the north, and it is home to the Railway Museum and the old bonsai village. A pod here suits an early train or a short stopover.

The name is the routine. One hour to wash, seven to sleep, one to get ready.

9 Hours built its reputation on design. Capsules are pale and precise, lit with soft light that brightens gradually in the morning. Washrooms and lockers follow the same spare, ordered look. Nothing is decorative for its own sake.

Wakayama is a castle city on the Kii Peninsula. It is also a gateway to Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes. A low-cost night here works well before a long day in the mountains.

Strictly speaking, this is not a capsule hotel. Every guest has a private room with its own bathroom. It is listed here for how hard those small rooms work.

A wide bed runs wall to wall beneath the window. The shower and toilet sit in freestanding glass pods. Lighting, blinds and temperature are handled from a single tablet, so the room needs almost no furniture.

Downstairs the brand's usual living room takes over: a bar, long work tables and design furniture, open around the clock. Check-in is self-service. Munich's centre, its beer gardens and the Englischer Garten are all within easy reach by public transport.