Capsule Hotels

citizenM builds to a fixed idea: shrink the room to the essentials, spend the saved space on the ground floor. The Taipei property follows that formula, with compact rooms dominated by a wall-to-wall bed and controlled from a tablet that handles lighting, blinds, temperature and television.

The living room downstairs is the real public space — long tables, a mix of seating, a self-service bar running all day, and art and design books scattered around as furniture rather than decoration. Check-in is done at a kiosk, with staff nearby if the kiosk misbehaves.

It sits in a busy commercial district with metro access close by, which is the point: the hotel assumes you are out most of the day and want somewhere frictionless to return to.

MyCUBE sits in Kanazawa near the Higashi Chaya district, and its layout is a step up from a classic capsule: each berth is a small enclosed cabin with a door rather than a curtain, giving a degree of privacy the older format never offered.

Bathing is communal and treated seriously, in keeping with Japanese practice, and there is a lounge for eating and working. Floors are separated by gender, and the house rules about quiet hours are enforced rather than decorative.

Kanazawa itself rewards the location — Kenroku-en garden, the samurai quarter and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art are all reachable on foot or by a short bus ride.

First Cabin borrows its vocabulary from aircraft cabins, offering two grades of berth — a smaller compartment and a larger one with more standing room — both closed by a screen rather than a lock. Valuables go in a separate secure locker.

The Shinjuku branch is aimed squarely at people arriving late or leaving early. Large shared baths, a lounge, and simple food service cover most needs, and the whole operation is built for quick turnaround.

Shinjuku Station is one of the busiest interchanges in the world and sits minutes away, making this a practical base for anyone treating Tokyo as a transit point as much as a destination.