First Cabin Midousuji - Namba

“Good value and location. Lack privacy.”

Arrived at the hotel earlier at about 11am due to my flight timing. This place is located about 10mins walk from JR Namba Station. It occupies the whole 3rd, 4th & 6th floor of an office-looking building. Male and female cabins have separate entrances via access passcards which feels very safe. T... more

Arrived at the hotel earlier at about 11am due to my flight timing. This place is located about 10mins walk from JR Namba Station. It occupies the whole 3rd, 4th & 6th floor of an office-looking building. Male and female cabins have separate entrances via access passcards which feels very safe. There are safety boxes in a common area, vending machine, laundry machines, chat corners, dining area, smoking room, and Japanese bath facilities. Simple Japanese breakfast (4 dishes), cereal, juices etc for 500 yen person. Very near to Kuromon market and other street stores. Convenience store located nearby. Level B1 leads to the subway as there is no worries of rain. It’s a pity request for early check is not available (normal check in time is 3pm). Totally recommended if you are a single traveller and don’t mind the lack of door locks to your cabin room (although there is a lockable drawer under the bed. Price is reasonable (PJs and basic toiletries provided) for the First Class Cabin room that I booked for 5000 yen a night. Staff speaks understandable English.

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“OK for a night, but not my sort of thing”

Located pretty much above Namba station it's easy to get to from Shin-Osaka and is a few minutes walk from Dotonbori and the multitude of shops and places to eat/drink. Pretty much slap bang where you may want to be as a tourist. I was staying here for two reasons; the first being as a first ti... more

Located pretty much above Namba station it's easy to get to from Shin-Osaka and is a few minutes walk from Dotonbori and the multitude of shops and places to eat/drink. Pretty much slap bang where you may want to be as a tourist. I was staying here for two reasons; the first being as a first time traveller to Japan I thought it would be interesting to stay in a capsule hotel (albeit a slightly more upmarket one) and the second being I was only in Osaka for about 22 hours with minimal luggage. My first main problem was that check in was at 5pm (which is somewhat later than the usual 2/3pm for most hotels). This was a problem for me as I had to be somewhere else for a guided tour at 5pm. As I just had a small rucksack with no lock then I wasn't going to hand it over to a random member of staff beforehand, so in the end I just used a storage locker in Namba station. It must have been after 9pm when I checked in on the 3rd floor. I was given my access card and a map of where my capsule was and all the amenities etc. My capsule was 460 on the 4th floor. I took the lift up one and then put my shoes in the shoe locker (don't forget the key!). I found my capsule OK, with pyjamas and a towel on the bed. I wasn't quite ready to go to sleep, so I stowed my bag in the lockable drawer under the bed and went to sit in the common area with a drink whilst I checked my email etc. On the way back to my capsule I had a look at the men's bathroom area on the 4th floor. I noticed there were plenty of toilets and sinks, but only a single shower. I guess they would prefer you to use the public bath on the 3rd floor, but I really couldn't be bothered with all the faff of having to go downstairs then lock valuables (or at least access card and drawer key) in a combination locker before going to get clean. Fortunately the next morning it wasn't busy and I was up early enough to jump in the shower. The capsule itself was fine, with a bed, table, TV (which I didn't use) and air conditioning (which I recommend). Note there is no lock on the door, it is secured in place my some magnets. Also as you aren't in a proper room, then you can hear all your neighbours rummaging about or snoring (because there's always going to be at leat one person doing so). I would highly recommend some earplugs! Thankfully I only had to endure one snorer and most of my neighbours were considerate enough not to make too much noise (as was I). I'm a pretty light sleeper, but managed to get a good few hours in and have no complaints on that front. Overall I'm glad I had the experience of staying in a capsule hotel and the facilities were fine. It was very clean and the staff were OK. If you just need somewhere to crash for a night and don't have much luggage, then it may be a viable option. But I think overall it's not really my sort of thing and I wouldn't stay in one in the future if given the choice.

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“First Class Location, Noisy Room, Third Class Service”

[Pros] 1. Location in the heart of Namba 2. directly down to Namba station by lift 3. Convenient - there is a family mart opposite to the hotel 4. Big public bath (separately for female and male) 5. Clean room, comfortable bed, big TV 6. Private bathrooms are clean 7. Big TV in the room, but loca... more

[Pros] 1. Location in the heart of Namba 2. directly down to Namba station by lift 3. Convenient - there is a family mart opposite to the hotel 4. Big public bath (separately for female and male) 5. Clean room, comfortable bed, big TV 6. Private bathrooms are clean 7. Big TV in the room, but local channel only 8. Free towels, slippers and pyjamas [Cons] 1. Noisy room - there is only a glass door to separate the cabins and the corridor, when anyone pass by, it is very noisy as the glass door is not soundproof 2. Wifi is not fast enough 3. Lounge is tiny, only few tables, not suitable for business or work 4. Frontdesk staff is impolite! No smile and challenge my question 5. Expensive 6. No fridge for freezing

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“Make sure you check the bed first!”

We really wanted to try a capsule hotel while in Japan. What a perfect place to give one a go being they are the most famous for them. I had done some research and found one which was suitable for a couple which offered like a double bed situation within a small room. The complex itself was ac... more

We really wanted to try a capsule hotel while in Japan. What a perfect place to give one a go being they are the most famous for them. I had done some research and found one which was suitable for a couple which offered like a double bed situation within a small room. The complex itself was actually incredible with so much to offer and it was very clean and spacious. It had common areas to hang out and also a really great public hot bath and sauna area where you could shower or relax in the hot bath. There is a cafe out the front where you can access snacks and coffees, they also offer an arrange of other things to enjoy and to complete your stay. The only real flaw was one of the biggest though! The BED!!! When we arrived I was delighted to see we both had a bed each in the room which were sort of between the size of a big single and a double bed. I didn't think much of it as we left our bags etc to discover the rest of the complex and surrounding area. It wasn't until we went back later and sat on the bed did we realize it was literally a bed base with no mattress on top. It was as hard as a rock and as lumpy as anything. It was so hard I couldn't even lay down on it. I had to go to reception and ask them for extra blankets so we could lay then under ourselves. This made no difference at all. We then had to lay our doona down and then pull it over ourselves to sleep. IT was still hard as a rock and I woke up with pains all over my body. It was also quite noisy at night as I could hear what sounded like karaoke behind the hotel. I was disappointed because it was actually really good and sad that this one important thing was missing. The beds definitely need to be looked at as it wasn't normal. It was like someone stole the mattresses and the hotel didn't know. So strange!

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