●Nathan Shiga: September 16
Have you ever tried such a thing as “capsule hotel”? They say it sounds like nice and compact – and easy on your purse. Those who have tried say it’s too cramped and dim and only handy when you’ve missed the last train.

Now, here’s a good news for potential tourists. The capsule hotels are now in a process of upgrading and new types of capsules are coming up to meet diverse needs.

This year in Kyoto was full of foreign tourists, quite a bit more than last year – as many as 3.18 million. Over thee million! A bit more, indeed.

The city of Kyoto is delightedly all out to boost hotel accommodations and the most outstanding are the efforts of the capsule hotel industry to upgrade both accommodation and services to cater for the pressing demand.

A charming addition is a type with larger “capsules” for taller foreigners. One of them provides 150 beds in four floors laid along the fancy corridors with wooden walls lighted with Japanese lanterns. A reporter tried the remodelled capsule commented:

“I’m 1.77 meters tall and the room was large enough for comfort – plenty of space lenghwise and so-so sideways.”

The capsule hotel has larger types for those who want still more space to browse around. The loft-type bed has a desk space along with it to make it more a private room than a capsule.

The charges vary from 4000 above per stay – somewhat high for a capsule but far more reasonable as compared with ordinary inns and hotels. Over half of the customers are foreigners.

Another capsule hotel that opened in last July has the whole of the 8th floor made into a common utility space with a kitchen and a lounge complete with a dining table and sofas – a space for casual encounter among the lodgers.

Well, certainly a cool idea for visiting foreigners to enjoy an otherwise costly city like Kyoto. Have this in mind when planning your trip to Kyoto.

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