Capsule hotels are an intriguing concept for many people who have never tried them. The curiosity around these hotels leads to thousands of tourists booking short stays at these capsules every year. However, when you do some research about these hotels, there never seems to be much information regarding family stays. I was curious, and therefore took it upon myself to find out if families can stay at capsule hotels.
Families can stay in capsule hotels, however, only approximately 60% of capsule hotels in Tokyo allow children. They are not recommended for family stays, as males and females are split into two different sections. Also, they are designed for businessmen, not so much for children or family stays.
Even though it is not recommended for families to stay in capsule hotels, that doesn’t mean that you can’t. In this article, I get into why you should or shouldn’t consider staying at a capsule hotel with your family. If your families curiosity about these hotels is getting too much, let me help you decide whether you should book your stay or not!
Can Families Stay In Capsule Hotels?
If you are a parent who has been dying to see what a capsule hotel is like, your first thought may be to make a family stay out of it. But, is it possible to do this? Of course it is! However, if you want to stay in a capsule hotel with your family, it is going to be slightly more difficult to find the ‘right’ hotel.
This is due to around 60% of capsule hotels in Tokyo not even allowing children to stay in the hotel at all. I conducted this research by taking data from TripAdvisor’s listing for capsule hotels within Tokyo.
In terms of the 40% of hotels that actually do allow children, a large majority have a minimum age requirement of 6 years old.
It is possible to find capsule hotels that allow for ages under 6, but they are a lot less common around the city. Therefore, careful planning ahead and thorough research is recommended if you are genuinely thinking about a family stay.
Why Do Some Hotels Not Allow Children?
To put it simply, capsule hotels aren’t designed for children. In fact, the large majority of people who stay at capsule hotels are middle-aged businessmen. The sole purpose of the hotels alone, is enough for them to put some parents off booking that family stay. I wrote an entire article about the reasons on why Japan has capsule hotels which you can check out.
The other capsule hotel users may not entirely appreciate children staying. These hotels aren’t your normal kind with soundproof walls and tons of privacy. It’s almost exactly the opposite. The only privacy you have is in the showers and the curtain/shutter that covers your capsule.
Now, with the majority of users being businessmen staying over night while on a work trip; a crying child or kids playing around at late hours, may not be their desired situation to be in.
Important Factors To Consider For Family Stays At Capsule Hotel
There are many factors to take into account when wanting to visit a capsule hotel with your family. As much as these hotels can seem like a cool and quirky experience, they are certainly not for everyone in any situation.
Whether your children are teenagers or toddlers, there are a few things to take into account before booking your stay at a capsule hotel in Tokyo. Let’s get into them now.
Separated Gender Sections
Now, when you book a family stay, your intentions will usually be to spend quality time with everyone as a family. However, this won’t exactly be the case if you decide to use a capsule hotel for your accommodational needs.
Capsule hotels in fact, have separate gender sections within them.
This makes a lot of sense when you realise that there is such a lack of privacy and personal space in the rooms. It would simply be unethical to allow men and women to stay in the same rooms within a capsule hotel.
So, how does this affect family stays?
Due to the separation of genders, your family will be split up for the entirety of the night. Capsule hotels are only designed to be used to sleep and chill out in the evening, but I know when i’m on a family stay, it is nice to chill in the evening with the family as a whole.
The Safety Of Your Children
One of the main things of concern when debating whether to stay in a capsule hotel with your children, is their safety. Will your children be safe staying in a capsule hotel? If the capsule hotel you’re wanting to visit is in Tokyo, then your children will more than likely be safe.
This is due to the low crime levels within Tokyo as a whole. To find out more about the safety of capsule hotels, check out my other article on are capsule hotels safe and whether you should use them.
Boredom For The Children
As mentioned previously, capsule hotels have a sole focus for providing a place to sleep and chill after a long and busy day. Due to the sheer simplicity of the amenities included, this can unfortunately lead to the boredom of your children.
However, this is completely dependant on your children and what they enjoy. After all, you’re not left completely in the dark when staying in a capsule.
A lot of the capsules have televisions and headphones included in them. which you can use to wind down. Now, when I was a child, I personally would’ve loved sleeping in my own capsule while watching TV. But, kids with lower attention spans and lots of energy, would obviously struggle with the concept.
Irritating For The Businessmen
As you now know, many businessmen stay in these hotels. Whether it’s for resting after a long day at work or getting a good night’s sleep before a long business trip the following day; capsule hotels are an integral part of these people’s lifestyles.
Despite the Japanese people usually being very welcoming to tourists for the most part, they may not be so welcoming to children running around the place.
This is understandable though. Imagine spending your money to stay somewhere with the intention of getting a good night’s sleep, and then you have to deal with the many noises that come with children keeping you up.
Now, not all children are loud, and not all people staying at capsule hotels would mind. It completely depends on the situation.
However, due to the fact of being respectful, I would avoid booking a stay at a capsule hotel if you have younger children or have children that a bound to be noisier than the average customer in the hotel.
Should Your Family Stay In A Capsule Hotel?
With the whole function of capsule hotels, you may be wondering if it is really meant for families to stay there or not. The answer, quite simply, is that it depends. It depends completely on what you see your kids enjoying, what the hotel allows and how well-behaved you believe your children would be in the situation.
There are things to take into account when booking your stay, and if you don’t do thorough research before hand, you could lead to being disappointed, annoyed or maybe even disrespectful in some cases.
