The first capsule hotel in the world opened in Osaka, Japan in 1979. Since then, capsule hotels have not only spread to across the country but around the world. Here are some of the coolest-looking ones that aren’t in Japan.
The general concept of Japanese capsule hotels and their foreign counterparts is the same: these are cheap, functional places to sleep.
Since trains do not run 24 hours a day in Japan, capsule hotels became a place for businessmen to crash if they missed the last train while out drinking. Originally for men only, many Japanese capsule hotels now cater to a wider range of folks, especially foreign visitors keen to have a unique sleep experience.
Outside Japan, however, some hostels seem to have adopted the capsule hotel style because it’s way to get more backpackers in one room.
Below are some of the coolest-looking capsule hotels from around the world, excluding Japan. I tried to pick ones that were capsule or box-shaped and weren’t simply teeny rooms branded as capsule hotels. I haven’t stayed at any of these, so I cannot vouch for quality. However, you can click on the links, learn more and suss out if any of them meet your criteria.
Capsule by Container Hotel (Sepang, Malaysia)
The Capsule Hotel (Sydney, Australia)
CapsulePod (Singapore, Singapore)
Chic Capsule Otel (Singapore, Singapore)
CityHub (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Galaxy Pod Hostel (Reykjavík, Iceland)
Juicy Snooze (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Met A Space Pod (Singapore, Singapore)
Pengheng Space Capsules Hotel (Shenzhen, China)
Urbanpod (Mumbai, India)
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