4/19/08 Kyoto and Osaka Capsule Hotel experience

I headed to Kyoto today to check out the Arashiyama and Sagano areas which is at the base of Kyoto’s western mountains. I first went to Tenryu-ji which has beautiful gardens and has a fantastic bamboo grove behind it. I then walked to the Gio-Ji and Nison-in temples. The Nison-in temple had a large graveyard around it that was quite interesting. This area of Kyoto is visually stunning and less congested than the other parts I previously visited. I tasted grilled mochi which was tasty.


I then headed into Osaka after having decided to actually stay in a capsule hotel. The capsule hotel I stayed in has a sauna/spa in it. It is located in the heart of the Umeda entertainment district which is just madness- sensory overload- lights, people, noise, etc- see below video. A capsule hotel is basically a hotel where you have, well, a capsule to sleep in- a small pod. The pod is tall enough to sit up in but not stand. It has a TV and a very comfortable bed. There is a bamboo screen you pull closed when you go to sleep. The downside is hear people snoring. You aren’t supposed to smoke in them but I think people were cause it was stinky. The way it works is like this- you enter and take your shoes off and put them in a small locker then you check in. You pay either 26 or 33 dollars- depending on if you want to use the spa/onsen. You are given a key for a locker and given a yukata (bath robe)- you put your clothes and valuables in the locker. There is a room with a TV where Japanese men smoke and drink or are fully passed out in chairs. The capsules are in a separate section with a thick glass door that blocks the sound.