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Tokyo Dome-area capsule hotel accepts female guest, offers free noodles, and has a gorgeous bath

Casey Baseel May 2, 2018
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The often-overlooked Suidobashi neighborhood makes a great base for exploring Tokyo, and this high-class capsule hotel makes it even better.

In the beginning, Japan’s capsule hotels were little more than bare-bones overnight shelters for drunks who’d missed the last train home. You got a coffin-sized sleeping compartment, and the fact that the clientele was overwhelmingly made up of inebriated salarymen meant that many capsule hotels refused to accept female guests, out of concern that they couldn’t guarantee their safety.

In recent years, though, capsule hotels have stepped up their game and become viable options for travelers who don’t quite need all the amenities of a full-service hotel, and definitely don’t want all of the cost. In the process of becoming more comfortable, many have started accommodating female guests as well, such as Global Cabin Suidobashi, a capsule hotel that opened last winter in Tokyo’s Suidobashi neighborhood.

Most capsule hotels are found in bar districts, but Global Cabin Suidobashi is instead located near Tokyo Dome, making its target marker out-of-towners who’re attending concerts or other events at the venue, To that effect, the hotel’s second-floor lounge gives off the vibe of a relaxing cafe. Instant soba noodles are provided free of charge, and guests can enjoy breakfast sandwiches and salads as part of their accommodation package.

As nice as the lounge is, though, the big surprise came when we got to our “capsule.”

Instead of a door, the sleeping compartments in capsule hotels are separated from the walkways by a curtain, and there’s usually a ladder or some other means to access upper-level bunks. But at Global Cabin Suidobashi, the curtains go from floor to ceiling…

…because instead of a sleeping person-sized capsule, you actually get a cozy two-tiered room, complete with a desk, stool, and full-length mirror in the lower section, and a bed with a TV up above.

Inside your capsule/room there’s a power outlet and USB charging port, and even a rack with hangers to hang up your clothes. Oh, and while the TV is in the upper area, there’s an earphone jack for it located in the lower area as well, so you can watch from the desk without having to crank up the volume.

Global Cabin Suidobashi also has some nice security measures. Though your room has no locking door, you do get a lockable safety box as part of the desk, which is big enough to hold your wallet, laptop, and other electronic devices.

Women’s and men’s capsules, and bathing areas, are located on separate floors. To access the women’s floors, you have to use a wristband (given to female guests upon check-in) in the elevator, and you’ll need to use it again to actually enter the women’s capsules or bath area.

Speaking of the bath area, it’s gorgeous, with a Japanese-style shared tub and single-person shower booths.

Makeup wash, lotion, soap, and conditioner are all provided (by respected brands Pola and Shinseido, no less), and when we stayed at the hotel, there were even rubber duckies in the women’s bath.

Like we mentioned above, Global Cabin Suidobashi’s location, just a one-minute walk from Suidobashi Station on the JR Chuo train and Toei Mita subway lines, means that many of the guests will be people headed to or from Tokyo Dome. But Suidobashi Station also makes a nice hub for exploring Tokyo. Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Ueno are all less than 15 minutes away, and it’s less than 25 minutes to Asakusa, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, and Roppongi, meaning that a stay at Global Cabin Suidobashi lets you enjoy all of those exciting parts of the city, but stay in a neighborhood that’s still quiet enough to let you get the rest you need to do it all again the next day.

Hotel information
Global Cabin Tokyo Suidobashi / グローバルキャビン東京水道橋
Address: Tokyo-to, Bunkyo-ku, Koraku 1-2-2
東京都文京区後楽1丁目2番2号
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