Shinjuku Kuyakushomae Capsule Hotel, Tokyo

First time staying in a Capsule Hotel in the country where it starts... A no frills place to just sleep, where everyone in the same room shares the common bathroom and all. We chose to stay at the "Women-only" floor which was available in the hotel. Why capsule? We aren't on budget (a person paid about SGD50) but we wanted to experience how it feels to stay in a capsule hotel. Moreover, we reached Japan in the late evening and well, we need to move on to Kawaguchiko early the next morning, then we thought, why not?

After checking in, you will still get your key but is the key to the locker where you can put all your valuables in and lock it. Up to the room, is time to find your capsule for the night. We did not specify or rather we we were not asked whether we would like to have the upper or lower capsule even though the room was not fully occupied. We were given the upper capsule which I guess was good. 

where is my room?!

Climb the steps beside to climb into the pod. Small, but good enough. your pillow and blanket and well, your pajamas (yes, if you choose to wear).

the capsule room

There is a small TV inside the pod, or you can choose to listen to the music. See the handle at the top, pull it down and that's your door (see my opposite roommate, she 'closed' her door). 

all in the capsule

 Here's the luggage/ locker room. Placed your big luggage at wherever you find a space and locked your valuables in the locker.

the luggage room

The shower/powder room was clean. That's very important especially so many ladies used it. All the basic items like toothbrush/paste, towel, hairdryer, toiletries, lotions can be found here. Not bad!

the bathroom

 Explored the common room and there were many vending machines. Fret not for feeling hungry!

the common area and the vending machines

My Verdict:

The place is good but will I return to stay? Well, i guessed once-in-a-lifetime experiencing a Capsule Hotel is enough for me. Not that the place is not good. It has all the essential things that all hotels provide. But for me

• I need more space to place the luggage (do not want to leave it out of sight and unlocked).
• The roommates that day were a bit noisy and I think they returned late at night and noise started to flow especially that we stayed near the shower room, 
• The airflow was not very good. I felt hot in my own pod. 

But if you just want to experience it once, I would recommend this Capsule Hotel as it was in Shinjuku (minutes walk away from the JR station) and was quite easy to find. 

Shinjuku Kuyakushomae Capsule Hotel, Tokyo
(1-2-5 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo-to, 160-0021 Japan)

Fuunji | 風雲児 @ Shinjuku, Japan

Our first meal in Japan, Tokyo after checking in. Did some research for recommended food at Shinjuku and Fuunji appeared. I had never tried tsukemen before and therefore, here we went. 

Fuunji, a small and unnoticeable Ramen shop hidden on a quiet street near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan. 

We were there before dinner time and there was already a queue. 

Outside the shop

There are only bar counter seats and well, the queue was all the way right to the end. Not the best experience to enjoy the ramen as you will feel the "pressure" behind you. But, nonetheless, it was still an experience. 

Just queue

Order was made through the vending machine. Not much of a choice but well, i guessed we did not do much research and thus, we went on to order 2 different Ramen to try.

Food Ticket

Here we went after getting a seat. Passed the food ticket to the staff and waited for our food. This is tsukemen - cold noodles are served separately from the soup. Dip the noodle into the soup and once the noodles soak up the flavors of the soup, slurp away. The broth was really great. 

After you finished the noodles, if your stomach still have room, grab one of the kettles on the counter and pour hot water into your bowl and drink the remaining soup. That's what we observed what the locals did and follow. Must try!!!

tsukemen - cold noodles are served separately from the soup

If you are not game for the Tsukemen, try the other dish which is the Tokusei Ramen. Needless to say, Japan Ramen is yumz...!

Tokusei Ramen

Address:

2-14-3, YoyogiShinjukuTokyo