I was going to start off this post by saying that I don’t usually talk about where I stay on trips, but then I remembered I have talked about medieval houses and chocolate rooms so honestly, I should not be surprised at myself that I wanted to talk about the three cute places that I stayed in on this trip to Japan! Initially, I was going to try and combine everything into one giant post but I think I’ll break it up because it is definitely going to be photo-heavy.

Despite having had quite a few early flights in Japan, I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a capsule hotel. Sure, I’ve stayed in a manga cafe (and didn’t find it all that comfortable) but somehow the capsule hotel experience has always eluded me. Until now, when I was looking for a place to stay in Haneda and realised that First Cabin had a branch in the domestic terminal itself! That was honestly the perfect location because I did not want to deal with taking a shuttle bus from the hotel to the airport for a 7 am flight.

Located in the arrival terminal of Hanedal Terminal 1 (right next to the post office, very close to the stop for the free shuttle bus, if you need directions!), First Cabin is an airplane-themed capsule hotel that tries to offer a more luxurious experience. Because of that, they have a few types of “rooms”. The most basic is premium economy, where you are stacked two to a row and not even available at the branch I stayed at. The most luxurious room involves lockable doors (most capsule hotels are not supposed to let you lock the doors) and was also not available. What you can get at the Haneda Terminal 1 branch is either a “Business Class” room or a “First Class” room. Because I imagined that I might need some space to unpack, I went for the First Class room and had absolutely no regrets.

Both the Business Class and First Class capsule rooms are located in the same area, because the whole place is roughly divided into two: men’s area and women’s area, each of which is only accessible with the card key. The business class capsules really just have space for the bed (granted, there is no height limit like with the premium economy one), while the first class capsules have a small area (big enough for me to open my suitcase!) next to the bed, a small table, as well as a lockable drawer. The entrances all look like boarding gates to me, which I thought was a nice touch.

In terms of amenities, First Cabin really impressed me. The public bath has everything you need – from shampoo and body soap to cleansers and hair irons. They even provide pyjamas which really helped minimise the amount of unpacking needed. And if you’re coming from out of Japan, they also provide chargers for free. All amenities are either available at the front desk or are in the floor area itself, and really, everything I needed that night was provided.

Because of this, I had a great night there. I was pretty tired when I arrived so I just locked my valuables away and grabbed some dinner. Post-dinner, I enjoyed a nice relaxing bath, changed into the comfortable pyjamas, and fell asleep quite quickly. It was honestly a very nice way to take a break before my next flight and while I wouldn’t use this for longer stays (I mean, there is no lock on the door), I would definitely be happy to use it again if I ever need to stay overnight in an airport.