The pods are too similar to mausoleums for me to sleep in one if any more usual option were available.

Japanese Pod/Capsule Hotels and Hotels that rent by the hour really are nothing new.

These hotels may be an interesting way to deal with a city's homeless problem. But I think the very open space used in the lobby and locker rooms would have been better used to make the sleeping compartments more livable.

Design-wise, This looks like something out of a Sci-Fi film set. It looks like a miserable place to work.

If we made animals sleep in those pods, PETA would be ALL over it!

rexrayfan, the difference is that these pods are voluntary. Heck, I'd try it. I'm not claustrophobic, and I've slept in more uncomfortable places... trains and buses, for instance. The occasional airport bench. At least it looks quiet.

I'm not claustrophobic much, but those pods are highly reminiscent of morgues.

"These hotels may be an interesting way to deal with a city's homeless problem. "

Interesting you say that:
Many of Japan's homeless currently use Pod/Capsule hotels as their "home" address where they can receive mail and assistance checks from the government.

bepsf is absolutely right. I remember first reading about this idea decades ago.

I've always wondered why bigger airports don't have these. I would definitely use one for a long layover!

Interesting though it seems a little claustrophobic.

These were in one of my favorite shows awhile back - I wonder who could sleep in them: http://leonardharman.com/FILM/DollhouseSleep.html

I'd be too distracted wondering who else on earth would come wandering through, straining to hear if there were sounds. Way too disconcerting and not nearly private enough. I like closing a door behind me where I can still stand up.

For stop-overs I like a room with walking space, and my own bathroom. If I'm only spending that short a time period in a city, I want a nice comfortable room where I can look out a window, have a bathroom to myself and a nice space to watch tv/read.

I've used YOTEL's four hour option at London Heathrow to crash during a long layover on my way east. Shower, nap, check email. It was great! Check the link for a 360* tour of their comparatively roomy capsules.

Around here, some privileged teenage boys have started ganging up to beat to death homeless people that they find on the street late at night. It sounds like it would be good if pod/capsule hotels presented homeless people with a safer place to rest than the sidewalk.

I stayed in an older pod hotel in Tokyo one night, and the pods were actually quite cozy. I tend to be claustrophobic, but they were fine size-wise. My only major problem was cleanliness. The sheets and pj's were fresh and sterile, but the pods themselves and the bathrooms were grungy. Plus, there were no showers, only a communal bath. This is normal for Japan, but not very comfortable for westerners. I would recommend the experience, but find a nice new one! 9H looks fab.

Funny maybe- but for me it's all -and only- about cost. One night in a Hotel Room where I'm not worried about bedbugs is a costly night indeed.

Also? I think Americans have a little bit of a different take on 'space' in general which sorta weirds me out as much as these tubes seem to weird out claustrophobes... (not being snarky, this is a genuine reaction to newlyweds who suddenly need at minimum: 3 bedrooms for Master-Guest-Study/Office).

So if it's solely a matter of arriving, sleeping and departing? I certainly don't want to pay for a tabled seating area plus lounger, a TV enclosed in large armoire, small microwave/coffee pot or tea option, framed 'art offerings ...hair dyer -and to think, I'm also forgetting items! As a wise old man once said: "Harumph!!"

I'd have to make an honest effort to spend the night in one before I make any judgment. The layout reminds me of the transport in The Fifth Element. So long as it's relatively lightproof and well insulated against too much sound, I think I could sleep there.

Knifemouth, do you think this option would be more likely to have bedbugs? I doubt that, having had a recent (and false!) bedbug scare and having done a lot of reading. The white of this hotel in particular would help finding them, and there is no reason a pod would have more bedbugs than a hotel room. Separating your belongings from your pod could actually be helpful.

Living people stacked in what looks like an oversized automat is disconcerting, but I can appreciate that pod/capsule hotels have their uses.

I have a friend who, while living in Tokyo, missed the last train and ended up in a pod hotel. All he heard all night was the sound of the porn being consumed all around him (there was a little TV on the ceiling of each pod).