Capsule Hotels

Here the bookshelf is the bedroom. Sleeping bunks are built into floor-to-ceiling shelving, so guests climb into a nook with thousands of titles on either side.

The Shinjuku branch sits in the busy Kabukicho area, a few minutes on foot from one of the world's largest rail stations. Beds are compact and privacy comes from a curtain rather than a door. Most of the reading is in Japanese, with a good share of English picture books and design titles. It suits a night or two of city exploring far better than a long stay.

Anshin Oyado runs capsule hotels across Tokyo, and the Akihabara branch sits close to the Electric Town streets known for electronics, games and anime shops.

Capsules are the classic Japanese format — a single-person sleeping unit, stacked in rows. The comfort lives in the shared areas: large public baths, a lounge with reclining chairs and help-yourself drinks, and loungewear supplied for the stay. The brand has historically catered mainly to male guests, so it is worth checking the current policy before planning a visit.

Strictly speaking, Zoku is not a pod hotel. It earns a place here for how cleverly it shrinks a room.

The signature Loft is a compact micro-apartment: a kitchen and work table on the floor, with the bed tucked up on a raised platform reached by a retractable stair. Folding, sliding and stacking do the work that square metres would do elsewhere. Upstairs, a rooftop floor of shared kitchens, workspaces and a terrace becomes everyone's living room. The hotel is on Weesperstraat, a short walk from Waterlooplein and the canal ring.