Case study - 9h-nine hours capsule hotel in Kyoto

In this case study, I am going to talk about an existing capsule hotel in Japan. This capsule hotel is named NINE HOURS (9H), “The building itself is 9 stories tall; host 125 capsules, locker rooms, showers, and a lounge.”(Andrea db, 2009) It is located in the city centre of Kyoto, and opened on December 9th, 2009. “The hostel philosophy indicates its name, the idea and most basic form the Sleeping hub provides: 1hour to shower + 7hours to sleep + 1hour to rest = nine hours.”(Nine Hours Kyoto Teramachi, n.d) The use of hotel is just like other capsule hotels, people get in, sleep and get out, and these fast ways are what capsule hotel unique feature is.

Lobby area

This is the area for guests check-in, change clothes and shoes. The guiding signs are painted on the ground with simple figure and arrow to each area.

Shower area

When the customers leave their shoes and clothes in the locker, then they will have to clean themselves in shower, finally they put on the unify cloth to allow going to general area and sleeping area.



General area

The first floor and second floor are general area for people relaxing, reading and eating, also for some people who may need WI-FI to work.

Sleeping area

The sleeping area is major part of 9h capsule hotel; the numbers of the capsule sleeping unit are painted on the ground and arrow to the each unit with the unit number.

In the capsule unit, “Each capsule includes panasonic's advanced system for good sleeping by computerized control lighting. Room environment by panasonic / matsushita electric works. According to the time set, the light will wake you up.” (Andrea db, 2009) The bed sheets are of the same quality as those that are used in a star-level hotel

 

What capsule hotel is?

The word “capsule” means a small case or container, especially a round or cylindrical one.  So capsule hotel is a place that offer a small container for people sleeping over night, they are also named capsule inn or capsule apartment. This kind of hotels is common in Japan and originated from Japan, but they are not widely accepted from outside Japan. The first capsule hotel to open was the Capsule Inn Osaka, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and located in the Umeda district of Osaka. It opened in 1979.

Capsule Inn Osaka                     View in a capsule, with TV in the upper left corner

The capsule hotel was developed in Japan. Because space is at a serious premium in Japan, architects and interior designers are constantly looking for ways to conserve space, down to inches and centimetres. It is this sense of space economy that has led to such innovations as the cubic watermelon. Capsule hotel is a High density of hotel accommodation, the occupants can use a container where is 2 meter by 1 meter by 1.2 meter, it is made from glass fibre or solid plastic, and just enough space for one person to sleep inside. A typical capsule hotel is composed of two major spaces, one public lounge space including bathing, canteen and smoking area, and the other is a private space where the sleeping area (capsule units) are arranged, the bed in the capsule unit for the occupants laying down called capsule bed. The actual sleeping room is a capsule unit made of reinforced plastic and designed in the image of a jet airplane's cockpit. In the capsule unit, all the required amenities are provided; TV, radio, alarm clock, adjustable lighting, almost everything is provided. Every device is within your reach and you can control everything in a sleeping position. Each capsule unit’s entrance has a roller blind for protecting occupant’s privacy, but it cannot be completely isolated the sound from other occupants. And the toilet and shower room are shared by occupants; there is also canteen and vending machine severing for them. Japanese capsule hotels vary in size. Some of them hold only about 50 capsules. There are others that can accommodate upwards of 700 guests. At the time of capsule hotel beginning, the hotels only offered male occupants, this was because the privacy of capsule was not good enough and women would be easily molested by some obscene people. But this problem has been solved now; some capsule hotels are designed that giving priority to women. It is not only female toilet, but also lift and stair are separated as special purpose for women making them feel comfortable and safe. This objective is all for raising female customers.