Closed | Capsule Ryokan in Kyoto
What’s a ryokan?
You’re about to find out.
CLOSED | Capsule Ryokan tl;dr
From the moment we stepped into the Capsule Ryokan for our 2 night stay, we had a great experience! Although we arrived fairly close to their closing time, their front desk closes at 8:30 pm, the kind gentleman working the front still greeted us with a smile and told us to take a seat while he finished assisting a couple before us.
Check In
When it was our turn, not only was he able to check us in quickly but he was extremely knowledgeable and provided all the information we would need/want to know about the hotel and the surrounding areas, he even ended with showing us to our room and how everything worked.
Examples of Minimalism
The room itself was not fancy by any means, a small square but very efficiently organized for the space (around 10 meters I believe) but fulfilled every basic need with a certain amount of flare. Basically in the middle of the room is a ryokan bed with storage underneath with ample space to fit my whole luggage.
On top there was a mattress pad, a pillow and a soft duvet. If I had one not so great thing to say, I wish the duvet cover actually covered the whole thing versus just some of it. But not a problem, I just slept with the side that it did cover.
In front of the bed there was an awesome shower! By day its just your average run of the mill corner shower but by night, it’s a party waiting to happen. While small, it had more bells and whistles than any regular shower that I’ve ever seen with nozzles to allow water to come from the top like a rain shower, a shower nozzle that can be removed and even side nozzles. It even had bright colored lights and a radio inside even though I couldn’t get them to work properly.
Crazy!
Outside the shower there was a small sink with mirror where the faucet can flip two ways, one to allow the water to go downward but when you turn it the other way, it can become a water faucet, what!!!? With the tap water safe to drink, it definitely was an efficient way to allow people to drink easily from the tap. Lastly, the bathroom was nicely hidden right next to the door. Once you opened the door the bathroom the lights automatically turned on and lifted open the toilet seat…
SO Cool!
Efficient and Functional
Overall, it had everything we needed and more. These days we’ve realized that with the little amount of time that we spend in a room, there really isn’t a reason we should go all out and pay a ton of money for a room. Instead, what is more important is finding a place that is clean, affordable, walking distance to major attractions and has all the amenities we’re looking for like a comfortable, clean place to sleep and our own bathroom. It didn’t hurt that this had a heated toilet seat.
The Capsule Ryokan had all this and more. One last perk offered with the room was a very handy book packed with tip on where to eat and things to do in the Kyoto area. It even had a one day schedule on places to check out. How sweet and considerate of them to think of the little things!
The okonomiyaki place that they suggested was a great find. We had a fantastic stay and it was only 10 minutes walking from the Kyoto JR Station.
This is definitely a place I’d recommend to all my friends if you’re ever visiting Kyoto.
F8T Tip Talk to the amazing staff. They are incredibly helpful regarding every aspect of your trip planning; lots of suggestions of where to eat to the best routes to get to the sites you want to see. They have it all!
Capsule Ryokan Kyoto Closed
Where have you slept that totally surprised you?
