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Article posted: 1/19/2013 6:00 AM

Tokyo’s capsule rooms make for cozy quarters

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The capsule concept has been around for at least 30 years, starting out as lodging for businessmen working or partying late who missed the last train home and needed a cheap place to crash.

Associated Press photos

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Akiyoshi Kaneko checks a chair at the Capsule & Sauna Century Shibuya in Tokyo.

Associated Press

Photo, manager Akiyoshi Kaneko checks out one of the capsule rooms at the Capsule & Sauna Century Shibuya in Tokyo.

About this Article

Tokyo is known for being densely populated and crowded. Living space is at a premium; hotel rooms are small or expensive or both. Enter the capsule hotel, where a tubelike pod barely bigger than a coffin offers a bed for the night at low cost. The capsule concept has been around for at least 30 years, starting out as lodging for businessmen working or partying late who missed the last train home and needed a cheap place to crash.
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    • The capsule concept has been around for at least 30 years, starting out as lodging for businessmen working or partying late who missed the last train home and needed a cheap place to crash.
    • Akiyoshi Kaneko checks a chair at the Capsule & Sauna Century Shibuya in Tokyo.
    • Photo, manager Akiyoshi Kaneko checks out one of the capsule rooms at the Capsule & Sauna Century Shibuya in Tokyo.
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