Smart Stay Shizuku Ueno Ekimae

I’ve stayed at this fantastic capsule hotel many times and I love it there! The facilities are fantastic. The shower room has a big communal bath, there’s a sauna I haven’t tried out yet, and food & drink services. It’s close to the trains stations. Couldn’t ask for more at a very good price.

ฉันประทับใจมาก แคปซูลมีความกว้างมาก. ฉันสูง168 หนัก116กิโล. แต่สามารถนอนและนั่งภายในแคปซูลได้อย่างสบายๆ แต่ฉันเสียใจอยู่อย่างเดียวที่แม่ของฉันลืมแหวนไว้ที่อ่างล้างหน้าในห้องน้ำตรงชั้น2 วันที่11ธ.ค.67 มันเป็นของดูต่างหน้าพ่อ ฉันหวังว่าจะมีคนไปเจอและเก็บมาคืนที่informationของโรงแรม. แต่ก็ไม่มีคนนำมาคืน. เสียใจที่ทำของดูต่างหน้าพ่อหาย แต่โดยรวมเป็นโรงแรมที่ดี ทำเลดี ที่พักดี จะไปกลับไปพักอีกแน่นอน

乾淨，安靜很好的選擇

乾淨 丶交通方便。

On our second trip to Japan, being included in a small group of six, my wife and I had our first experience in a capsule hotel. First of all, the capsules are not as claustrophobic as one might imagine. They are wide and tall enough not to give a feeling of discomfort. Privacy is ensured by a curtain on the side serving as an entrance, and the efficient air conditioning gives a feeling of well-being. Furthermore, only the onsen is in the basement: the “regular” bathrooms are on each floor. They are abundantly equipped with different amenities. An electronic bracelet ensures that you can only enter the spaces designated for you: for example, men cannot enter the women's capsules, and vice versa. Breakfast – which is paid for separately and is good value for money – is served on the ground floor. The staff recommends booking it the night before. You move around the hotel strictly without shoes: complimentary slippers are provided. In short, this seemed like a good solution to stay in Tokyo on a budget.

This review is about the staff: I walked by, confirmed on their main hotel site for vacancies, went inside and asked for a room directly with the staff in broken Japanese. He checked his system and said that he had no room for me. I ask several times to confirm and he tells me unequivocally through his Google translate this time to confirm he had no vacancies. Not missing a beat, I pull up the website and point to the vacancy literally displayed. He was startled for a moment, double checked his side of the system, then tells me flatly: if you book on the site then we have vacancy, not if you walk in. 😑. Right. Your rule tells you to reject customers in person but not online. He asked me to fill out everything online in Japanese, didn’t offer to help, then forced me to fill out a paper version of the same form again in person. In Japanese. He was not rude nor was he polite, but I felt vaguely offended for being rejected on mysterious grounds and somewhat tortured by the process when given no help. I went to my floor and they had at least a handful of vacancies on the women’s floor. So it wasn’t an issue where I got the elusive last room he couldn’t find earlier. I don’t know who he is trying to keep out because there were other tourists too. I am Asian but am not Japanese and am obviously a tourist. I was polite and asked nicely, didn’t even flip out or react negatively when he pulled that on me. He never apologized or even felt sorry for his mistake, like it wasn’t the first time he did that. He just didn’t expect me to call him out, though I didn’t pursue the matter. You take what you will from this interaction. I will note that the capsule hotel itself and the facilities are good. The sauna and baths were clean. The women’s toilet were a bit dirty and smelled. And the counters were overflowing with water from carelessness from guests but the staff did not even try to clean it. I paid $30. I’m happy with my stay overall, but not too happy with him. 😅 I get overall rude vibes from 50% of Japanese service staff where they have a take it or leave it attitude and generally don’t try to help and 50% ordinary staff who will give you normal service. I will note that it’s cheaper to book with them directly than through vendor sites. Idk maybe just book online and prep for the same process again in person. It’s super close to the action so it may be worth it to just enjoy the place and not expect too much from the people. Good luck