Capsule Hotels

Tokushima sits on the eastern side of Shikoku. Most people know it for Awa Odori, the summer dance festival that fills its streets each August.

MyCUBE brings the modern capsule format to the city. Sleeping units are enclosed and stacked in quiet rows, with a reading light, a power point and a screen for privacy. Luggage goes in a locker. Bathing and lounge space are shared.

It suits anyone crossing Shikoku who wants a clean, central bed and very little else. That's the brief, and it's met well.

The idea is in the name. One hour to wash, seven to sleep, one to rest. Every property in the brand is built around that sequence, and this one follows it closely.

Design is spare and bright: white capsules, grey floors, pictograms instead of paragraphs. Towels and sleepwear are handed over at check-in, so arriving with almost nothing is normal here.

Kochi, on Shikoku's Pacific side, is a castle town with a long Sunday street market and a taste for bonito seared over straw. The hotel puts a bed within reach of all of it.

Shimbashi is a working district. Offices, rail viaducts, small bars tucked under the tracks. A cabin hotel fits it naturally.

The cabins here are a step up from the classic capsule: tall enough to sit up in, with more room for bags. A lounge acts as the hotel's shared living room, and bathing follows the Japanese communal model.

Ginza and the bay are both walkable. The Yamanote line is close by, which makes it an easy base for a short, busy stay in the city.