We’re coming to Tokyo in mid November, traveling as a family of three for the first time since older brother just started college. Our 16 year-old son is determined to explore the city on his own, with an occasional shared meal with the 'rents. He really wants to stay at a capsule hotel, but this seems doubtful because of his age. In the US, you must be 18 or older to register at a hotel. I’m not worried about his safety, just the legality/practicality of it.
Anybody know if it’s possible for a 16 year old to stay by himself? We would book the space for him. Otherwise, one of us would have to pretend to stay or stay one night for the experience. And that would be me…
Also, he’s nearly 6’4" (192 cm) - would he even fit?!? How long are those beds?
Much appreciation for the site/videos/ebook/insights!
There are multiple problems with this idea that you might not be aware of. Your son is quite tall so he might not be able to lie down flat at some old capsule hotels, but that’s probably the least important issue. The main problem is that almost no capsule hotel or hostel for that matter will allow someone under 18 to stay there - even when accompanied by adults. Also, the pretending to stay the night idea won’t work either as capsule hotels are segregated by gender. Some capsule hotels are male only, some female only and the others have different genders on different floors.
One capsule-like place that accepts bookings for families with children (their site says the age limit is over 12) is First Cabin. He wouldn’t be able to stay there by himself though - at least one family member would need to stay there too. And the same rule applies - you’d be on different floors.
First Cabin’s places are a bit more clean and modern, but in general I wouldn’t recommend a capsule hotel for your son. Consider that the typical use case for a capsule hotel is drunk office workers who have missed their last train - and the capsules aren’t lockable, they just have a curtain at one end.
My brother was travelling in capsule hotels when he came (aged 19) and he couldn’t fit in them too comfortably (6’3). He might end up being quite overwhelmed by the city at 16 anyway, it’s quite a lot to take in! Maybe you could try youth hostels?
capsules look interesting but do not really make for a comfortable night of sleep. I would suggest that you guys stay together and he can take off on his own with a suica card. Just setup for a communications over there so that if he gets lost or into a spot he can get an adult on for help.