In September 2025, I visited Tokyo, and stayed in an airport capsule hotel. Okay, that’s not quite all we did in Tokyo. I won’t be reviewing the other accommodation premises we stayed at (mainly involving capsule and cabin hotels), as we barely spent any time at them, and the priority was spending time with my girlfriend J and her family.
Since I write about airlines and airports, I made a point to more intentionally review the 9h (Nine Hours) capsule hotel at Narita Airport, where I stayed before my 8:55 AM flight to Seoul the next day. The 9h Narita Airport is also available during the day as a Priority Pass experience, which means that you’ll be able to get a 5-hour stay if you’re swinging by between 9 AM and 8 PM (AmEx cardholders don’t typically qualify).
Don’t book this hotel in lieu of an airport hotel, especially if you’re not a deep sleeper – this would be most akin to a very comfortable sleeping pod in an airport terminal. However, if that’s what you’re looking for, then the 9h serves its purpose very well, and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again.
Booking the Nine Hours Narita Airport
I booked my one-night stay at the Nine Hours Narita Airport for £44.41. I booked using Hotels.com, as I was able to get 8 Avios per pound spent when booking through the BA shopping portal.
Nine Hours Narita Airport Location
The Nine Hours Narita Airport is located by Tokyo Narita’s Terminal 2, by the parking lot. I got to the hotel at a very late hour, and got myself in a bit of a maze trying to find the hotel – it’s located by the P2 carpark, on floor B1 of the airport.
Signage to 9h Narita Airport
Once you get to the parking lot, you’ll see the entrance to the 9h capsule hotel. Follow the signage there, and you’ll find the entrance.
Signage to 9h Narita Airport
Alternatively, you can get to the hotel directly from the Narita Airport Terminal 2 and 3 train station – simply exit and turn right, and you should be able to find signage to the capsule hotel (the 9h is the only capsule hotel at the airport).
If you’re flying in and out of Terminal 1, do not try and take the Narita Express or Keisei Skyliner between stations – it’s not free, and also there are much bigger gaps between services. Instead, take the free yellow shuttle bus, which runs quite frequently between terminals. Not only is it free, but it only takes a few minutes to get between Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The link from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 is direct no matter which bus you take, whereas the main shuttle bus goes past Higashi-Narita station and Terminal 3 before returning to Terminal 2. These shuttle buses run from 5 AM to 11 PM, covering most departures and arrivals to/from Narita Airport.
Inter-Terminal Shuttle Bus at Narita Airport
Anyway, you know you’re in the right place when you see a large 9h branded wall with a lobby.
9h Narita Airport Entrance
Checking In to the Nine Hours Narita Airport
Check-in was smooth in the cozy lobby, and the associate explained the house rules. The house rules included quiet in the sleeping area, though specifically didn’t prohibit alarms from being set (this used to be the case, but the rule was crossed out). They also indicated that we weren’t to wear shoes in the sleeping area, but instead to use the slippers provided. If I wanted to leave the property, I’d have to turn in my locker key and be given a “day token”, which I could swap back to my key upon arrival to the property. I was also handed a breakfast voucher for Starbucks that I didn’t end up using, since I cut it quite close to my flight the following morning.
I was then given my locker key and an amenity bag, and sent to the men’s side of the property.
9h Narita Airport Amenity Bag
Nine Hours Narita Airport Facilities
Once walking into the Nine Hours Narita Airport, I found some toilet cubicles, followed by a changing room (obviously I didn’t photograph the changing room).
9h Narita Airport Bathroom Facilities
There are individual showers, and they feature 9h-branded toiletries. The shower rooms themselves are all communal, though fully private (much like you’d find in an airline lounge), and water pressure is really good. I wish there was a sink in the shower room, however.
9h Narita Airport Shower Facilities
Nine Hours Narita Airport Amenities
At the 9h Narita Airport, you’re given some towels and flimsy slippers, as well as a bath mat. Somewhat hilariously, you’re also given pajamas – I didn’t use these during my short stay.
9h Narita Airport Amenities
Nine Hours Narita Airport Pod and Sleeping Area
Once I showered and got changed, I entered the sleeping area, where I found my assigned pod to be one of the closest to the main door – this didn’t bother me much, since I arrived the hotel very late, and left early in the morning.
9h Narita Airport Pods
As you can see, there are two layers of pods stacked atop one another, and they all look identical to one another.
9h Narita Airport Pods
I was assigned pod 131, which was an upper bunk located around halfway through the corridor, and the closest to the door facing the locker rooms. The pod itself is quite bare bones – unlike some of the other pod hotels I’d stayed at, there isn’t any room for storage here whatsoever, and you really have to cuddle your phone and wallet as you sleep.
9h Narita Airport Pod
If you can get over that, the bed is quite comfortable, albeit the mattress being on the harder side. The pillow resembles a TempurPedic pillow more than a hotel pillow, though more than sufficed for the one-night stay.
9h Narita Airport Pod
By the end of the bed was a panel, featuring a light dimmer switch, some background music (which you needed headphones to listen to), and one Japanese-style power port.
9h Narita Airport Pod Panel
Of course, you do get privacy in these pods, as you can pull down the privacy drape by the end of the bed. However, you can either only leave it in the fully down position or the fully up position, and it’s quite finnicky.
9h Narita Airport Privacy Drape
While reviews suggested that there’s a chorus of alarms that go off, I didn’t experience this, since I set my own alarm to 6 AM. I will say that your head is nested all the way into the inside of the pod, so you shouldn’t have too much of an issue with the alarms unless you’re a very light sleeper.
I arrived the hotel at around 1:15 AM, set my alarm for 6:15 AM, and left just after 7 AM for my 8:55 AM flight, which was departing from Terminal 1. After unsuccessfully trying to get the train thinking it’d be faster (hence my guidance above), I ended up hopping on a shuttle at around 7:25 AM, which whisked me directly to Terminal 1 in a matter of minutes.
Conclusion: 9h Narita Airport
The 9h Narita Airport is a good budget option if you’re looking for a convenient night close to the airport, can sleep well in a communal space and wake up with an alarm, and aren’t a germaphobe and don’t mind the communal showers and toilet facilities. In a way, this feels a bit more like an experience onboard a plane, even in a premium cabin – in business class, you sleep in a communal space, and you likely shower in a communal shower if you’re doing it in an airport lounge. It’s worth noting that not all capsule hotels let you set an alarm, so please don’t use this as “catch-all” guidance for all capsule hotels – for example, I know that Haneda’s First Cabin hotel prohibits it, though you do get wake-up calls from reception if you request it.
It’s worth noting that when booking in advance, the Narita Tobu Airport Hotel offers a full hotel room for a similar cost, also with shuttle service to the airport. Of course I’d prefer that if I had the chance, though I wanted to try a capsule hotel this time round.
