Here's my "capsule" which I'm staying for a night in Tokyo. At 3000yen, it's more expensive than the budget hotel I stayed in (in a previous post). Let me roll back a bit with some background information. For those not familiar, Tokyo's property prices is one of the highest in the world (I think it's either first or second...). Thus, hotels are very expensive. A couple of decades ago, these "capsule hotels" start appearing. Instead of a room, you only get a "capsule". They are layed one on top of the other as you can see in the picture. And there are many (about 40) of these in a big room. These hotels cater to businessmen that miss the night train home, as most people live in suburban Tokyo. In addition, after work socialization is part of the business culture there, so this is a huge market. Anyway, long story short, because these capsule hotels are so unique, eventually the foreigners catch on and you can find them being mentioned in practically all tourist guides of Tokyo. And that is the reason why I stayed there for a night.
First thought I had when I saw it is that it's pretty good. True that it's no comparison to a real room, but it certainly isn't a coffin either. The height of it is about 1.5 meters, 1m wide, and about 2.5m long. You can easily sit up to watch your personal mini-TV within the capsule. It also has a light, radio, and clock built into the side panel. The whole capsule is more like a plastic shower mold tilted to the side as it seems to be made up of the same material. You have a curtain at the opening for privacy. Ventilation is very good at the place, so don't worry about getting stuffy. The only annoyance I had with my stay is the noise. Late in the night, when the drunk businessmen start arriving, they can cause a racket. Add to that, many snored in their sleep. Lucky that I have my earplugs in. There's a washroom and a common area for people to smoke in another room, so don't worry about being smoked. The Japanese style bath is on another floor. Perhaps I might describe these later on as they're different from the western type. Heck, everything's different there. Anyway, everything's very clean and tidy at the capsule hotel, so I do recommend you try it for yet another "been there done that" experience in Tokyo. Just remember to bring earplugs!
For the ladies though, make sure the capsule hotel you'd like to go welcome female and provide a separate area with equal service (I've seen one where their female room only provide airplane-style recliners instead of capsule beds). As most of these places are male only. Not that for any dirty reason, but merely because there are very few female patrons. My group stayed at
Asakusa Riverside and the girls were quite happy with their stay. Furthermore, Asakusa is a nice district in Tokyo with many things to see and do.
A traditional street market in Hong Kong. Only a handful of these are still in existence. So in addition to the bargain items, they are also good for sight seeing. The photo is of 花園街 (Garden Street) in Mong Kok, which is much preferred by locals than the nearby 女人街 (Lady Street), as the latter place has become a tourist trap. The buildings at the side are worth mentioning too as they are also from a previous era. I don't know much about these buildings although there are probably some history behind them. The only fact I know is that most, if not all, of them are without elevators, so they are a lot cheaper (almost half) than newer units. And because of the fact that they're old, of course. Considering that Hong Kong's real estates are fairly expensive in most standards, these buildings are preserved because of demands from low income families. Nevertheless, the government has been very active in upgrading low income families to safer and cleaner buildings. There are countless government subsidised properties throughout Hong Kong for people in need. However, even with the many social assistance available, you're bound to run across a beggar or two in Hong Kong, just like any other metropolis of the world. But I have never once been approached by a panhandler in Hong Kong, which is completely opposite to what I experience here in Toronto. In Toronto, I've seen young, able bodied, and cleanly dressed "panhandlers" on the street of downtown Toronto. Most of them evidently don't look like they're in poverty, yet, they have the audacity to ask me for change. Everytime, I have to hold the urge to just tell them to "Get a job, pal!" as they're obviously exploiting the kindness of strangers. Noting that minimal wage here is about $7/hour and people have tendancy to leave at least a dollar or two, this is definitely a better "job" for these lazy people that have no moral. But, I digressed. 
