Japan’s Hotel Business Act Enforcement Order sets a floor area of 33 square metres for all the guest rooms of a simple lodging business taken together, and sets no minimum size for an individual sleeping berth at all. The one capsule dimension the order does fix is the gap between a stacked upper and lower berth, which must be approximately one metre or more.
The word “capsule” does not appear anywhere in the order. We searched the full text of the cabinet order for it and found no instance; what the order regulates is a business category, and stacked berths are addressed in a single clause inside it.
The order sets 33 square metres for all the guest rooms together, not for one capsule
Article 1, paragraph 2 of the order lists the structural standards for a simple lodging business. Its first item is an aggregate: the total floor area of the guest rooms must be 33 square metres or more. The alternative applies to very small operations. Where the licence application states a number of guests below ten, the figure becomes 3.3 square metres multiplied by that number of guests.
Those two numbers are proportional to each other. At exactly ten guests, 3.3 square metres each would come to 33 square metres, which is our multiplication; the order sets the flat 33 as the standard and reserves the per-guest formula for applications below ten. A licence for nine guests therefore needs 29.7 square metres by the same multiplication, and a licence for twenty guests needs the same 33 square metres as a licence for ten.
Nothing in the paragraph divides that area by room or by berth. An operator who fits several sleeping units into a space meeting the aggregate figure has satisfied item one as written.
The one capsule dimension in the order is about a metre between berths
Item two of the same paragraph is the only clause in the order that addresses stacked sleeping. Where tiered berths are used, the interval between the upper and the lower must be approximately one metre or more. The order uses a word meaning “roughly” rather than fixing an exact minimum.
The remaining five items of paragraph 2 are about services rather than dimensions: adequate ventilation, lighting, daylight, damp-proofing and drainage; bathing facilities of a scale meeting guests’ needs, unless bathing is found not to be impeded, a nearby public bath being the example the order gives rather than the only route; washing facilities of an appropriate scale; an appropriate number of toilets; and conformity with whatever structural standards the prefecture sets by ordinance. That makes seven items in paragraph 2 in total, counted from the order’s own numbering.
The prefectural ordinance item matters for anyone comparing two establishments in different cities. The national order is the floor, and a prefecture, or a city or special ward that operates its own public health centre, can add to it.
A hotel room owes seven square metres and a front desk, and a simple lodging owes neither
Paragraph 1 of the same article covers the hotel and inn category, and it is built differently. Its first item is per room: the floor area of one guest room must be 7 square metres or more, rising to 9 square metres for a room in which a bed is placed. The difference between the two is 2 square metres, by our subtraction.
| Business category in the order | Area standard in item one | Front desk clause | Number of items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel and inn business | 7 square metres per guest room, 9 with a bed | Yes | 8 |
| Simple lodging business | 33 square metres for all guest rooms together, or 3.3 square metres per guest below ten guests | No | 7 |
| Boarding house business | None | No | 5 |
Paragraph 1 item two requires an entrance desk suitable for meeting prospective guests, or other equipment for confirming who they are, conforming to standards set by ministerial ordinance. That clause appears once in the whole order, in paragraph 1. We searched the text and found no counterpart in paragraph 2 or paragraph 3. Paragraph 1 also carries an item with no equivalent in the other two, and it is not about entertainment premises next door. Where the establishment itself sits within roughly 100 metres of the grounds of a facility listed in Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Act, which is a school other than a university, a certified childcare centre, a child welfare facility or a social education facility named by prefectural ordinance, it must have equipment blocking the view from those grounds into its guest rooms, into any hall where guests are entertained or served food and drink, into any hall for games that may excite a gambling urge, and into its other facilities.
The third paragraph, for boarding house businesses, has five items and no area standard of any kind. Article 2 then allows the ministry to set special exceptions to paragraphs 1 and 2 for facilities used seasonally, facilities in areas where transport is markedly inconvenient, and others with special circumstances.
One chain’s check-in window runs from 15:00 to 05:00, and check-out has no extension
What the law leaves open, operators fill in with published rules. The nine hours chain states check-in from 15:00 until 05:00 the following morning, with its Narita Airport branch alone running 14:00 to 05:00. Check-out is by 11:00, and the chain states plainly that extensions are not accepted; at Narita Airport check-out is 10:00.
A late arrival is not simply late. Where check-in will fall after midnight, the chain requires advance notice through its enquiry form, and states that without that notice the booking may be treated as a no-show, which carries a cancellation charge of 100 per cent of the accommodation price. The cancellation policy itself is free up to the day before check-in, and 100 per cent on the day of check-in or for a no-show, with a note that non-refundable plans, group bookings and corporate contracts may be governed by a different policy.
The check-in window as published spans 14 hours at the branches other than Narita Airport, and 15 hours at Narita Airport, by our subtraction from the printed times.
A second night does not include the daytime, because the capsule shuts from 11:00 to 15:00
The chain answers the consecutive-nights question directly, and the answer is a restriction. During the whole-building cleaning period, 11:00 to 15:00, the capsule units cannot be used; at Narita Airport that period is 10:00 to 14:00. Guests staying consecutive nights are asked either to go out or to move to the lounge, and the chain adds that some branches have no lounge.
That is four hours a day in which a paid-for second night provides no bed, by our subtraction, and the period begins at the same moment as the check-out deadline. The practical shape of a two-night stay is therefore two sleeping windows separated by an afternoon outside the building.
Capsule contents are itemised: a power outlet, a USB Type-A charging port, a dimmer control, a roll screen, a mattress, a pillow and a duvet. The USB port carries an exception naming two branches, 9h Narita Airport and 9h Sendai, which do not have it. Eating and drinking inside the capsule unit is asked against, with the lounge or outside the building given as the places for it, and the chain states it has no laundry.
Children are admitted from six, and every guest needs a capsule of their own
The chain’s age rules are set out in three bands with a floor of six years old, and they come with a booking rule that applies at every age: one capsule must be booked per person, irrespective of age, and no child rate exists.
| Age band | Condition as published |
|---|---|
| Under 6 | Not admitted |
| 6 to 11 | Accompanied by a guardian of the same sex |
| 12 to 17 | Accompanied by a guardian, or unaccompanied with a consent form signed by a guardian |
| 18 and over | No particular restriction |
The same-sex requirement applies to the 6 to 11 band only; the 12 to 17 band requires a guardian without specifying sex, and offers the signed consent form as the alternative. A family of two adults and two nine-year-olds books four capsules at the adult rate, and the two children must each be with a guardian of their own sex.
Free amenities are listed as a rental bath towel and face towel, rental indoor wear, slippers, and earplugs for those who ask. Toothbrushes, shavers and a four-item skincare set are charged for. Shampoo, conditioner and body soap are described as fitted in the showers.
Three of one chain’s thirteen Japanese cabins are inside an airport
First Cabin lists thirteen facilities in Japan on its own site: five in Tokyo at Atagoyama, Akasaka, Haneda Terminal 1, Ichigaya and Akihabara; one in Kyoto at Nijo Castle; three in Osaka at Kansai Airport, Midosuji Namba and Nishi-Umeda; one in Shimane at Matsue; one in Fukuoka at Hakata; one in Nagasaki; and one in Okinawa at Naha Airport. Those counts add to thirteen, which is our addition.
Three of the thirteen are at airports, by name: Haneda Terminal 1, Kansai Airport and Naha Airport. The chain separately lists two group facilities under a different brand, GLANSIT Akihabara and GLANSIT Kyoto Kawaramachi, and two overseas properties, in Hawaii and at Seoul Myeongdong.
Airport branches are where the published exceptions cluster in both chains. At 9h Narita Airport, large luggage has to go to the airport’s own temporary baggage office because the hotel states it has no storage space; luggage cannot be sent ahead to that branch, and it does not hold bags before check-in, while other branches hold them on the day of check-in. The nine hours chain holds no luggage after check-out at all. First Cabin does, but only on the day of the stay, and its own pages except two branches: Haneda Terminal 1, which cites airport security for refusing it after check-out, and Matsue, which is unstaffed and holds no luggage at any point.
Four branches of one chain take no cash at all
The nine hours chain lists its accepted payment methods in two sets, one for prepayment on its own site and one for payment at the branch. Prepayment takes credit cards from VISA, MasterCard, JCB, American Express and Diners, plus debit cards and Apple Pay. On-site payment adds UnionPay and DISCOVER, six QR services named as PayPay, d-barai, auPAY, merpay, Alipay and WeChat Pay, and electronic money as transit IC cards, iD and QUICPay.
Cash is the exception, and it is branch-specific. At the chain’s smart check-in branches, cash cannot be used, and four are named: 9h Hakata Station, 9h Woman Shinjuku, 9h Ningyocho, and 9h Shinagawa Station Sleep Lab for men. A traveller carrying only yen notes can check into the other branches and not into those four.
Locker sizes are not standardised either. The chain states they differ by branch and refers the question to each branch’s own page, with the front desk taking items that do not fit.
Sources Checked
Government of Japan, e-Gov law search — Hotel Business Act Enforcement Order (Cabinet Order No. 152 of 1957)
Confirmed Article 1 paragraph 1 for the hotel and inn business: a guest room floor area of 7 square metres or more, 9 square metres where a bed is placed; the entrance desk clause for confirming prospective guests under ministerial standards; the clause requiring, where the establishment sits within roughly 100 metres of the grounds of a facility listed in Article 3 paragraph 3 of the Act, equipment blocking the view from those grounds into guest rooms, into halls for entertaining or serving guests, into halls for games that may excite a gambling urge and into other facilities; and eight items in total. Confirmed from Article 3 paragraph 3 of the Hotel Business Act itself that the facilities listed there are schools other than universities and certified childcare centres, child welfare facilities, and social education facilities and similar facilities named by prefectural ordinance. Confirmed Article 1 paragraph 2 for the simple lodging business: a total guest-room floor area of 33 square metres or more, or 3.3 square metres multiplied by the number of guests where the application states fewer than ten; an interval of approximately 1 metre or more between upper and lower tiered berths; ventilation, lighting, daylight, damp-proofing and drainage; bathing facilities unless bathing is found not to be impeded, with a nearby public bath given as an example and not as the only qualifying case; washing facilities; an appropriate number of toilets; conformity with prefectural ordinance standards; and seven items in total. Confirmed Article 1 paragraph 3 for the boarding house business: five items and no area standard. Confirmed Article 2 permitting ministerial exceptions for seasonally used facilities, facilities in areas of markedly inconvenient transport, and others with special circumstances. Confirmed by searching the full text that the word for capsule appears nowhere in the order, that the term for tiered berths appears once, and that the entrance desk clause appears once and only in paragraph 1.
https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/api/1/lawdata/332CO0000000152
nine hours (9h) — official frequently asked questions
Confirmed check-in from 15:00 to 05:00 the following morning and 14:00 to 05:00 at the Narita Airport branch; check-out by 11:00 with no extensions and 10:00 at Narita Airport; the requirement for advance notice through the enquiry form where check-in falls after midnight and the possibility of no-show treatment without it; cancellation free until the day before check-in and 100 per cent on the day or for a no-show, with non-refundable plans, group bookings and corporate contracts noted as possibly differing; the cleaning period of 11:00 to 15:00, and 10:00 to 14:00 at Narita Airport, during which capsule units cannot be used on consecutive-night stays, with guests asked to go out or use the lounge and some branches having no lounge; capsule contents of power outlet, USB Type-A charging port, dimmer control, roll screen, mattress, pillow and duvet, with 9h Narita Airport and 9h Sendai excepted from the USB port; the absence of laundry; the request not to eat or drink inside the capsule; the minimum age of six, one capsule per person at any age and no child rate; guardian conditions for ages 6 to 11 and 12 to 17 and no particular restriction from 18; free amenities of rental bath and face towel, rental indoor wear, slippers and earplugs on request, and charged toothbrush, shaver and four-item skincare set; shampoo, conditioner and body soap fitted in the showers; locker sizes differing by branch with the front desk taking oversized items; large luggage at 9h Narita Airport directed to the airport’s temporary baggage office with no storage space at the hotel, no advance shipping to that branch and no pre-check-in holding there; same-day pre-check-in holding at other branches; no luggage holding after check-out; prepayment methods of VISA, MasterCard, JCB, American Express, Diners, debit cards and Apple Pay; on-site methods adding UnionPay, DISCOVER, the QR services PayPay, d-barai, auPAY, merpay, Alipay and WeChat Pay, and electronic money as transit IC, iD and QUICPay; and the four smart check-in branches where cash cannot be used, 9h Hakata Station, 9h Woman Shinjuku, 9h Ningyocho and 9h Shinagawa Station Sleep Lab for men.
https://ninehours.co.jp/faq/
FIRST CABIN HD CO., LTD. — official site
Confirmed that luggage is held before and after check-in on the day of the stay, that Haneda Terminal 1 does not hold it after check-out for airport security reasons and that the unstaffed Matsue branch holds none at all; and the thirteen facilities listed in Japan: Atagoyama, Akasaka, Haneda Terminal 1, Ichigaya and Akihabara in Tokyo; Kyoto Nijo Castle; Kansai Airport, Midosuji Namba and Nishi-Umeda in Osaka; Matsue in Shimane; Hakata in Fukuoka; Nagasaki; and Naha Airport in Okinawa. Confirmed the two group facilities GLANSIT Akihabara and GLANSIT Kyoto Kawaramachi, and the two overseas properties in Hawaii and at Seoul Myeongdong.
https://www.first-cabin.jp/
Last updated: October 2026
