Capsule Hotels, four hotels

Guests check themselves in at a kiosk, take what the screen gives them and find their own pod. Shoes come off at the entrance. Bags go into a locker, drinks come from a counter that anyone may use, and the pod is left tidy for whoever has it next.

The house keeps the pods, the showers and the shared floors in order. Linen is changed between stays, the quiet floors are watched over, and staff step in when the kiosk cannot answer something. Water, light and the plants in the common rooms are looked after around the clock.

The building stands in Manhattan and takes people at any hour of the day or night, including those between flights or between shifts. A desk with a queue cannot hold every arrival, so the machine takes the first step and the staff stay behind it.

At the counter each guest picks up a folded set for the night and carries it to a locker. Shoes and clothes are stored there. In the morning the set goes into a basket by the changing room, the locker is emptied, and the pod is left as it was found.

The house runs the laundry, the showers and the pods to one pattern. Sets are washed and folded again, the sleeping floors are kept dark and quiet, and cleaning goes through between morning and evening. Staff hold the desk and the lockers and keep the floors separated by gender.

The chain uses one plan in every city, and this house is the Sendai address rather than a Tokyo one. A short stay works only when the routine is fixed, so each guest handles their own set within it.

Footwear is left at the entrance and swapped for slippers. Cases go into the store, and a change of clothes and a towel are carried from the counter to the cabin. Used linen is dropped where it belongs on the way out, and the cabin is left clear for cleaning.

The house keeps cabins, baths and corridors in order and runs the laundry between stays. Staff hold the desk, manage the luggage store and keep the men's and women's floors apart. Lighting and sound are held low through the night, and the bathing rooms are cleaned on a set round.

The cabins are open at the ceiling and stand close together along a shared corridor, so quiet depends on everyone keeping to the same habits. Putting each thing where it belongs is what makes a whole floor of them work at night.

The bath is drawn and used at whatever hour suits, and each guest sees to their own washing in the machines upstairs. Drinks are poured at a counter that stands open all day. Nightwear is picked up on the way in, and the pod is straightened again before leaving.

The house keeps the bathing floor hot and clean, stocks the counter and maintains the machines. Pods are made up between stays, towels and nightwear are laundered, and the desk stays open through the night. The men's and women's floors are held separate and cleaned on their own round.

A capsule house in central Osaka is used at every hour, and guests come and go through the whole of the night. Nothing there can wait on an attendant, so the bath, the machines and the counter are simply left open and kept stocked.