Hotel MyCUBE Toyama

Toyama rarely appears on a first trip through Japan, which is exactly what makes this useful — it serves travellers working along the Hokuriku line rather than the standard route south.

Rooms are cabin-style rather than coffin-style: enclosed sleeping units with a door you can shut, a light you control, and enough height to sit up comfortably. Bathing and washing facilities are shared and kept to a Japanese standard of order.

Lockers, a lounge and clearly enforced quiet hours make the format workable for more than one night — which is not true of every capsule property.