NINE HOURS, a Japanese hotelier that provides ultra-economical, pod-style accommodation, has opened a new location at Narita Airport in Tokyo. The concept of capsule hotels is nothing new—the first such establishment opened in Osaka in 1979, and they have grown in popularity among frugal travellers, inebriated office workers andeven the unemployed—but this is the first time sleeping pods have appeared at airports. Gulliver is surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

Catching forty winks during an airport stopover can be a trying experience, so much so that many people—myself included—no longer make the effort. Being six foot four, your correspondent has learned to preoccupy himself in other ways while waiting for connecting flights: working and reading fit the bill nicely, as does staring forlornly at the runway while I drift into a semi-conscious haze. Though my mood often flounders and my temper shortens, I have found my circadian rhythm to be a negotiable biological process. Once the mind recognises that the conditions for sleep are absent, the body makes pragmatic adjustments. The horizon of consciousness stretches, and traditional concepts of time evaporate.



But it needn’t be this way, says Nine Hours. It has set up 129 pods at Narita, equipped with beds, and not much else. Each one measures about two metres long, one metre high and one metre wide. The price is ¥1,500 ($14.50) for the first hour, then ¥500 for each subsequent hour. Or you can pay ¥3,900 for a full night. Customers have access to shower facilities, high-speed Wi-Fi, storage lockers and a shared lounge.



Capsule hotels became popular in Tokyo because of sky-high property values and limited space in the metropolis. In the airport, though, space is less of an issue than cost. Splashing out on a hotel room makes sense if you have ten hours to kill (not to mention a generous boss), but the average stopover will be shorter. Given relatively quick turnaround times, travellers in the market for a bed probably want to use it to the fullest. That means lights off, heads down, and consciousness over. Full-blown hotel rooms with amenities like telephones, desks and cable TV seem excessive; so does paying for a whole night when your flight departs in five hours.



Indeed, although pods are a new phenomenon at airports, economical accommodation is not.The Economistreportedin 2007 that the Japanese concept has gradually morphed into a more generously-proportioned model elsewhere. TodayYotel, a British hotelier, sells hourly accommodation in “cabins” at London Gatwick, London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol airports. Its product sits further along the spectrum between cramped pods and spacious rooms, offering workstations, flat-screen TVs and enough space to stand up and swing your arms around. At Munich Airport, prefab-styleNapCab sleeping cabins equipped with beds and desks are charged by the minute. Prices for both cabins are about double the cost of Nine Hours’ cosy pods.



If there is a drawback to what seems like an efficient solution to a familiar problem, it's location. Despite being targeted at connecting passengers, most establishments are land-side. That forces travellers to pass through customs and security twice, which disrupts slumber time, heightens stress levels, and might necessitate visa purchases. On the other hand, people with lengthy stopovers usually leave the air-side terminal anyway. Anything that humanises the overall airport experience and de-monopolises full-service hotel offerings should be welcomed.



And for those readers whose frugality keeps even pods out of reach: choose your stopover wisely. Doha’s new Hamad International Airport has free-to-access “quiet rooms” with recliner lounge chairs, dim lighting and complimentary blankets. Other airports have similar facilities, if you know where to find them. Consultthis websitebefore your next trip.

Correction: As some commenters have pointed out, Napcabs in Munich and Yotel in Amsterdam are airside not landside. The text has been amended to reflect this. Sorry.