This Week in Pods

Photo credit: Matthias Ripp, CC BY 2.0.
We haven’t had a good pod story in a while, but this article from Kyodo News hits so many Pod Points that I think we have Pod Bingo:
A new lifestyle hotel featuring “art pods,” capsules covered in works of art in which guests can spend the night, was unveiled in Tokyo’s fashionable Shibuya district Friday.
The hotel is called The Millennials Shibuya.
The pods include art by Marvel Comics artist Nico Leon.
The pods are smart:
Traditional capsules have been replaced by “smart pods,” which are more spacious and have lighting, a reclining sofa / bed, and a unique wake-up alarm that are controlled by an iPod handed to guests at reception.
Oh, and the hotel includes a communal coworking space and a communal kitchen with free beer, because Millennials love sharing space with other people! That’s literally what the hotelier states in the article. I’d be more inclined to say that Millennials have come to accept sharing space with other people — and I’d also be curious about why, if we love communal spaces so much, they needed to add free beer to incentivize us into visiting the kitchen.
Before you’re all “but you’re talking about American Millennials here, and the hotel is designed for Japanese Millennials:” the article notes that the hotel is almost exclusively booked by non-Japanese visitors. I don’t know about you, but I’d jump at the chance to stay at the The Millennials Shibuya if I were ever in Tokyo. I’d probably steer clear of the communal coworking space, though; I’d be the person turning my bed into a sofa so I can hole up in my pod and get some work done.
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