快活CLUB (or “kaikatsu club” in english) is an internet cafe chain/service in Japan. It’s kind of a misleading to call it an internet cafe if you’ve never seen a Japanese internet cafe before. While they do certainly have access to computers (pretty average ones, and some gaming ones), the primary reason why I think it’s worth mentioning is because they’re actually very optimal ways of traveling economically in Japan, especially if you’re on you're traveling solo¹⁾.

Particularly for things like anime tourism and for arcade/game center pilgrimages, or unplanned stays in new cities, it can be an easy, affordable way of staying the night.

You might think that that “sleeping in an internet cafe” is unsupported. But the practical reality is that this is expected and supported. Most clubs have private locking rooms, shared bathrooms (though some have VIP rooms with built-in bathrooms), showers, a washing machine and dryer, unlimited Japanese language manga, an unlimited soft drink bar, ice cream, access to broadcast satellite and terrestrial broadcast TV, and other miscellaneous amenities.

The biggest things you should be aware of if you stay in one of these are the following key points:

• Availability of showers does not mean that towels will be provided. However, some shops have different requirements and rules for shower use and will have different amenities available. Some showers are fully self-service, i.e., you just walk-in and use them, but others may require you to check in with the front desk and reserve a shower time. In Akihabara, for instance, showers are fully self-service but there are no towels. In Ikebukuro, there is a store with one towel included with your shower, but it requires a reservation. Akihabara limits shower time to 15 minutes. Ikebukuro limits shower time to 20 minutes.
• Various small differences exist, like Ikebukuro offering free razors and toothbrushes. Some do not have this, and some do.
• The temperature in your room is generally not climate controlled. You have the ability to control the airflow of incoming air, but this is not a temperature control – it’s a proxy. Sometimes the air temperature will be closer to 25-26C, and sometimes it’s as low as 18C. It truly just depends. I would say in my experience, the average is closer to 25-26C rather than 18C.
• You are allocated one blanket per store, and the blanket will not be large. You can expect that this blanket is not enough to cover an average European body type or male body type fully. There is some expectation built into these clubs that you’ll sleep on your back on a pillow on a mat, and that’s it. Do not expect to cozy up to a warm set of sheets, etc. Some stores naturally have more blankets than others by virtue of having less rooms and more blankets. The stores in Tokyo typically have posted signs limiting you to one blanket.
• Some rooms are not completely closed to the outside world and there might be the ability to look into your room for the purposes of disaster prevention, etc. This means that this is a suboptimal place, for example, to be naked or uncovered if that is the particular room type. You might not know if this is the only room type offered. In the case of some stores, it is common for people to hang their blanket up to block the window.
  • You might be able to hear your companions near you making noise, like snoring. There is a general disclaimer that you should not blast loud things in the private rooms because they aren't soundproofed. Causing a nuisance to other customers can get you kicked out.

All stores provide high-speed internet with wi-fi and charging. Some stores include charging cables in your room, others have them for purchase. You are explicitly asked in most stores not to connect to ethernet/LAN.

The most notable thing is that many stores outside of Tokyo offer food ordering systems. You can order food to-be delivered for you. You cannot eat this in a private locked room. From the point of view of convenience, if you’re outside of Tokyo on a pilgrimage of some kind, this can be used as convenient food of-last-resort if you don’t want to go to a convenience store.

In-addition to “private room with a mat” service, you can also use other less private options. Many stores have a diverse selection of options, including a non-locking room with a mat, a non-locking desk, etc.

Use cases I would strongly suggest for this service:

• You arrived in a city spontaneously and missed the last train, and you have no other options.
• There are no Toyoko inn midnight deals, or you want to save money.
• You don’t want to be “out of your room” by 10am, because you expect to sleep longer.
• You're doing a maimai pilgrimage across Japan!
• You're doing an anime pilgrimage across Japan!
• You spontaneously decided to go to Reitaisai but your hotel is in Osaka, and you need to get to Tokyo and stay the night.

The website will tell you where you can find stores! But you should try to install the official mobile app if you can. Some pages of the official website are available in English with automatic translation, and the app is not translated. I highly suggest that you use a translation app or service to determine the various amenities in each stores prior to embarking.

If you're not a resident, you should expect to bring your passport everywhere. You need to create a membership with the club to use the club. It would be better to do this in-advance rather than on-site. Many on-site places only have a machine you can do this on.

You must use your passport or equivalent identity document in Tokyo and other places. Tokyo has more strict identity requirements. Generally speaking you should bring this document with you and use the new member registration system. There are a variety of documents you need, but usually this is satisfied with documents that you, dear reader should have:

• A passport (if you are a resident this is not sufficient)
  • You need your current address (!) on an official document and obviously you don't meet this requirement if you live here
• Or a 個人番号カード
• Or a 在留カード

New member registration and check-in services are available in English and Japanese at stores with self-checkin. In stores that don't have this, you might need to translate and work with staff.

Yes! Surprisingly, the answer is yes! It's not at all a bad place to stay for one person. I think it's an exceptionally good value and a good comfort to know that these stores are widely available. If you're a solo-traveler in a new city, it's exceptionally good.

Reservations are not required. However, you need to reserve 3 days in-advance if you want to use the club with a reservation.

Most clubs require you to pay every 24 hours. If you want to pay and continue using the same room, you need to talk to staff. You shouldn't expect to be able to stay longer than 24 hours in the same room at the same time. For this to make the most economic sense, stay from about 9-10pm to about 9-10am the next day. The hourly price changes and there is basically a surcharge for night use. Some stores have night packs that are from 8-12 hours and charged separately. The pricing is always cheaper or competitive than a hotel but the pricing table might be substantially different.

Generally speaking the official answer is no. In-practice, some stores do not enforce or care about this rule, but the official stance is that for the “private locked room”, you shouldn't be eating or drinking anything from the store in your room. You can eat things you've purchased outside and drink things you've purchased outside your room, but you're not supposed to use the drink bar in your room.

(The reason for this is apparently something to do with a discussion with the police. I'm speculating wildly here, but something tells me that they're supposed to be licensed differently if you eat in your room.)

If you're checking in, it is easy to accidentally book a non-private room. If there are no staff the best thing you can do is switch to the seat map and use google translate or an equivalent translator on the seat map to find the area of the store with private locking rooms. Some stores are all this, others only a few are like this.

If you don't use the seat map selection system, the automatic allocation system can sometimes make it difficult, when using the English menu, to select the correct room type. For example, some of them are in the smoking area. Some of them are in the non-smoking area. If you pick a smoking preference, the check-in system won't offer you the one you want.

You can totally sleep in the non-locking areas, but the mat might be smaller than you expect and you might not find it comfortable.

Well you won't have a lot of space for this. I really reccommend putting it in a coin locker and having only the clothes you need for that night and other essentials in the actual room. You can open your luggage in your room on the top area. Please don't put your luggage on the mat itself, because people like sleeping on clean surfaces.

I mean probably not. It's Japan. There are sometimes lockers in each non-locked booth and sometimes there are coin lockers at the front.