Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Travel

Visit the Only Hotel in the World With a Working In-Room Flight Simulator

Mike Richard
By

For most of us, flying is a painful but necessary evil to get where we’re going. For others, there’s no such thing as too many flights, too long a layover, or too many hotel stays. These borderline psychopaths are simply obsessed with every part of travel, often just for travel’s sake. For anyone who spends their time on the ground dreaming of getting back in the air, Tokyo’s Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu just debuted a specialty hotel room unlike any other.

Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu
Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu

The hotel’s sole Superior Cockpit Room looks like a basic, entry-level double room at any slightly upscale chain hotel. But, there’s one notable difference: The entire window has been replaced with a world-first, in-room flight simulator. The $92,000 installation is a full-size working replica of a Boeing 737-800 cockpit that offers wannabe pilots the chance to test their flying mettle. The 90-minute simulator experience includes a professional instructor to guide guests through their flight across Japan, including taking off from Haneda Airport and landing at Osaka International. Guests can choose day or night flights. Those who prefer to spectate rather than participate can book the room alone, and enjoy hands-off views of the glowing cockpit from behind a transparent acrylic divider.

Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu Superior Cockpit Room Flight Simulator
Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu

Inside and out, Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu looks like most any other modern, business-centric hotel. Its Premier Flyers rooms have long been popular with aviation lovers, however, because of their commanding views overlooking the Tokyo Airport. That the hotel already caters to hardcore travelers is what compelled the general manager to install the simulator as a way to differentiate it from Tokyo’s thousands of other hotels.

Recommended Videos

Guests can book the flight simulator experience a la carte for ¥30,000 (USD $277), or opt to add an overnight stay in the Superior Cockpit Room for an additional ¥25,300 (USD $234). The experience is only available on specific dates, so be prepared to book early. A hotel spokesperson confirms it’s been wildly popular, with slots selling out weeks in advance. Sadly, a pilot’s cap and uniform are not included.

Related

If you’re looking for a similar plane-centric experience without the need to climb into the cockpit, check out these destinations where you can sleep in a grounded airplane.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Richard
Mike Richard
Contributor
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
Inside the World’s 5 Sleekest Capsule Hotels
best capsule hotels c ebisu hotel japan

Most hotels attempt to woo travelers with a long list of amenities. Japanese-inspired capsule hotels instead take a different tact. They provide clean, modern, and most importantly, cheap accommodations provided guests are willing to sacrifice on space — a lot of space.
°C Ebisu
Tokyo, Japan

From the city that both invented and popularized the capsule hotel, Tokyo’s ℃ Ebisu is a textbook example of these stripped-down accommodations. Located in the capital city’s popular Shibuya district, the newly renovated hotel has everything most travelers want and nothing they don’t. The design feels like something out of Blade Runner with long, raw wood hallways and coffin-style “rooms” whose only features are a tiny LCD TV, a telephone, and a handful of electrical sockets for guests to charge their electronics. Common amenities are limited to a laundry room and a Finnish-style sauna. Average nightly rates start around USD $35, but guests can opt for a quick nine-hour “nap stay” for half that. In a city with one of the highest costs of living in the world, it’s hard to beat the price.
inBox Capsule Hotel
St. Petersburg, Russia

Read more
This is the must-have travel item iPhone 15 users need (and it’s less than $20)
This eSIM will be as useful as Global Entry
Portrait of handsome smiling man in casual wear holding his luggage and messaging through his mobile phone while sitting in the hall of the airport.

 

If there's one thing that we can't live without (especially when we're traveling) it's our smartphones. But finding the right plan for that iPhone 15 can be difficult. International travelers have been battling the fine print of cellphone plans for years, and so far, most resolutions are either short-lived or more hassle than anyone can realistically bear. From the intended flexibility of Google-Fi to T-Mobile’s expansive international benefits, cellphone companies of all sizes have spent years rolling out (and reneging) intricate cellphone plans tailored to frequent travelers. 

Read more
CEO says Southwest Airlines may add red-eye flights in certain markets
A cheap fare and one less hotel night will help your travel budget
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX Departing Kahului International Airport Maui Hawaii

 

Following the praise from launching its long-awaited bag tracking site, Southwest is keeping up the momentum with the mention of another possible development: red-eye flights. Red-eye flights are a heaven-sent flight option for many travelers when trying to travel flexibly and affordably. 

Read more