Check out the Tokyo hostel where backpackers squeeze into closet-sized rooms for $12 a night

When asked if he'd rather live in a mansion or a small, windowless space, photographer Won Kim openly admits he would choose a tight, "womb-like" space over a mansion any day. Small spaces "give me a feeling of security and coziness," Kim tells Business Insider.

So when Kim stayed at a Tokyo hostel that provides its visitors with only a tight, one-person space made with untreated plywood, he felt right at home. Somewhere between a hotel and hostel, Kim describes this nontraditional space as a "guesthouse for backpackers in Tokyo" that is unlike other lodges in the city.

Although Kim requested the hostel's exact location and name to remain anonymous, it became clear to him that the real story was the temporary set-ups within the business' walls. He began documenting residents of the hostel, noticing the diversity of the travelers, and seeing how they utilized the little space provided to make it their own, even as temporary residents.