Made in Japan
A Japanese Love Hotel is, put simply, a type of accommodation that rent you a double room for a short period of time. Kind of the Japanese equivalent of the rent-by-the-hour dive hotels you see in movies, but in this case they’re rather nice.
Any Love Hotel will offer one to three hours during the daytime, which they call a “rest” and that sets you back about $30-80 bucks depending on the duration and quality of the hotel. You can also rent for the whole night, called a “stay” which usually starts after 10pm and will be about $90 or $100. Weekends do attract a higher rate. As the name implies, the main purpose of a love hotel is to provide couples with some undisturbed quality time – which is putting it politely.
Japanese Love Hotel
The rooms in Love Hotels come fitted out as you’d expect, some are themed (Can you say Hello Kitty?) but all fit their purpose with large beds, a television in case you feel like checking out something erotic, as well as premium bathrooms equipped with spacious tubs. If you’re in the right love hotel, open the fridge and find a selection of toys for your pleasure! Use of the toys will be charged to your room bill to be paid when you leave, and the same goes for costumes that are available to rent or buy.
The love hotel business is rife, and the establishments are all over Japan; they can usually be recognised because of their bright exteriors. Shibuya has its own famous district for love hotels, affectionately known as Love Hotel Hill. The reception at a love hotel is rather anonymous; most places have guests choose their own room by viewing what’s available on a big screen and paying a teller who sits behind frosted glass. Others will have a little vending machine and you won’t have to worry about the teller silently judging you for the theme you chose.
They’re pretty commonly accepting of foreigners, so you won’t have to worry about being turned away if you haven’t done any research.
