What is a Japanese Love Hotel?

Love hotels in Japan are, as the name implies, hotels intended to be used for the purpose of making love (or copulating, having sex, or whatever term you choose to call the act.) They were meant to alleviate the lack-of-privacy problem that many Japanese couples - married or otherwise - face in Japan.

Love hotels in Japan are quiet cheap when you consider that the rooms are usually much bigger than a normal hotel room, often have large-screen TVs that can also be used for karaoke or video game units such as Play Station or Nintendo, have larger baths and showers, and - of course - have larger beds.

How to recognize a love hotel

The outside of most love hotels are brightly colored with neon lights and may even have a theme attached to it. For example, a love hotel with a christmas theme, Cinderella theme, or even an outer space theme. (This seems quite odd considering that people who go there prefer to draw as little attention to themselves as possible.)

In many cases, the windows will either have the shutters permanently closed or the building may have no windows at all to allow for complete privacy. In addition, the parking lots will be located either inside the building or outside with at least a tent-like covering to prevent outsiders from seeing patrons going from their cars to the entrance.

Love hotel location

Love hotels can be found in pretty much all cities in Japan. Some of them will be single "stand alone" establishments located all by themselves while other love hotels will be part of a large "district" of love hotels. In these areas, anywhere from three to ten or more love hotels will all be positioned next to each other.

Most love hotels (either singularly or in groups) are located in out-of-the-way places within a city. You'll rarely see one on a main street or proudly positioned next to a train station. They are most often hidden away on the back streets.

Two important observations can be made about the locations of love hotels in Japan:

- All residents of the city know where the love hotel district is located.
- Usually only couples can be seen walking in and out of the area.

Fancy Rooms

Love hotels offer a variety of room choices: from old European style to traditional Japanese to cute manga characters to... well... pretty much anything one can think of!

Click to see larger images:

(What is amazing to note is that many of the fancy rooms at love hotels cost about the same as a much smaller and less decorated rooms at a normal hotels!)

Amenities

Love hotels in Japan come with pretty much all the necessary amenities that even a normal hotel would have: bath towels, hand towels, body soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouth wash, etc etc etc. In addition, there usually is complimentary coffee and, of course, complimentary condoms (usually two) for safe sex.

Some love hotels even have room service. Those that don't often have mini vending machines in the rooms that offer drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.)

Variable stay options

Love hotels in Japan offer many ways to stay and "play":

• One or two hour "rest time" (休憩 kyukei)
• All night stay (宿泊 shukuhaku)
• Special discounted daytime stays (サービス・タイム service time)

Often, if you choose the one or two hour "rest time" option, you can extend the time you stay for an extra fee (usually between ¥700 to ¥1,000 by the half-hour.)

How to use

There are two standard ways to choose a room at a love hotel: talking to someone at the front desk or pushing a button on a special lighted menu.

The Front Desk

This is usually only found in the older love hotels in Japan. But don't worry about a face-to-face confrontation with the desk clerk. Most often the clerk is hidden behind an opaque "bank teller's window" with only a small hole at the top of the counter for you to pass money through.

The Lighted Menu

The future is here! The lighted menu system is the king of privacy for the love hotel visitor. Inside the entrance of the hotel you'll find a lighted panel of rooms. Rooms whose lights are dimmed are already taken and unavailable. Rooms with lights still on are vacant. (Click the image on the right to see the larger version.)

To get a room simply push the button on the panel and that room is yours. The newer love hotels will also have automatic electric signs in the hallways that will flash to show you the way to your room.