You’re walking along a busy, brightly-lit Tokyo street when you encounter a downright outlandish building. The private entrance has a sign reading “stay” (宿泊, shukuhaku) and “rest” (休憩, kyukei). The building has fancy lettering, typically neon signs and a quirky name like Hotel Oz, Casablanca or Hotel Fooo. By now you realize that you have not encountered a regular hotel. You’re standing in front of a Japanese rabuho (love hotels). Welcome to the not-so-hidden, pay-by-the-hour (or night) pleasure accommodation for couples, secret lovers and other forms of one-time celebrations of love.
Love Hotels: History & Background
o surprises here. A “love hotel” is essentially a no-tell motel. A short-stay accommodation that offers hourly or nightly rates—in the name of love. Whatever this means to the users. A rest or short stay can be anywhere from two to four hours. It can cost between ¥2,900-¥7,000 depending on the date and hotel. A stay (typically overnight to 9 or 10 a.m.) can cost anywhere from ¥3,900 to well over ¥20,000. Any room service items or meals that you order can add to these prices as well.
The modern term (love hotel) comes from Hotel Love, the first of this kind which opened in Osaka in 1968.
The concept of a love hotel is not unique to Japan. The modern term itself comes from Hotel Love, the first of this kind, which opened in Osaka in 1968. It was soon followed by thousands of other love hotels throughout the country. Love hotels were originally meant as short-stay destinations for couples needing a little privacy. During the early postwar period, young couples often still lived in extended family dwellings. As such, any one-on-one special moments had to be conducted elsewhere.
During the economic Bubble period in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, love hotels became almost a status symbol date spot. Going there with your partner was almost ritualized as a standard date course. The hotels were flourishing and the business competition was fierce. To keep up with demands, hotel operators would open themed hotels (jungles, fairytales, Kitty etc,). They catered to various clientele and preferences to suit every taste. In those years, love hotels were a trend. A friend of mine jokingly said once that many Japanese people in their late twenties to thirties today “were probably conceived during a date in one of those hotels.” True or not, it shows how popular it was back then.
Love Hotels Today: Less or More Entertaining?
Today, love hotels are still a big part of the dating (and sex industry) landscape in Japan. They are also becoming one of the biggest tourist draws and sources of cheap accommodation. With more single people living alone, the need to visit love hotels for dates has decreased over the years. It called for an adjustment in their business plan. It is estimated that there are over 10,000 love hotels in Japan. However, according to research released in 2016, the occupancy rate is approximately 40% on weekdays. Ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the government announced plans to convert some “underperforming” love hotels into regular accommodation facilities.
As a result, in rural areas with or near major highway access, many older love hotels have adjusted their policies. Rooms have been edited to be family-friendly, allowing for group or business stays. Many now even offer full-room service meal menus. Other love hotels have started offering special service packages for birthday parties, beauty retreats, and bachelorette parties. There are even luxury stays with couples’ aesthetic spa programs that include hot springs and saunas.
For Women Traveling Alone
Love hotels are also great places to stay if you are a woman traveling alone. Capsule and business hotels are sometimes restricted to men-only locations. They often don’t include amenities or even adequate bathing space or storage for long-distance travelers. I’ve visited 36 prefectures in Japan so far and stayed by myself at love hotels in all of them. No reservations in advance are required! And no need to worry about curfews or check-in limitations. The only downside is the struggle to find a place that has any rooms available during peak holiday times.
Click here to read more.
- External Link
- https://savvytokyo.com/
10 Comments
Login to comment
Gene Hennigh
All I need to know is I ain't got nobody.
Yrral
At least go there with someone,you have at least an emotional, spiritual and personal relationships with or you only be a booty call
DanteKH
This is one of the things we really miss in Europe or other parts of the world.
I wish they will become a thing in more countries.
kohakuebisu
This is a good article and wise to stress that they can be very nice hotels with well equipped rooms. There will be hundreds of ones with very conventional rooms for every love hotel that has a dungeon or other wildly themed rooms, even if the latter get all the attention.
In many places they tend to be clustered together due to zoning. In inaka, they won't be near public transport, so you'll need a car.
iron man
the best winter love hotel i found in jpn was a nice Shinjuku hotel high floor south facing room where you punched the open curtain button am and got a framed view of fuji shan. I Do not knock the 'cheaper stuff' convenient and accessible, are all hotels not predominantly targeting lovers restaurants n 'all, and taking their bucks,
NCIS Reruns
This article has been thoroughly researched and is both accurate and comprehensive, but the writer could have done a better job concerning past history. Before WW2, the predecessors of love hotels were known as machiya and fairly common. In Tokyo and other big cities. Since brothels were legal back then, overnight accommodations were included as part of the package, making such hotels less necessary than they are now. After the war, short-time places became known as tsurekomi ryokan or abekku hoteru, from the French avec. And of course there were always hotels at onsen, which are still around today.
It would also have been fun to read about some of the more colorful or extreme services offered by rabuho. In Saitama there's a hotel that picks up couples who make reservations beforehand in a Ferrari. An upscale establishment between Osaka and Nara features rooms with Disney motifs and has a merry-go-round horse on springs, for couples who want to play cowboy. And a place in Kabukicho provides a spacious bathing area with sukebe-isu (stool with an open center, to provide access when washing certain body parts) and air mattresses, for couples who want to emulate the services provided at soaplands. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Establishments that offer parking also provide panels for blocking views of the customers'' license plates, although I doubt that would discourage a private detective determined to obtain photographic evidence of infidelity.
kurisupisu
NCIS Reruns
Addendem to my comments above: Back in the 1990s, one Japanese wag began describing love hotels as "urban resorts."
GBR48
I'm not sure I'd suggest using the lower cost love hotels as an ordinary hotel. I've been in ones with virtually no lighting in the corridors and stairwells, lifts that accommodate two thin people max, padlocked fire escapes, no windows in the room, and more cigarette smoke in public areas than oxygen. And yet you can usually rely on well-laundered bed linen and a jacuzzi-style tub. The cleaners really earn their keep in these places.
They are still very popular. They can get fully booked at some times of some days of the week. Luckily they are usually sited in little groups. If one is full, try the next.
DanteKH
Love hotels should be only used for couples looking to have a good time, not kept occupied by single visitors. That's why there are also a lot of Business Hotels instead.