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| Love Hotels (ラブ ホテル) From Wikitravel, the free travel guide. Love Hotel is a bit of a euphemism, the more accurate term would be sex hotel. They can be found in and near red light districts, but most are not in those areas. Many of them are often clustered around highway interchanges or main train stations out of the city and back to the suburbs. Basically you can rent a room by the night (listed as "Stay" on the rate card), the hour ("Rest"), or off hours ("No Time Service") which are usually weekday afternoons. They are generally clean, safe, and very private. Some have fantastic themes like castles, Disney, sports, whatever. As a traveler, not a tryster, you cannot check in, drop your bags, and go out exploring. Once you leave, that is it, so they are not as convenient as proper hotels. "Stay" rates also tend to start only after 10 PM, and overstaying may incur hefty additional "Rest" charges. Many rooms have simple food and drinks in a refrigerator, and often have somewhat high charges. Before entering a love hotel, it would be wise to take some food and drinks with you. Popular hotels may be entirely booked up in the cities on weekends. Why are they everywhere? Consider the housing shortage that plagued post-war Japan for years, and the way people still live in extended families. If you are 28 years old and still live at home, do you really want to bring your mate back to your folks' house? Or, if you are a married couple in a 40 square meter apartment with two grade school children, do you really want to get down to it at home? Thus, the love hotel. They can be seedy, but mainly they are just practical and fulfill a social need. What does a love hotel cost? It depends on what time you go, how long you stay for, and it's location. It costs anywhere from about ￥6,000 for a "rest" and ￥10,000 for a "stay." Links
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