Love Hotels

According to Japanese Love Hotels: A Cultural History by Sarah Chaplin, 1% of the Japanese population check into a love hotel (ラブホテル rabu hoteru), and 50% of all Japanese sex occurs in them. There are over 30,000 Japanese love hotels which earn more than 4 trillion yen per year, which is twice the value of the Japanese anime market. Love hotels generally offer a room rate for a “rest” kyūkei (休憩) or an overnight stay, although a “rest” is the more popular option. Generally they’re used by young couples who live with their respective parents, although they’re also used for prostitution in some cases.

Originating from “tea rooms” (chaya 茶屋) used by prostitutes, they became known as “tsurekomi yado” (連れ込み宿) or “bring-along inns” during the second world war, generally run by home-owners with spare rooms. The term “love hotel” apparently comes from an Osaka motel called “Hotel Love” which had a rotating sign on the roof with “Hotel” on one side, and “Love” on the other. The mis-reading produced the term “love hotel”, and it stuck.

Photo from Misty Keasler Photography; Love Hotels: Japan

While originally Love Hotels were just a room with a bed, the more expensive places offer themed rooms to cater for most fantasies; medical examination rooms, fairgrounds, bondage dungeons, and even subway carriages for people to indulge in “chikan” (痴漢, チカン, or ちかん), or “train groping”.