If you’re no stranger to the unique land and culture that is Japan, you may be familiar with the unusual concept of the love hotel. How did they come to be? Let’s dive a bit into their history and usage.
What Exactly Are Love Hotels?
Far from your average vacation spot retreat, love hotels are in a category of their own. Yes, they have the word “hotel” in their name. But upscale fancy resorts and cheap motor inns offer a convenient place to stay on vacation. Meanwhile, these particular establishments were built for a single purpose – namely, sex.
Sure, one could opt for a cheaper business-style hotel for a getaway with their partner. But what’s the fun in that? For a more romantic experience, these flashily designed, often themed locations have you covered in more ways than one.
There are approximately 37,000 love hotels across Japan. An estimated2.5 million people visit one every day. Experts say most people in Japan have visited one at least once.
Entry is discreet, with screens hiding faces at check-in. Some locations forgo check-in counters altogether for a more anonymous automated process. Couples can select and pay for a room with the touch of an on-screen button.
The rooms themselves often sport lavish luxuries. These include huge beds, Jacuzzis, unusually large bathrooms and tubs, adult toys and lingerie to purchase for use, and entertainment such as karaoke machines, cosplay costumes, and slot machines.
Additionally, love hotels are cheap. Visitors can rent rooms for a two-hour “rest” period (休憩) for as low as ￥4000 (around USD $40). However, there are also higher-end options available. Themed rooms generally tend to go for closer to ￥10,000 and more for a rest period. Large VIP rooms are even pricier.
A variety of people use love hotels – cheating spouses, sex workers, and couples looking for a fun getaway. But how did they come to be? Turns out that love hotels have a rather interesting background.
The History of Love Hotels
The concept of facilities for romantic encounters stems back to the 1600s. Samurai had to be discreet about their personal activities. In contemporary red-light districts, you’d find geisha houses where beautiful and sophisticated women entertained men.
While putting up a front as simple tea houses, many of these locations often offered their services with a “happy end.” They soon became breeding grounds for sexual encounters and prostitution. People called them 出会茶屋 (deai cha-ya), or “Lovers’ Teahouses.” They became the secret meeting spots for lovers and would later evolve into love hotels as we know them.
These establishments thrived for a while (though many were destroyed or shut down during WWII). Because of the sudden lack of lodging, people began to take to the streets. Lovers would carry out their romantic affairs outdoors, usually in the grassy areas surrounding Osaka Castle.
Several years after the war, Japan started recovering from the damages. Workers teemed in, sparking a demand for the construction of new commercial and lodging facilities. Businesses initially built these lodgings for laborers. But it wasn’t long before couples caught on and began to use the facilities for their sexual encounters as well.
Unlike the workers who would stay there for longer periods of time, lovers would only use the rooms for a couple of hours max. Wanting to profit from this, hotel owners began to incorporate new rates on an hourly basis. This gave rise to a new type of merchant lodges and Western-style inns called 円祝 (enshuku), or “one-yen rooms”, that would rent out rooms to individuals and families for a rate of 1 yen per hour.
Soon enough, inn owners noted the activity in their establishments. So they decided to capitalize on this new trend. Inns geared towards couples started to pop up all throughout the entertainment districts. These places eventually became known as tsurekomi (連れ込み) inns, which literally translates to “take along” inns. I.e., there were places where you’d take a partner for the night[1].
The number of inns further increased in the late 1950s. More changes came with the 1958 Anti-Prostitution law. Many had turned a blind eye to prostitution in the past and allowed it to continue in certain areas in the red-light district (such as in brothels). The new law illegalized the act of vaginal intercourse for money. (Everything shy of that, however, was – and still is – fair game.)
Because of this, even the brothels had to make certain reforms. Many in the business opted to hold their services at these new facilities instead. As the success of love hotels grew, some even saw this as an opportunity for profit. They turned their own residences into similar businesses to capitalize. By 1970, the first love hotels as we know them today made their appearance.
The First Flashy Love Hotel
The term “love hotel” itself came about around the late 1960s when the old enshuku-style establishments went upscale. Owners of these locations began to lavishly decorate buildings, both inside and out. One of the very first love hotels was the Meguro Emperor, an outlandishly themed hotel designed in the image of an old European castle, like some sort of smutty Disneyland.
There are a couple of reasons for the flashy architecture. One was to cater to the boom in foreign tourists by displaying a more Western image. The other important reason was so potential customers could recognize a love hotel immediately without open advertisement. Publicly discussing the operation of such establishments was taboo. So the building design became the ad itself.
Thanks to the success of the Meguro Emperor, many similar establishments followed suit and copied their design.
The Rise and Fall of Extravagance
During the peak of this movement, it was commonplace to see even more bizarre and extravagant themes popping up. From space and jungle themes to exotic and unusual adult toys lining the rooms. Love hotels became more of an X-rated adult playground than a lodging.
By the 1980s, hotels were opting for more simplistic designs. The new Entertainment law classified love hotels as “immovable sex-related establishments” and put them under the jurisdiction of the police. Because of this, many of the fancier locations shut down. Newly established locations were built with a level of discreetness.
The exterior appearances may have been toned down. However, hotels improved their amenities. Many locations also provided entertainment, such as karaoke machines, video games, cosplay services, and more.
Yet amidst the changes the establishments faced, some locations couldn’t keep up and shut down completely. The Meguro Emperor, which started this whole movement, closed its doors in 1989.
Why Did These Changes Occur?
According to Kim Ikkyon, a professor who has studied love hotels academically and published the book ラブホテル進化論 (Love Hotel Evolution Theory), there were several reasons for these changes. One was that the classic love hotel had changed “from hotels that were places where a guy ‘took along’ a female companion, to places where couples made the decision, together, to stop by a hotel.”[2]
Because of this, owners wanted to make them more couple-friendly. And in the end, it was just cheaper on the hotel owners to adopt a more simplistic approach.
Love Hotels Today
Love hotels still exist in Japan, though you will be hard pressed to find one sporting a historical extravagant exterior. Internally, however, they remain more upscale as compared to average business hotels. They still boast outrageous themes and motifs, now seen through their décor rather than through external appearances.
Housing continues to be an issue in Japan in the sense that most residences are small, compact, have very thin walls, and are often shared by entire families. Naturally, this makes it difficult for singles to spend a romantic time with their lover at home, or for married couples with children to stay intimate. Love hotels still have their place and are often used by young couples living in such conditions.
Love hotels are even increasing in popularity amongst foreign visitors who want to explore this unique aspect of Japan, even if only as an experience. An amusing article on sirabee.com follows a European tourist as he takes his followers on a tour of some of the most outrageous love hotels, and offers his commentary and insights[3].
Their popularity may have waned since their heyday. However, the housing situation of Japan is unlikely to change anytime soon. And hey, sex never goes out of style – both as recreation and as a business. Love hotels will continue to stay and evolve. Emerging from need and adjusting with the times, love hotels are now part of the cultural landscape. As Kim Ikkyon states:
「文化とは、誰かが仕掛けたのではなく、人々の間に広くニーズがあって生まれるもの。やがてそれが花開き、少しずつ違う形へと進化していく。ラブホテルもまさにそうです。今あるラブホテルは、いろんな人の欲望やニーズが形になったものと言えます。だから面白い」
Culture is not something that someone creates, but it is born from the wide range of needs amongst the people. It blossoms, and eventually evolves into a new form. The love hotel is exactly the same. Love hotels change in accordance with the current needs and desires of the people. That’s what makes them interesting.
What to read next
Platonic Sex: The Wild Ride of Japanese Porn Star Iijima Ai
Sources
[1] 日本にはなぜラブホテルがあるの？Nippon.com
[2] ラブホテルは時代を映す. Nippon.com
[3] “This is Insane!” Foreigners React to Love Hotels. Link no longer active
