They’re one of the more iconic sights in Japanese cities. For decades, love hotels have been an integral part of Japan’s sex scene. Today, they serve everyone, from couples to casual hookups to sugar daddy relationships. They can even be a fun spot for a non-sexual get-together, with some providing movies and karaoke machines for entertainment.
We’ve written about the history of love hotels and the things you’ll commonly find there. But what’s it like to actually use them?
As it happens, I’ve racked up a lot of experience in this area. (My wife and I are the…adventurous types.) I also tapped into the groupmind and did some research to gather information about what to expect if it’s your first time. I also added some tips at the end for non-Japanese-speaking foreign travelers.
You may or may not be able to leave
Love hotels have two modes: “rest” and “stay” – i.e., short-term and overnight. “Rest” is a great euphemism, given that there’s usually little resting going on.
Traditionally, however, both had one hard and fast rule: You couldn’t leave until your stay was over. Some rooms even had auto-locks that prevented you from exiting until the appointed time. (There are emergency unlocks in case of a fire or natural disaster.) One user reported that the staff once checked on his wife when he went out in the morning to get coffee, just to make sure he hadn’t left her murdered corpse behind. (Hey, it’s happened before.)
To be fair, this restriction is on the way out. The love hotel search site Happy Hotel says that, today, most love hotels don’t differ significantly from standard hotels. At larger ones, you’re likely to find all the same amenities, including in and out privileges (heheheh).
However, some hotels will still forbid leaving mid-stay. As noted, we ran into one below in Gotanda recently. If you’re in doubt, ask or check the website. Rooms will be listed as 外出OK (Exit permitted) if they’re fine with you rushing to the combini or going out to eat.
The price and quality vary…a lot
The love hotels that make English-language news are usually the fancy ones. Indeed, there are quite a number of chains and individual hotels that offer specialized rooms for various purposes.
In Shinjuku, for example, the Bali An offers spacious rooms and generally has availability even during its busiest periods. The SARA chain – which has hotels in Gotanda and Kinshicho in Tokyo – is famous for its concept rooms, including a movie theater, a doctor’s office, and, yes, a train car.
You’ll pay for the privilege of staying in these rooms. Three-hour bookings are typically over 10,000 yen ($67). Overnights are closer to the cost of a four-star hotel room.
On the other end, you have some truly desperate venues. Take the Hotel K, which is pictured in this article’s header. Reviewers described this hotel on Couples.JP as “frightening.” One mentioned finding blood on the mattress.
Word of advice: go for the big and flashy-looking ones. The more tacky lighting outside and inside, the better.
A mostly private experience
Many people feel embarrassed going to a love hotel for the first time. That’s not unexpected. Western society stacks up a lot of shame around sex, and that’s hard to throw off.
Here’s some good news for the nervous: Love hotel employees do not care. In fact, you may never even see an employee during your stay.
There are hotels (like the Bali An) with staffed counters. Many love hotels, however, are fully automated. You select an available room from a display and receive a key. When you’re done, you return the key in an automated kiosk and pay your bill.
There’s a staff person nearby (usually behind a blacked-out window) to help you if necessary. Or, I assume, to call the cops if you attempt to skip out without paying.
For the most part, modern love hotels know their customer base well enough to know that it’s better to stay out of their way.
Gay couple? Group sex? It’s a dice roll
When I started using love hotels, I assumed they were “anything goes” environments – especially if you explicitly rented a large room.
Turns out that isn’t the case. Some hotels, as we found out one day, won’t let you rent a room if you have more than one man in your group.
Forget about threesomes and foursomes for a second. (Just for a second, though.) Does this mean that some love hotels explicitly discriminate against gay men? Unfortunately, yes, that’s exactly what this means.
The reason, however, isn’t (usually) due to discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Rather, it’s discrimination against men. Specifically, some hotel operators are worried that groups of men are more likely to be violent or steal.
Thankfully, this attitude is changing as Japan does more to recognize LGBTQ people and their relationships. However, you may still run into hotels (like the Hotel Ei above) that enforce these outdated policies. Other hotels will allow more than one man but will tack on a surcharge. For example, SARA GRANDE charges 1.5x the regular room rate.
Some hotels these days will even permit 男子会 (danshikai), or boys’ nights out – groups of “friends” gathering to “play games” or whatnot. Couples JP says two popular locations are HOTEL THE HOTEL in Shinjuku and HOTEL agehA in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Lesbians and bi women, you’re fine. Just call your group a 女子会 (joshikai) and have a blast.
Some novelty rooms are better in theory than in practice
The Sweets Hotel in Shibuya is one of the love hotel district’s more fun hotels. The chocolate bath, on the other hand…
One of the most entertaining aspects of love hotels is the novelty rooms. However, I’ve found that some perks that may sound good aren’t as great when you actually use them.
One of the more fun hotels is the Sweets Hotel in Shibuya. Every room has a different sweets-themed decor. And, true to its name, it also includes a sweets buffet you can use to your heart’s content.
However, I advise you to steer clear of the room with the chocolate bath. This is exactly what it sounds like: A room with a bathtub that has a separate tap dispensing liquid chocolate.
Sounds fun in theory. In practice, it looks like…well, let’s just say it looks like a fetish I’ve never had nor will ever have.
Considerations for tourists who want to check out love hotels
Want to check out some love hotels yourself?
The main barrier will be language. While this is (very slowly) changing, Japan’s nightlife and scenes are generally hard to penetrate (heheheh) if you don’t speak Japanese.
In smaller love hotel districts (e.g., Gotanda), it might be hard to find English-language support. Many hotels in Kabukicho and Shibuya’s Hyakkendana will be fine with foreigners and may have a modicum of English language support. Even many that don’t will do their best to help you out.
If you go to a kiosk-only hotel, make sure to use your smartphone to rough-translate any signs. As shown by our experience at the Hotel Ei, you may find that you’re inadvertently violating a given hotel’s (stupid) rules.
Be aware that you may need to wait or check out a few hotels to find an available room, particularly on the weekends. Usually, wait times are only around 10 to 30 minutes as, by definition, people don’t stay long.
And no, you can’t reserve a room if you’re only staying for a few hours. However, if you plan to stay overnight, you can usually book ahead on the hotel’s website.
Discover other unique parts of Japan
Japan is on everyone’s travel bucket list. Sadly, many end up going to the same places as everyone else. That can turn what could have been a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience into an exhausting battle with crowds.
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Sources
【完全ガイド】初心者でも全部わかる！これがラブホの基本ルールと使い方. Happy Hotel
ラブホテルは男同士で入れない？果たして噂は本当か…！？ Couples JP
