Photo Friday: Love Hotel

For those who don't know, love hotels are relatively cheap hotels explicitly made for couples. Since overnight rates generally fall well below those of the average hotel and since they frequently have vacancies, they were pretty popular choices for traveling JETs in my area. My fiancee and I stayed several nights in a local love hotel just before returning to America. So if you've ever wondered what a Japanese love hotel looks like, here are some pictures:

I've found that the rooms in love hotels tend to be very spacious for such a low cost. This room had two couches, a table, a stocked refrigerator, a microwave, and, naturally, a spacious bed.

It also had a rather lavish shower room with an adjustable shower head and an oversized bath with water jets.

Here is our room's slot machine. These are apparently a draw for some customers, as each room had a different machine and they were listed in the room descriptions.

One facet of love hotels that never changes is the fact that you don't directly interact with the staff. Room rates are posted in the entryway as well as in the room itself. You're charged either by the hour or overnight. In this particular hotel, you entered and selected your room by pressing a button off a menu. The botton would cause a light to flash above the room to indicate where it was located. Whenever you were done with the room, you called the front desk, informed them of any food or drinks you'd consumed from the fridge (honor system!), and you were sent a message tube to place your money in. The charge was displayed over the tube so there wouldn't be any confusion. Any change would be sent back the same way and you'd leave.

I had hesitations about love hotels when I first arrived in Japan, but they really aren't that bad. If you're ever in a pinch to find an inexpensive hotel at the last minute, I'd definitely recommend looking into it.