Hotel Casablanca, Ikebukuro

The phenomenon of the ‘love hotel’ is alive and well in Japan. Some are seedy, some are soppy, some are just downright weird. These discreet establishments are most commonly recognised by the signs on the outside listing the ‘Rest’ (2-3 hour stay) and the ‘Stay’ price, typically written in English. Because, you know, that makes it that more difficult to notice.

They are a pretty cheap and comfortable place to stay in comparison to your regular hotel, and they don’t require a reservation (in more than one sense of the word)! Just look at the room selection, press the button for the one you want and pay your money and you’re done. Good time practically guaranteed if you pick a nice room with plenty of features. The sad thing though, is that there are so few online resources with substantial English information on these potential havens of fun and ‘happy business’. When searching out a nice place in Ikebukuro, despite my lazy gaijin self I still ended up resorting to researching in Japanese.

In recent years, Japan has issued a crack-down on love hotel establishments. It’s becoming increasingly hard to maintain one of these hotels, especially when not in a red light district or love hotel ‘area’ like Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya. Tokyo’s a special victim to this; I believe the scene in Oosaka is still comparatively alive and well. As a result of this, a lot of the more elaborate and shifty hotels – including a great deal of the themed hotels – are being slowly killed off. I keep reading about an elusive dungeon-themed love hotel somewhere, but despite my various efforts have yet to find one and so I can only assume that it was among those to go.

I have to admit that now that I’ve started checking them out with a friend or two I’ve fallen in love with the novelty of them, even if I’m not there to sleep around. The rooms are a welcome change to a lot of the accommodation I’m used to in Japan; the ones I’ve visited have all been HUGE and spacious and full of fun things to do. They are sound-proof too, which is great when you love to laugh into the wee hours, very loudly.

Of course, with the ‘clean’ image the new generation of love hotels are trying to promote (partially to please the ladies with a ‘romantic’ atmosphere as opposed to seedy), the majority of them are no longer just for hot-blooded couples. A lot of them now offer video games and karaoke in the rooms to entertain the kiddies if you and your family are caught out without a place to stay one night. My only reservation is that the check-out times can be quite early, ie. from 10am, and after a sleepless night talking (or focking, whatever it is you’re into) the last thing you want is to be kicked out the moment your eyes finally shut. Of course, if the need be you can always check promptly into another hotel during the day on ‘free time’, or non peak time rates.

The individual rooms in the hotels often vary from each other in terms of facilities, furnishings and hence of course, price. I went from one room with ‘body sonic’, a sort of music-influenced vibrating bed, to another room in the same hotel with a sauna capsule-type thing wherein one can therapeutically immerse themself with vibration and heat. Things like toothbrushes, shampoo and soap are usually provided. After you leave the place, the room is tidied up nicely so that the next tenants can find the room as if it were brand new. At least in my experience so far.

I think I’ve made up my mind to review more love hotels as I stay in them, as they are fecking awesome and I want to spread the love. If you’ll pardon the pun. Tell me if you want more and I will put more effort into it!