| Just in Tokyo by Justin Hall Page #35 This is a browsable copy of the original pdf hosted on Rikai.com If you enjoy this work, please consider donating to the author  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. | |
|
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 | |
|
| |
privacy can be hard to come by, there are Love Hotels throughout
Japan to facilitate licit and illicit trysts. These places offer compara-
tively palatial accommodations at very reasonable rates.
costing between 5000 to 15000 yen per night ($38-$115) - versus
8000 minimum ($62) for a cramped business hotel room. These
rooms are far grander than most cheap hotels - larger beds, floor
space, a sitting area, and a two or three person bathtub and shower.
tend towards unusual stylings: historical or theatrical themes. A bed
shaped like a race car, with wheels. Bathtubs set in stone, like a
outdoor sulfur springs. A room-sized roulette wheel built into the
ceiling. Stereos that power quivering beds. In Love Hotel rooms,
you could find karaoke, water beds, tanning beds, small saunas,
pachinko and slot machines, TV console video games, VCRs with
free and rental movies. If your idea of fun is to sing naked karaoke
under neon green electric light, then love hotels are for you. If you
want to visit a bit of cheap kitsch anthropology, Love Hotels can be
immensely rewarding. If you're tired of anonymous, sanitary and
cramped, then Love Hotels are the best bang for your travel buck.
seeming neighborhoods, places where
people might be buying and selling sex.
This may creep you out, but since this is
Tokyo there is little chance you will be
assaulted or stolen from. These are by
and large semi-legitimate businesses that
cater to wide swaths of Japanese society,
from teenagers up to older folks escaping
their families. It may not be polite conver-
sation, but you'll find many, if not most,
Japanese folks have visited one or more of
these places. Note some common euphe-
misms for Love Hotel: couples hotel,
leisure hotel, fashion hotel. You can
Satellite of Love, edited by
Kyoichi Tsuzuki, is a
sumptuous if poorly bound
picture book about Japanese
Love Hotels. The author has
a certain fondness for the
unusual and especially
kitschy hotels, disappearing
and endangered since recent
laws have worked to tone
down the sex shack business.
If you can find a copy, these
pictures should certainly whet
your appetite for elaborate
entertainment lodgings.