Rabu rabu!

If I ever get a chance to visit Japan again I want to do two things - visit the small rural town of Sakaiminato in Tottori-ken and spend a night in every Love Hotel Japan has to offer.

Luckily, most of the Love Hotels in Japan are located in Osaka and Tokyo, with the former playing host to the REALLY creative ones. Before I left Japan (in fact, the night before I left Japan) I spent a night in one of the most exotic sounding rooms Tokyo had to offer: The Aqua Room, now known as the Pool Room. Why? Because it has a pool. In the room.


Complete with viewing area.


Which is kinda creepy when you think of all the business men who throw parties in this room, sitting back, watching the girls they've hired for the evening swim by, stopping brief to light their cigarettes or pour their beers. Thankfully the water was very chlorinated.



The whole experience of staying in a Love Hotel is fascinating. First of all, there are two different types of 'stays' - a 'Short' and a 'Long'. 'Short' means you just check in for a few hours in the afternoon, presumably to do your business and get out fast. 'Long' is overnight.



I booked my room ahead of time to make sure that specific one was available. But for most people, this is a spur-of-the-moment kinda thing so to be certain your stay is as private as possible, you chose your room from an electronic board behind a partition. You pay then and there without ever consulting with another human being. You can then head straight up to your room (unless you want to stop off in the shop and pick up any extra items).


Although there is a vending machine in the room in case you forgot. There's even a chute that you can use to send tickets (for the shop's items) and money down to the desk.


Not all the rooms are as exotic as the Aqua Room and with good reason (it was the most expensive room in the joint). In fact, the only other room that looked as good was the 'Play Boy Mansion'-themed one.


Some of the less exotic ones offered exercise machines (huh?), sumptuous beds, huge flat screen TVs and lots of lounge areas for those larger office parties (I'm not joking here... they really happen).


Then there are the cheapest rooms. Here, your money is simply buying the privacy these establishments pride themselves on.


Here's a room any Aardman-enthusiast will love. Found this here, with loads of other great photos of some of the crazy rooms (the subway room is one of my favorites) you could encounter, although the rooftop car-bed with motion-sensitive headlights is unfortunately absent.