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Answerman - What Is A "Love Hotel?"


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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2545
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:36 am Reply with quote
Just to get it out of the way, let us never forget that Nintendo (prior to getting into video games) once had its own love hotels. I'm sure the company would prefer if everyone would forget that this happened, but imagine if Nintendo actually still operated one to this day...
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5317
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:22 pm Reply with quote
↑ I would love to see some Nintendo themed rooms. Peachs Gate House, Zeldas Treasure Box, Links Master Sword, Mario & luigis mushrooms and so on.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:09 pm Reply with quote
Justin wrote:
Some have ridiculous names like Banana & Donut, The Raging Tanuki's Enormous Ballsack (暴れ狸の鬼袋), Daytime Friend, Legend of the Innocent Beaver, and Santa's House.

All but the last of these are understandable from a suitably carnal perspective. One can only assume that Japanese conceptions of Christmas involve a greater sense of private intimacy and a lesser sense of family involvement.
Justin wrote:
If you do attempt this, I really suggest bringing a black light.

Would I be right to assume that lapses in cleanliness are not unheard of within these establishments? I'd imagine that housekeeping is a less regimented affair if tenants are staying on an hourly basis.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:12 pm Reply with quote
There actually is a love hotel like that in central California too, though I'm not sure if it was inspired by the Japanese ones. It's known as the Madonna Inn, along U.S. Route 101 in San Luis Obispo, and it was referenced in an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer and Marge go to one such hotel for sex and are given the "janitor's closet" room. The commentary mentioned the location by name but made no such mention of Japanese love hotels, leading me to believe they were not yet familiar with those at the time the commentary was recorded. (I think they changed it to a more normal, non-sex-oriented lodging establishment though, now just playing up the themes for tourism.)

I definitely remember there being a parody Hello Kitty room for sex in some TV show I saw somewhere else too, but I don't remember which one it was aside from it being American, and it WAS based on Japanese love hotels.

MarshalBanana wrote:
↑ I would love to see some Nintendo themed rooms. Peachs Gate House, Zeldas Treasure Box, Links Master Sword, Mario & luigis mushrooms and so on.


That'd be hilarious. Maybe Nurse Joy's Pokémon Center, Inkopolis Tentacles & Goo, Spring Man's Expandable Appendages for Nintendo's more modern IPs.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:39 pm Reply with quote
The Honey Bee Inn from FFVII is probably the most famous example from 90s gaming, though it's more brothel than love hotel (I didn't know the term love hotel until years later); it just took elements from love hotels such as the girls all wearing honey bee outfits for the bee theme. Persona 3 had one as a dungeon ten years later (haha, love dungeon, that's a good one).

leafy sea dragon wrote:
That'd be hilarious. Maybe Nurse Joy's Pokémon Center, Inkopolis Tentacles & Goo, Spring Man's Expandable Appendages for Nintendo's more modern IPs.


Those are really good, leafy. Outside of Nintendo, they should totally do a Lupin III-themed one, because Fujiko's Hidden Treasures or Magic Boxing Glove would be perfect. XD


Last edited by belvadeer on Mon Aug 28, 2017 7:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Tuor_of_Gondolin



Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 3524
Location: Bellevue, WA
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:55 pm Reply with quote
Zin5ki wrote:
All but the last of these are understandable from a suitably carnal perspective. One can only assume that Japanese conceptions of Christmas involve a greater sense of private intimacy and a lesser sense of family involvement.

As I understand it, Christmas as celebrated in Japan is nothing like how it is celebrated in the West. Well, at least not how it *used* to be celebrated, anyway.

Christmas Eve is when girls give chocolates to guys they like, and it is generally considered a "romantic" holiday -- sort of a combination of St. Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve. Their somber holiday is New Year's Day, when we in the West are typically nursing a hangover from the previous night's activities. Oh, and for some reason, Kentucky Fried Chicken is really big on Christmas Eve.

So, yes, your assumption was correct.
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valoon



Joined: 01 Apr 2015
Posts: 172
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:03 pm Reply with quote
How much for one hour tho
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EricJ2



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 4016
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:07 pm Reply with quote
In the West, we call the seedy hourly-rateds "No-tel Motel's", but since the Japanese versions have to stay in the city, they can't be 20 miles out on Rt. 73 in the middle of nowhere where the county sheriff can't find them.
Tokyo doesn't have much "nowhere" that can be reached by highway.

Over here, the "Fantasuites", with nominally themed rooms designed to look like a cave or Western-saloon room, are also popular with the highway No-tel crowd, but never to the amusement-park extremes of the Tokyo versions--
No one happily overdoes a secret kink like the Japanese. Cool
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LegitPancake



Joined: 26 Jun 2017
Posts: 1294
Location: Texas, USA
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:43 pm Reply with quote
Do the love hotels put any restrictions on minors renting a room? I think I've seen anime where even middle schoolers were considering going and that just about blew my mind.
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Heishi



Joined: 06 Mar 2016
Posts: 1319
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 3:37 pm Reply with quote
LegitPancake wrote:
Do the love hotels put any restrictions on minors renting a room? I think I've seen anime where even middle schoolers were considering going and that just about blew my mind.



That's why I love anime sometimes, anything goes.
I could say more but I might probably cause a bit of a stir.

BTW, what are those anime you mentioned?


Last edited by Heishi on Mon Aug 28, 2017 3:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 3:39 pm Reply with quote
Tuor_of_Gondolin wrote:
Oh, and for some reason, Kentucky Fried Chicken is really big on Christmas Eve.

I expect that if the Colonel of all people can lay claim to the festive season, then it must be little obstacle for love hotels to do likewise...
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D00dleB0Y



Joined: 08 May 2015
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 3:47 pm Reply with quote
There's a mistake here, Justin. I've been to seven love hotels during my time in Japan and all of them had receptionists. I'm actually surprised that there are ones that don't. Even in the infamous "Kabukicho Love Hotel" movie (with Kabukicho being the go-to place for love hotels), there was a receptionist, who happened to be the main character in the movie.

Love hotels cost around $10-30 an hour, it's unfortunately not cheap. I should also add that nothing in Japan is strictly age-enforced (except pornography), so kids can technically get alchohol and tobacco if they wanted to. It also means they can go to a love hotel as well. However, the moral code of Japan is very high, with virtually everyone following it seriously. Because of that, not too many teenagers are buying alcohol, cigarettes, or renting love hotel rooms.

P.S. there are a LOT of tobacco and alcohol vending machines in Japan.
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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2421
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:39 pm Reply with quote
Nintendo used to own Love Hotels and Hiroshi Yamauchi himself used them to cheat on his wife. Amazing. My source is David Sheff´s Game Over.
I also know that a former IGN employee used Love Hotels just to just sleep while saying in Japan to cover events due to how cheap, clean and assessable they are. I wouldn´t be surprised if a sizable part of the customer base did the same. Net cafes with private booths and so on are used in the same way too after all.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
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Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Posts: 3017
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 5:47 pm Reply with quote
LegitPancake wrote:
Do the love hotels put any restrictions on minors renting a room? I think I've seen anime where even middle schoolers were considering going and that just about blew my mind.


I always assumed that this was similar to the way every teenager in every Hollywood romcom somehow has a fake ID that's convincing enough to furnish a 50+ person house party with kegs.
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Ouran High School Dropout



Joined: 28 Jun 2015
Posts: 440
Location: Somewhere in Massachusetts, USA
PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 6:03 pm Reply with quote
Heishi wrote:
LegitPancake wrote:
Do the love hotels put any restrictions on minors renting a room? I think I've seen anime where even middle schoolers were considering going and that just about blew my mind.



That's why I love anime sometimes, anything goes.
I could say more but I might probably cause a bit of a stir.

BTW, what are those anime you mentioned?

For one, there's the final episode of B Gata H Kei (Yamada's First Time)...
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