When desire overheats: Fire at dinosaur love hotel

Remember the awesome dinosaur-themed love hotel in Machida, Tokyo, we wrote about last autumn? It looks like it was seriously damaged by fire recently.

On the evening of June 9, flames were seen coming from the roof of the dino-inspired Hotel Artia, making it look even more like a scene from Jurassic Park than it did before. Social media was flooded with pics taken from cars traveling along the nearby expressway.

The cause was reportedly the wooden sauna located on the roof of the hotel.

No injuries or fatalities resulted from the fire. Moreover, no damage to the main structure of the hotel was reported, so we assume the hotel will be back to normal soon for all those folks in Machida who want some dinosaur love (including a rooftop sauna).

At any rate, the hotel website suggests the hotel is still open and an official statement from the operators about the fire blames faulty equipment — but reassures guests that “the dinosaurs are all OK.”

All cheap gags aside, though, fires at love hotels are a serious issue. The hotels are densely packed buildings and not always up to date with the safety guidelines.

Previous deadly fires include one in 2012 at a small love hotel in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, in which seven died. The hotel dated back to the 1960s. In 2017, a couple jumped from the window of their third-floor love hotel room in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, after it caught fire. The man, who was in his forties, died.