Once again we have been trawling some of Japan's postwar history for insights about the sexual development of the nation. Here are some awesome vintage images of classic love hotels.
Fans of love hotels and this blog will immediately spot that this one is the Meguro Emperor, a pioneering love hotel from the 1970s that has since re-opened.
The other two are, apparently, the Ichinomiya London and Olympia hotels.
It was around this time that love hotels started to become very elaborate, adding castle-style "battlements" and turrets. The results are bizarre, lurid and wacky, ...
These days, the delightfully curvy Mitsu Dan is pretty mainstream and often appears on regular TV shows and commercials.
However, we still vividly remember the bad old days when she first burst on to the scene with some wild soft-core BDSM porn like Be My Slave (2012) that revealed pretty everything she had to offer except her pussy. And if she were so inclined to see that, she obliged with hair nude full frontals. Her more recent erotic shoots have been alluring yet not very graphic.
Let's get nostalgic about the sexier version of Mitsu Dan for a few moments by revisiting a late-night ...
In desperate need for a place to stay in Japan? All the hotels are full and you don't fancy your chances with an Airbnb? Another option is a love hotel, which is often not much more expensive than a regular hotel and sometimes even cheaper.
However, many hotels cannot always be booked in advance and even ones that can are typically lacking in any services for non-Japanese-speaking guests.
Enter Rakuten, the Japanese online retail giant that counts a travel site within its bevy. Due to the ongoing tourism boom in Japan, there is a shortage of hotel rooms and Rakuten Travel hopes to make ...
We spotted this nice article over on Global Voices about the "strangest" love hotel names in Japan.
It compiles the results of a survey ranking the most unusual names for love hotels.
As we know there are some strange-looking love hotels (both inside, with themed rooms, and outside, with gaudy castle exteriors), especially in the countryside.
But now we know the strangest name. And it's Banana & Donut. Indeed, this is not a diner or cafe, but a love hotel in Saga Prefecture, southern Japan.
Like similar establishments outside of Japan's big cities, Banana & Donut is located ...
Ever wanted to attend a swinger club in Japan? Tokyo has a vibrant underground scene of happening bars.
As regular readers probably know from experience, "happening bars" (or couple kissa) are clubs where you can go and switch partners with other couples, or if you are single just pick random strangers to have sex with. (Theoretically there is a distinction: a happening bar is for couples of singletons, while a couple kissa caters to couples and perhaps single women.)
Sometimes they are foreigner-friendly, too, but it's rare. It always helps to speak at least some ...
As discussed on this blog before, Japan's love hotels have increasingly become focused on amenities.
In spite of the western stereotype of love hotels as gawdy, crazy lairs of kinkiness, the actual number of themed chambers and unusual rooms is low -- and largely consigned to the countryside (notwithstanding the odd exception in Tokyo like this steampunk hotel).
Instead, the love hotels in the inner cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe have to compete against each other in terms of value and facilities. And that comes down to more mundane yet important things like baths, food, wifi, ...
"Let's play sex," the guide explains.
We've seen these kinds of videos before but they are always fun to watch.
This time it's The Hotelion in Sendai that provides YouTuber Abroad in Japan with the opportunity to go inside and check out the rooms.
As we know, the somewhat infamous hotels with crazy themes are actually something of a rarity -- most hotels are relatively ordinary.
But the amenities are certainly special and, while the the video revels in the unusual themed rooms available at The Hotelion, it wisely focuses on these details, too. (Also note the non-scented body soap. It's ...
Former actor Noboru Takachi has been arrested for possession of a stimulant drug and cannabis.
Best known overseas for appearing in films like Yamato, the 51-year-old was a big star in the 1990s. Takachi, whose real name is Joji Osaki, recently retired from acting ostensibly to look after his wife's father.
He was arrested at a love hotel in Yokohama, where he was staying with Atsuko Isokawa, a 33-year-old hostess.
Noboru Takachi had previously been married to AV actress Momo Aida (pictured below), though they divorced after six years together.
He then married the ...
Anyone interested in Japanese sex dolls, love hotels and sex museums (hihokan) should check out this upcoming exhibition by photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki.
Kyoichi Tsuzuki is famous for his photo-books that examine the seedier elements of Japan, such as Tokyo Right Half, Love Hotel: Satellite of Love, and Hihokan. His most popular book is perhaps Tokyo Style and his counter-guide book "roadside" series that showcases unusual sights found while travelling.
From June 11th to July 31st, Tsuzuki's work on erotic Japan will be presented at the event space Atsukobarouh Arts Drinks Talk in ...
How to solve a problem like a hotel shortage? Simple. Convert love hotels.
After all, if media reports are to be believed, Japan is sexless and the love hotels are not being used by couples, but rather ordinary businessmen.
Tokyo is currently experiencing a massive tourist boom and it has led to numerous new hotels springing up, especially in Shinjuku. But it is still not enough, particularly as the government wants the inbound tourist numbers to continue growing as we head towards the 2020 Olympics.
According to a Kyodo News article, the government wants love hotels to provide ...
