Love hotels seem like calm, even deserted places where, depending on the layout of the hotel, you may not see anyone at the reception, let alone the people who get the rooms ready for you. But there's a small army of staff working behind the scenes, with six cleaners for every 20 rooms. Spa! recently spoke with a former love hotel cleaner to hear more about these unsung heroes of convenient pleasure. Matsuda-san (a pseudonym) apparently worked at an unnamed hotel when he was a third-year college student. It wasn't one of the hotels that crowd certain districts of Shibuya and Shinjuku, ...

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It can be an eye-opening, not to mention obviously voyeuristic, experience to wander in a love hotel district in a Japanese city. Though it's bad form to stare too much, you do get to see couples bustling in and out of the hotels, sometimes romantically, sometimes brazenly, and sometimes surreptitiously, afraid they might get caught. Walking in, people have a spring in their step (especially the guys), no doubt anticipating what's to come (no pun intended). When they walk out, there's a certain swagger that you can detect in the gait, a kind of pipes-are-empty satisfaction from the guys and ...

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Have you always wanted to own a love hotel? Now you can! And for just ¥88 million (a bit less than an average newly built condo in Tokyo costs). The two-floor hotel, which is located a short distance from the beach and an hour's walk from Atami Station, is currently for sale. The building is 728.65 square meters (the land is a bit bigger, at 999.46 square meters), and was built in 1985, which would make it positively ancient in Tokyo but not too shabby in a regional place like Atami. Best of all, it is designed like a castle (perhaps in a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean ...

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We've written before about Yunana, the young female fan of postwar Showa-era love hotels who posts photos of her outings (alone) to these bygone dens of romance and sex. It seems Yunana's following has continued to grow, since she has just released a book showcasing her work. The book's title, In Search of the Revolving Bed, is a reference to perhaps the most famous love hotel room gimmick that is actually quite a rarity (it became illegal to install new ones after the law changed in 1985). Now aged 26, the love hotel enthusiast was recently interviewed by Bunshun about her activities, ...

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Japanese capsule toys are a cornucopia of choice and variety. There seems to be no end to the objects that pop out from the thousands of vending machines found at stores, train stations, and tourist destinations. What's still often surprising, though, are the eyebrow-raising subject matters of certain toys. Last year, for instance, we reported on the miniature vibrator capsule toys. Slightly less risqué but just as awesome are these love hotel-inspired capsule toys. For a mere ¥300, you can get your own love hotel room key. We have yet to spot these in the wild -- might we find the ...

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Things get wet in love hotel rooms. That goes without saying, presuming you're doing your job right. But what about wet as in watery wet? No, we're not just talking about enjoying a soak in a bath together. Among the myriad facilities and attractions at Japan's colorful love hotels, this is perhaps the most elaborate we have heard of: Hotel Regent Odaka in Nagoya has its own private water slide for guests. Elaborate -- or crazy?! These traveling YouTubers recently stayed at the hotel and filmed their exploits (all safe for work, we should add). You can climb up the stairs to the top of ...

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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 ...

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There's a reason that a lot of love hotel rooms have mirrors installed. Who doesn't want to watch themselves having sex? Following on from our popular post last year about leaked sex selfies by amateur couples at Japanese love hotels, we present another roundup of nude sex selfies by couples taken in front of a mirror. From man on woman to two men on one women, from bedrooms to hotel rooms, bathrooms, and more, from young lovers to older couples, from pre- to mid-coitus, the scenarios vary a bit, as does the quality (pictorial and physical). Sometimes the flash glare serves as an effective ...

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One of the strange things about the legal system in Japan is that though the rules on alimony and divorce settlements are far less strict than elsewhere -- especially if no children are involved (but joint custody also doesn't exist) -- there are some surprising things related to adultery. In short, if a spouse has an affair, the other spouse can sue their lover. There are various conditions connected to this -- largely regarding if the spouse's adulterous lover knew of their marital status -- but it's common for the aggrieved party to seek financial damages. Since alimony per se doesn't ...

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A 24-year-old woman was arrested on January 22 after a 82-year-old man was found dead in a love hotel in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The man, Katsuzo Imano, was found in the room on the night of January 21, covered in blood and with box-cutter wounds on his chest. The money in his wallet was gone. The suspect, Haruka Fujii, apparently called a former boyfriend immediately after the crime and then attempted to flee. Fujii, the ex-boyfriend, and his younger brother were apprehended at Nishi-Hachioji Station, just outside Tokyo, the following morning. The image above shows Fujii shortly before she ...

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