"Not Just a Space for Sexual Relations" - Foreign Media Surprised by Japanese Love Hotels

Japanese Love Hotels Evolving into Leisure Spaces
Popular Among Young People as Private Spaces
Unique Exteriors Like Genital Shapes and Spaceships Draw Attention

'Baby Kiss' hotel located in Himeji, Japan. CNN

Recently, it has been reported that young people in Japan are visiting "love hotels" not only for sexual activities but also to enjoy leisure facilities such as karaoke, drawing attention from CNN.

On the 21st (local time), CNN released an interview with French photographer Fran?ois Prost, who conducted a road trip across Japan last year focusing on love hotels nationwide. Prost said about the approximately 200 love hotels he visited during the road trip, "Many had exteriors shaped like genitalia, and there were also designs resembling spaceships, boats, and large whales."

Prost stated, "As a result of my visits, most love hotels had no windows or had fake windows." He added, "They protected privacy by using self-service check-in and other design features," explaining, "Everything was planned so that guests would not encounter anyone when entering the building." He further elaborated, "The entrance and exit are different, there is one elevator going up to the rooms, and another going down. All of this is part of the design process."

Prost also touched on the history of love hotels, saying, "After the Japanese government outlawed prostitution in 1958, love hotels flourished as alternative facilities to brothels." He explained, "However, today, love hotels primarily serve married couples living in apartment complexes rather than being associated with the sex trade or affairs." He continued, "Recently, young people in Japan visit love hotels to protect their privacy," adding, "Nowadays, these spaces are not just for sexual activities. They also pay attention to leisure facilities like karaoke and nightclubs."

'Castle' hotel located in Chiba Prefecture (above) and 'Love' hotel located in Osaka (below). CNN

The modern form of love hotels emerged during the 1960s and 1970s amid a trend toward upgrading facilities. Love hotel owners wanted to differentiate their buildings from regular hotels by making their function immediately recognizable. The genitalia-shaped love hotel originated from the "Meguro Emperor," one of the most famous love hotels in the 1970s. This building, resembling European genitalia, sparked a trend of sex-themed love hotels across Japan. Later, various exteriors appeared, including French countryside houses, tropical beach clubs, Aladdin-style buildings, and Arabian palaces with onion-shaped domes.

Such distinctive exteriors that set love hotels apart from other buildings began to decline in the 1990s. Due to legislation passed in the mid-1980s placing love hotels under police jurisdiction, there was a strong tendency to pursue less conspicuous designs to avoid being classified as love hotels. Removing revolving beds or large mirrors from rooms was also one way to evade legal classification. Prost explained that love hotels are relatively common in other Asian countries such as Korea and Thailand, and some hotels or motels perform similar functions.