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It’s a busy night in Osaka. Neon signs, flashing lights - you stroll along with a Kirin Ichiban in one hand, and the tingling sensation of a certain someone’s hand in the other. Crowds bustle by you, gashapon machines try and tempt you to spend that lonesome coin entwined in the thread of your forgotten pocket. You walk on, just another shadow thrown onto the streets. At the corner, a small blue light catches your eye. You walk towards it, your eyes adjusting in the dim light. There is now a wall of dimly lit blue orbs, and the closer you get you see that the wall is protecting a silver grey spaceship about two storeys high. Could it be? Are they here? You walk in through the doors, holding each other’s hands just because you still can. Lights are flashing with a sense of urgency. Is this what that moment feels like, right before you’re about to get abducted? Pause. Welcome to one of Japan’s 37,000 “Love Hotels” - safe spaces designed for sexual liberation.
The Japanese as a people value culture and norms unlike any other. Family units are small in Japan, and housing is characterised by “a small number of rooms used for various purposes. A room might serve as a living room during the day, a place to eat during meals, and then an area to set out the futons at night to sleep” as reported on Nippon. While group hugs and cuddles are great, what this emphasizes is a complete lack of privacy. To say these Love Hotels are popular is an understatement. The Daily Mail, UK suggests that as many as 1.4 million couples, which constitutes approximately 2% of Japan’s population, visit a Love Hotel every day. Note that these are hotels where couples find a sanctuary for their wildest fantasies - very different from brothels.
Another major attraction to these hotels are the very presence of a private bathroom - it is very rare for couple’s to have a whole bathroom to themselves in a typical Japanese home as reported on Nippon. And who can blame them for wanting to check into a Love Hotel? Some of the love hotels have bathrooms that are inspired by rainforests - complete with a rainshower, exotic plants, and mood lighting. In fact, the rooms themselves have concepts to them. You could very well be in the middle of a boxing ring, or on a vibrating revolving bed, or under a dome of stars inside a planetarium. How’s that for date night?
Most of the hotels do not have a reservation system, and guests are allowed to check in on an hourly rental or stay overnight as reported by the The Daily Mail. The entrances tend to be discrete, so finding them at night is almost guaranteed to be an adventure. You might even to privy to impromptu karaoke parties - a frequent happening at these hotels.
It suffices to say that Indians are starved for privacy. In a country where unmarried couples are not allowed to book hotel rooms, or have their keys served with a side of unequivocal disdain, the rise of companies like StayUncle, Luvstay and OYO doesn’t come as a surprise. Seeing as how the familial unit in Japan is so similar to that of a large part of India, Love Hotels could pose as a viable solution to the problem. Not only is it encouraging couples to have safe sex free from judgement, but also to further explore their own sexuality. Blaze Arizanov, CMO and Co-Founder of Stay Uncle thinks India is far from ready to accept rooms designed to realise one’s wildest sexual fantasies. He says, “The concept of ritual and physical purity is deeply embedded into the Indian mind which is why most youngsters won’t immediately open up to things like love themes or sex toys.” But it comes as no surprise to him that his company’s service was welcomed with open arms. The success of their company has shown promise that in time, trends are likely to change and more people will be open to the idea of exploration. So maybe there is an evolution on the cards for India after all.
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