Gemuel Blackwielle,
Avenida Coronel Lucas de Oliveira Porto Alegre,
Porto Alegre 995
Brazil
Last updated: October 8, 2010
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By Duncan Rhyne
Version 1.0, Lucerne, 3. August 2010
Over in Japan, real estate is shockingly expensive and it is quite common for adults 20 and older to still be living with their parents or with some shared housing, one way or another. Privacy is hard to come by there, especially for young couples. The answer came in the form of Love Hotels. Basically, these are "convenience" hotels in which you may rent out for, hopefully, the sole purpose of having sex (foreplay recommended for prolonging relationship).
The good thing about Love Hotels is that you can find them almost everywhere. Be it just close to the subway stations (very convenient), amongst the shopping arcades, and even in the suburban areas. Once you happen to stumble upon one Love Hotel, it is quite easy to find the others, because they are almost always clustered together in little groups. This means that checking out the "menu" is all the more easier, but more on that later.
Love Hotels are not usually as plainly named as such, so don't expect to see names such as "Hilton Love Hotel" because that just won't happen (or it would be ridiculously expensive). So by far the best method of recognizing a Love Hotel is by its appearance. First, the sign itself will exhibit a somewhat sleazy quality to it, for lack of a better way to explain it. There will be an attempt at class, but this will be foiled by the fact that they are usually attention-getting neon signs. The second most important method for finding a Love Hotel is by the architecture of the building itself. A surprising number of Love Hotels can be in the form of grand castles with gargoyles or large cherubs prancing atop the roof. Others may look uniquely futuristic, with a NASA rocket theme on them, or a distinctly alien shape. Granted, there are just as many normal looking Love Hotels, but the moment you catch site of a Medieval Castle in the middle of downtown, you know you're in the right area.
Now, I hope that this description of the area won't scare you into thinking that this is anywhere close to feeling like the red-light district. For the most part in places within Tokyo, the Love Hotel clusters, once you're inside them, are very quiet, peaceful, clean, and well, respectable. Consider this, walking about in the major youth gathering area called Shibuya, it is sometimes a relief to walk into the Love Hotel circle. Over here, a cooperative effort is made by the Love Hotels themselves to generate an atmosphere of privacy and comfort. Hence, the area is kept clean, quiet, and most importantly, secluded. People don't like to be seen walking into a Love Hotel, and this helps ease their tensions.
Index of articles, click here.
Gemuel Blackwielle,
Avenida Coronel Lucas de Oliveira Porto Alegre,
Porto Alegre 995
Brazil
Last updated: October 8, 2010