Japanese Way of Life (Vol. 3)

An apt subject for the month of Lurrve: Love Hotels.

This is a view of the infamous Yamate Inn from my balcony, its a stone's throw from the Ohmeikan and until recently, I didnt even know that its actually a love hotel. I'd thought that it was just an ordinary inn, and so did George. In fact, George nearly booked Emma's parents into the Yamate Inn when they came to visit because of its convenient location near the Ohmeikan. George had visited the website to check for room information and had mistakened the 'S&M Supaisu'* as a private gym. Bless the poor love, he hasnt been able to live that one down for ages!

Love Hotels have fantastical rooms, which are hired out by the hour for your own private uses and needs, if you know what I mean. They can be completely over-the-top, like in Tokyo where the Love Hotel district has anything ranging from Arabian boudoirs to Grecian palaces. The idea is that the proprietor will cater for whatever sordid kicks you might be into. Now, I have never actually visited one *halo forms* but this is what I have been told:

The entrances to Love Hotels are obscured and difficult to find in order to guarantee the anonymity of the guests; once inside, the main desk will have a screen displaying the different styles of rooms on offer and after you decide, you will then be given the key and taken to the room. The reason you are not left to navigate the corridors alone is because they're designed to be confusing so that you dont 'bump' into anyone that you dont want to.

Apparently, salarymen and their mistresses often frequent these places while the salarymen are supposedly 'away on business'.

* Translation: Space. The Japanese alphabet consists of a, i, u, e, o vowels and these are combined with consonants to make the basic sounds, thus you rarely find consecutive consonants apart from the 'n' sound. Dont worry if this makes no sense whatsoever, just be grateful that you'll never have to learn the language!