New World Adventures: Love Hotels - the budget option in Japan

choose you favourite room

Japan is still expensive. More expensive than Europe and the US. More expensive than Australia. In fact, Japan is quite possibly the most expensive destination you can travel to. And, big surprise... accommodation in Japan is also expensive. This may come as quite a shock for many an experienced traveller, since we are used to finding our way cheap, pretty much where ever we are, right? Now finding cheap accommodation in Japan is possible and the most exciting possibility are... Love Hotels!

In Nagoya, one station from the centre...

Through my blog you have already been introduced to Capsule Hotels. I have stayed in only one and I really liked it. Although I didn't sleep very well, partly due to my jet-lag and getting used to rather thin mattresses I suppose, the general service was quite good. For 3000 yen (about 30 euro's) you get your own capsule in the male or female department. The best part of this particular "riverside capsule hotel" was the "onsen" (hot bath and sauna) with the little roof terrace, overlooking the river. And hosting back-packer like parties, for those back-packers who had not been smart enough to make any reservations at a hostel before arriving, like myself.

One of the reasons why Japan is so expensive is because they are not used to catering for back packers. So there is a big shortage of hostels in places like Tokyo and Kyoto. If you want to find a spot at such a hostel you need to book well in advance, especially during the Japanese holiday season (O-bon) in the Summertime.

much better than a capsule...

Now I am the kind of traveller
who usually doesn't plan ahead and like to just go with the flow but in Japan this is not really the smartest option. Luckily, if you arrive before 7pm at the train station of your destination, there is the possibility of asking the local tourist office to make a telephone call to the place that they might know. I guess there are new hostels appearing very often recently and the Lonely Planet has not been able to keep up. During my trip in Japan I have never been able to stay at one of the places that Lonely Planet suggested. They were always fully booked. A hostel bed would normally set you back about 2500 tot 3000 yen.

By the way, apparently camping wild is allowed in Japan (even sleeping in the park is...) so I stayed overnight on a deserted beach this one night when I had not made any arrangements and when I was not ready to pay 5000 yen for a bed in a hostel. If you may ever be in the neighbourhood; just north of Matsushima you will find some beaches that are excellent for camping, er..., sleeping under the stars. All you need is a sleeping bag... and a dry night.

more expensive room in Morroccan style

Now back to Tokyo. You must have heard about Love Hotels. They are to be found close to many main train stations and are different than business hotels. They are actually, usually also cheaper and therefore an expert budget option... if you bring along a Japanese speaking girl (or guy if you prefer). They would cost about 6000 yen. So twice the price of a capsule... but more than twice the fun! The ones that have a special theme are not the cheaper ones but in a way they all have the same theme anyway... Love. So you will find a soft and large bed and a nice hot shower and bath, all private, nothing shared, like in all the hostels where you pay the same price. You will also find a TV with at least one Japanese porn channel and if you are lucky the bath will be a Jacuzzi and you will find a massage chair or a Karaoke set.

near Hein Jingu Shrine in Kyoto

One of the things about Love Hotels is that they are a public secret. They are not always easy to find an are hardly mentioned at all in the Lonely Planet. They have names like "princess hotel", "penthouse hotel" and such but still... You are not supposed to go into a Tourist information office and ask where you can find a love hotel. I once did... and found out anyway (ask for Rabu Hoteru) but I must admit I do feel along with the embarrassment this brought about. For the girl who worked at the office and for the girl that I was with, who did not dare and go ask for it. Luckily that same girl had the balls to actually go to the hotel and check in. Now this is all very discrete. You get to choose from the available rooms, press the button and go to the counter and pay ahead. You don't see the person behind the counter nor do they see you. You pay through a narrow slide and get your key there too. Sometimes you get the key from a machine and pay at a machine in your room. Mind, this may include that you can not actually leave the room without paying so do bring enough cash (Japanese Yen) along with you.

caters to all needs...

I have also experienced that my girl was leaving for work, earlier than I was ready to wake up, and she really had to convince the receptionist that I would leave before check out time. They were afraid that they could not explain it to me for I don't speak Japanese...

close to Shibuya lies the seedy heart of the Love Hotels

Oh, one last important thing to know about Love Hotels: Check IN time for staying overnight is usually not before 10 pm, so you have to hang out in town until then and often may need to park you luggage at the lockers in the train station. These usually cost about 500 yen. Check OUT time of the Love Hotel is conveniently later than most other places. Around 11AM to 1PM. All and all this means that your daily rhythm might shift to the later hours of the day. I most cities this is not really a problem. It's just a slightly different way of travelling.