Love hotel

A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing couples privacy for sexual activities. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, which was built in 1968 and had a rotating sign.

Distinguishing characteristics

Love hotels can usually be identified using symbols such as hearts and the offer of a room rate for a "rest" (休憩, kyūkei) as well as for an overnight stay. The period of a "rest" varies, typically ranging from one to three hours. Cheaper daytime off-peak rates are common. In general, reservations are not possible, and leaving the hotel will forfeit access to the room; overnight-stay rates become available only after 10:00 p.m. These hotels may be used for prostitution, although they are sometimes used by budget-travelers sharing accommodation.

Entrances are discreet, and interaction with staff is minimized. Rooms are often selected from a panel of buttons, and the bill may be settled by pneumatic tube, automatic cash machine, or a pair of hands behind a pane of frosted glass. Parking lots will often be concealed and windows will be few, so as to maximize privacy. Although cheaper hotels are often quite sparse, higher-end hotels may feature fanciful rooms decorated with anime characters, be equipped with rotating beds, ceiling mirrors, karaoke machines, and unusual lighting. They may be styled similarly to dungeons or other fantasy scenes, sometimes including S&M gear.

Love Hotel

Love Hotel may refer to:

Love Hotel (1985 film)

Love Hotel (ラブホテル) is a 1985 Japanese pink film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Shinji Sōmai and starring Noriko Hayami.

Synopsis

When businessman Tetsuro Muraki has his company go bankrupt and his wife Ryoko is raped by gangsters who use her body to pay off his debts, he succumbs to despair. He hires a prostitute, Nami, to go with him to a love hotel with sex and suicide in mind.

Cast

Background

Although director Shinji Sōmai had worked for Nikkatsu in the 1970s and served as an assistant director, this film marked his only work in the Roman porno genre for Nikkatsu. The film was produced by the Directors's Company (ディレクターズ カンパニー), an association of young directors formed in 1982. The screenplay was the work of Takashi Ishii who would later rework the script for his directorial debut, the 1988 film Angel Guts: Red Vertigo.