There are many beautiful things around Japan, it’s history, culture and nature but there certain things that Japan has to offer that beats the ordinary. Love Hotels.

It’ll stuck out like a little sore thumb in the conventional concrete land of Japan because of it psychedelic colors and weird themes in each of its room. And this, ladies and gentle, is one of Japan’s famous tourist attraction despite it being categorized under the bizarre section.

Nearly every foreigner has a Love Hotel story to tell - for every reasons possible: “There is no other accommodation available”, “It’s the cheapest and it looks funky”,” I had a date and we had no where else to go” etc. Love hotels are often used by young couples, since many young Japanese people live with their parents. They are also commonly used for prostitution. The areas around love hotels are often littered with posters advertising “delivery health” (a euphemism for call girls).

Love hotels usually offer a room rate for a “rest”, kyūkei (休憩, kyūkei?) as well as a night’s “stay.” The period of a “rest” varies from one establishment to the next, typically ranging from one to three hours. Very cheap daytime (off-peak) rates are also common. In general, reservations are not possible, leaving the hotel will forfeit access to the room, and overnight stay rates only become available after 10pm.

Entrances are discreet and interaction with staff is minimized, with rooms often selected from a panel of buttons and the bill settled by pneumatic tube, automatic cash machines, or a pair of hands behind a pane of frosted glass. While cheaper love hotels are utilitarian, higher-end hotels may feature fanciful rooms decorated with cartoon characters, equipped with vibrating beds, or decked out like dungeons complete with S&M gear.

Yee haw, peeps!

Love hotels are typically either concentrated in certain city districts like Dōgenzaka (道玄坂, Dōgenzaka?) in Shibuya, Tokyo, near highways on the city outskirts, or in industrial districts. Very few Japanese people wish to have a love hotel in their neighbourhood, and often oppose construction in residential areas.

Love hotel architecture is sometimes garish, with buildings shaped like castles, boats or UFOs and lit up with lurid pink and purple neon lighting. However, many love hotels are very ordinary looking buildings, distinguished mainly by having small or covered windows.

You can find a love hotel almost anywhere in Japan. Just lookout for funny names like Hotel Elmer, Hotel Carrot, Hotel Charm, Hotel Princess, Hotel Chrystal and also look out for garish colored neon lights. In the likes of this picture:

Source: wikipedia

Gion (祇園 or 祇をん) is a district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the middle ages, in front of Yasaka Shrine.

Geisha in the Gion district do not refer to themselves as geisha; instead, Gion geisha use the local term “geiko.” While the term geisha means “artist,” the more direct term geiko means specifically “a woman of art.” I bet this is an info that many do not know since the publication of Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha has so misguiding termed/defined the word geisha.

This part of Kyoto has two hanamachi (geisha districts): Gion Kobu (祇園甲部) and Gion Higashi (祇園東). Despite the considerable decline in the number of geiko in Gion in the last one hundred years, it is still famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment. Part of this district has been declared a national historical preservation district.

There is a popular misconception that Gion was a red-light district. However, as it was a geiko district, and as geiko are entertainers, not prostitutes, Gion is not, and never was, a red-light district. For those of you looking for the red light district, head on to Shimabara for a little history lesson as it WAS a redlight district before prostitution was banned in Japan.

The geiko of Gion still maintain the annual dances, the most popular being the Miyako Odori, or “Dances of the Old Capital,” staged by the geiko of Gion Kobu. The dances run from April 1 through April 30 each year during the height of the cherry blossom (sakura) season. Spectators from Japan and worldwide attend the events, which range from “cheap” seats on tatami mats on the floor (approximately $15.00 U.S.), to reserved seats with a small tea ceremony beforehand (appoximately $40.00 U.S.).

I would suggest visiting Gion to rid of the misconception that geisha/geikos are prostitutes..they are merely artisans or a person of arts. Indeed, to be served by a geisha/geiko is an experience of beauty and of Japan’s oldest cultural heritage.

Source: Wikipedia

Throughout Japan (and I imagine throughout the world), you’ll find roads that have some specially designed grooves or bumps that will make a loud noise when driven over and wake up drowsy drivers.

In Hokkaido, however, they’re going one step further and constructing “melody roads” - roads that have specially constructed grooves so that it makes a recognisable melody when driven over.

The Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute can be blamed for this. Grooves are carved into the road between 6 and 12mm apart. The closer the grooves are, the higher pitched the sound. Apparently, the plan is to carve melodies into the roads that have some significance to the locality. Oh dear.

Click here to hear a sound clip of one of Hokkaido’s Road Melodies.

Links:
Seihin-World
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