Photo Source: Misty Keasler via Wired

When reading up on the weird and wonderful cultural aspects of Japan, I'm sure you have come across love hotels.

It's been mentioned in a number of the manga I read and of course, it gets pride of place in the 'strange facts about the world' articles. So what are they? Are they really as bad as all that?

Well, I suppose it depends on how you view this topic. You know how some couples sneak off to a hotel for the weekend, for some quiet time to themselves? Yea, it's a hotel catering specifically for those moments. Imagine a hotel with various love-themed rooms where every room feels like the honeymoon suite. 

Alright, so it's almost like that. Some rooms are supposedly cutesy adorable, catering to the getaway couple looking for a romantic weekend whilst others can be six degrees left of normal courtship. Again, that depends on how you tackle the matter. Seems like the hotels are open to anyone and everyone who will pay for the rooms. This includes married couples, work colleagues hoping for a quiet moment away from other workers (and most times, from their spouses), 20 somethings who wished for alone time together, etc. etc. Different rooms are equipped with different items and apparently caters to folks every need; watch out for the S&M themed room and the subway-themed room here to get an idea of how diverse it can get. 

So why did love hotels pop up all over the show? Did someone wake up one day and think, 'Folks just don't get any these days, I know, let's make a love hotel'? Er, yea, it was something like that. It turns out, these hotels cropped up in the 1960s. According to this article, young folks had a tough time meeting up for a kiss and a bit of necking because there just wasn't any convenient hideaway spots (think deserted location in woods where Friday the 13th guy hangs out). And it so happened that normal hotels came with exorbitant rates. So the love hotel idea was born.

Perhaps it is the way these spots are run but it is always mind-boggling to read more about them. The visitor's identity is apparently kept secret. There is no interaction between the customer and staff. Folks just walk in, check out the available room on a computer display and follow directions to that room. There is a secret/discreet entrance to the hotel itself. Man, even Batman would be jealous of these features.

Initially, I thought of the love hotel as a sleazy little getaway targeted at men. You know, the place where older male bosses brought in their secretaries. It may have started out as a male haven but it looks like the places are now recognizing the consumer power offered by women. In fact, like I said earlier, it is a matter of catering to anyone who pays the fees.

Are these spots dodgy or are they a progressive idea? Photographer Misty Keasler recently released a book called Love Hotels where she documents a variety of rooms in different love hotels. It proves to be a fascinating insight into this strange little cultural good from Japan. The pictures run from 'aww cute' to 'oh boy, was that a school uniform?!'