Tag: Love hotel

Sex, er, “love” continues to thrive in the economy

If there’s anything that countless amounts of incredibly fiction has taught us, it is that love conquers all. None can deny its power, or resist its clarion call. Love cannot be stopped. That goes for its hotels too, apparently. Love hotels, the home of Japanese lust and the way to spend a day (or just a few hours) are doing quite well. So well, in that some chains are considering expansion.

CNN interviewed Steve Mansfield, owner and operator of Isawa’s Bonita Hotel in Japan, who speaks of a 257 percent occupancy rate. That means that the average Bonita Hotel room is rented two-and-a-half times per day. And they aren’t cheap, either. Some of the higher-end rooms can cost roughly $200 a night (though rates run from just 3 to 24 hours), boasting jacuzzis, built-in saunas, TVs, video games and karaoke bars.

It’s hardly surprising. No matter the economic status, people still have needs to be met, and a love hotel can provide a taste of luxury, if even for just a few hours. Plus, some folks just use the hotels to, y’know, sleep in, a temporary place to stay if you’re too drunk to get home or missed the last train. Not a whole lot of them, mind you. We see you in the corner, with the shifty eyes. That’s right. We’re talking about you.

By the way, if you haven’t picked up on it yet, we’re talking about SEX, much like how the song Afternoon Delight talks about the carnal delight.

Thinking of the children won’t help you avoid taxes

Japan has a number of kooky things, one being their “love hotels.” Sleazy, paid by the hour getaways for people to get their “loving” (also known as special hugging, or in the case of some people, special hitting), their purposes aren’t entirely sinister, like aglets, but they’ve never really been thought of as something for the needy children of society.

A religious group group tried to change that way of thought. That religious group probably should have paid its taxes first, though.

The Cosmic Truth Society ran over 20 love hotels across Japan and has now come under fire from tax authorities as they’ve reported income as donations to support underprivileged children. One manager claims that as much as 36% of the room fee would go to children’s causes. The tax authorities though don’t believe as such, and have ordered the group to pay a fine of 300 million yen, or about 3 million dollars.

I’m more inclined to believe the tax authorities here, as the religious group was created in 1983, inactive until 1994, then bought out by a food company in Chikuma. You do the math.