Sex in Japan: Love Hotels

You can't have a discussion on sex in Japan without mentioning love hotels. The Western equivalent to the love hotel would be motels that offer hourly or short-term rates. But while motels are generally sleazy and don't really inspire romance or fantasy—unless of course the thought of having a quickie in a motel room makes you quiver in anticipation of soiled mattresses and rusted bathroom fixtures—love hotels are often made to look lavish, offering a variety of themed rooms, and include large TVs, karaoke, slot machines and video games—things young men can use to get their foot in the door by coaxing young women to just a night of karaoke and video games, while also allowing young women the comfort of feigning sexual innocence.

All rooms have plenty of room props with implied sexual function like pool tables (which you can have sex on top of) or massage chairs (which you can be tied to and have all kind of fun things done to you) or coffee tables (again for sex). Okay, so maybe I'm projecting a little, but it's not difficult to see a love hotel room as a big sexual playground limited only by your ability to take ordinary objects and incorporate them into some perverted fantasy. The items found in the BDSM themed rooms, however, are much less cryptic; with Saint Andrew's Crosses, spanking benches and gynecological straps/chairs (anyone who's ever seen a Japanese porn will understand why) coming standard. Another perk of the love hotel is the option of purchasing sex toys and costumes directly from the room's catalog or vending machine. Lighters that have that hotel's name and logo printed on them can be found in most rooms for you to steal and casually leave lying around your apartment for your friends to see.

Japan's pop culture is also reflected in the themes of certain rooms; Which means Hello Kitty (including a BDSM version) and Disney themed rooms, among others, can be found. Even some of the more taboo subjects see their way into love hotel form, such as rooms modeled after the inside of a train, in order to create a consensual train-groping fantasy; and then there's also this mildly creepy young girl's room:

My first experience going to a love hotel was not a very positive one. My girlfriend and I were in over our heads with our room selection: a dungeon style room complete with BDSM equipment inside of a jail cell. We went all out, like two kids in a candy store, and bought a bunch of toys and one or two costumes, resulting in a scenario with expectations the two of us could not effectively manage. As it turns out, BDSM isn't something you can just, sorta, jump into (even if one of you is dressed in a lycra bustier). To top the night off, I got food poisoning from some food we had afterwards ordered through room service.