TOKYO LOVE HOTELS. PHOTOS OF STRANGE SHIBUYA LOVE HOTEL SIGNS, WEIRD THEME BEDROOMS, ラブホテル.
“Have a good time, from me.” What exactly is this Shibuya neon sign hinting at? And what do the prices mean? (All photos by La Carmina.)
If you guessed that it’s a beacon for a love hotel, you’re spot on. Found all over Japan, love hotels contain weirdly-themed rooms that couples rent for a few hours to… erm… have a good time!
You can recognize one of these establishments from the love innuendo — or the gaudy decor. Jolly snowmen, subway cars and Hello Kitty bondage are only some of the odd themes found in love hotels.
Discretion is the name of the game at love hotels. Visitors pay by cash machines or pneumatic tubes, or at concealed window so that the staff never sees your face. While this Shibuya district may seem like a sketchy place to wander, the area is not at all dangerous…
From the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station, walk towards the 109 department store and stay to the left. Keep going, past Christon Cafe, and turn right after you reach the 7-Eleven. You’ll find dozens of funny love hotels in this area.
Inside, you can buy toys or rent costumes…
Which cosplay outfit tickles your pickle?
The Colonel Sanders statue outside KFC Shibuya is probably more disturbing than anything you’ll find in a love hotel…
Want to take a peek inside Japanese love hotels? Misty Keasler and Natsuo Kirino have a book called Love Hotels: The hidden fantasy rooms of Japan. For G-rated theme establishments, there is my book Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo.
PS: Bad girls beauty scandal: read about the rise and fall of the Asian beauty queen in my new CNNGo article.
PPS: Visual Kei fans, Maru Music is holding a contest where the fans get to make the next commercial for D’espairsRay’s album IMMORTAL! The winning entry will be featured on the Maru Music website and will receive a D’espairsRay prize pack including a autographed copy of their album. Visit Maru Music for full details and to enter (the deadline for the contest is June 21st.)
Japanese Word of the Day: Makeup = O-kesho
Song of the Day: South Park Goth Song (Happy belated World Goth Day! Go blast your Bauhaus and do the gloomy dance…)
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VERSAILLES JAPAN VISUAL KEI CONCERT, TOKYO JCB HALL, APRIL 2010. CUTE JAPANESE GOTHIC & SWEET LOLITAS, ELEGANT GOTH ARISTOCRAT BOYS, COSPLAYERS.
We are VERSAILLES! I first saw the aristocratic Visual Kei band perform in Shibuya in 2008, in the glorious purple days of Jasmine You. Yukiro has seen them multiple times, most recently at V-Rock (read his review here). But we can never get enough of Versailles Philharmonic Quintet… so we headed to Tokyo’s JCB Hall on April 30th for yet another live. (How cute is the Hizaki cosplayer?)
This, my friends, is why I had to buy a new camera (a Canon Powershot S9). The quality of my old Sony Cybershot has simply become unacceptable. You’ll have to wait a little longer for better pics of these new (used) clothes…
Lolita dress: Alice and the Pirates, from Closet Child Shinjuku
Lacy short cardigan: Moi-meme-Moitie, from Closet Child Shinjuku
Velvet Alice in Wonderland headband: Spank, from Marui One Shinjuku
Quality issues aside, I was able to get some decent shots of the beautifully dressed EGL and EGA fans outside the concert hall. The girl on the left is wearing nearly the same outfit as me!
Three typical Japanese hand poses: heavy metal, V-fingers, and cutely clutched in front.
This girl made the black veil with blue Mana-sama flowers herself. I adore the Lolita dress on the right.
Sweet meets spooky. Yukiro got a lot of attention and photo requests, as always.
What are your favorite Lolita styles? I’m personally not a fan of pink/Sweet, or black with white lace. But I love the bows and fabric on the middle girl. On the right: a young Versailles fanatic!
Coming up next… more photos and a hilarious video report that involves torturing a clueless Japanese boy, and footage from the Versailles concert itself. You know you want to see it!
Which outfits from the Versailles concert do you like best?
Japanese Word of the Day: Theme park = Yuenchi (learned this word today as we passed by Tokyo Dome)
Song of the Day: Vanished Empire – Ghost (video from DJ Chihiro’s Club Theatric show. Now off to his Gothic Bar Heaven all-night party with my spooky spooks…)
LA CARMINA
