Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste

A Girl’s Guide To Finding The Right Love Nest

By Hilary Keyes
June 26, 2020
Lifestyle

These 10 love hotels are perfect whether you’re a first-timer or a veteran ‘rabuho’ guest.

What do you do if you’ve found somebody special, but aren’t really digging the thought of bringing them back to your tiny apartment, in need of a spicy adventure in your love life, or on the look of a really special Staycation? Go to a love hotel (ラブホテル) of course!

What’s a Love Hotel again?

A love hotel is basically a facility that offers short stays—by the hour or for one night only. A rest or short stay can range from 2-4 hours and cost between ¥2,900-¥7,000 depending on the date, hotel, and room type. On the other hand, a stay or overnight can cost anywhere from ¥3,900 to well over ¥20,000. These prices are of course all before tax and don’t include any room service, extra amenities, or costume rentals. 

To learn more about the history and services offered by love hotels, check out my guide, Japan’s Love Hotels: What You Need To Know Before You Go.

What should I be looking for?

Cost performance and availability are the three most important factors to keep in mind when choosing a love hotel.

Cost performance is obviously key—you want to get the most bang for your buck, (pun fully intended): cheaper isn’t always better, just as the most expensive love hotels aren’t always the most enjoyable either. Look for a hotel that offers the right kind of amenities for your needs and you’ll find ones with your perfect cost performance in no time.

Availability is also very important—the most popular hotels book up fast on Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and White Day, as well as on long weekends. 

Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Champagne bottle, candles, flowers on a bed in a hotel room

To find love hotels around you in English, check out the listings on Booking.com under the category Love Hotels—they usually are indicated by the mention Adult Only. Be aware though that there is a limited selection, and it might not be possible to book the room you want at the time.

If you’d rather search in Japanese, two of the best and least biased sites are Couples and Happy Hotel. You can also search for love hotels across Japan too, so these are very helpful if you’re traveling and suddenly need a place to spend the night.

Now here are ten of the best love hotels in the Tokyo area. I’ve divided them into two groups: Vanilla, which are safe, straightforward hotels for beginners, and Adventurous, for those that are looking for a more exotic, more fashionable, or downright kinky experience.


Vanilla Love Hotels


1. All-Inn (G)

Located just a three-minute walk from Otsuka Station, ALL-INN (G) (website under construction) is a very reasonable, stylish, and easily affordable love hotel. It’s often mistaken for a business hotel at first, because of its understated nature, but the rooms are comfortable and come with just the right amount of amenities for a love hotel first-timer.

They’re also quite cheap, with short stays costing as little as ¥2,000, and all nights going for about ¥6,500.

Address: Tokyu, Toshima, Minami Otsuka 2-43-4

2. Meguro Emperor

Japan’s Love Hotels- 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Hotel Meguro Emperor© Photo by Hotel Meguro

Built in 1973, Meguro Emperor is one of Japan’s few remaining original love hotels. When it first opened, it was famed for its wild room themes and revolving beds, but now has more of a luxurious and yet comfortable feel to it. Plus some of the rooms come equipped with open-air baths, which gives the Meguro Emperor a very vacation air too.

Room rates range from ¥1,500 for super short stays, and up to ¥16,800 for all night, depending on the room.

Address: Tokyo, Meguro, Shimo Meguro 2-1-6

3. Hotel Mju

Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Hotel Myu© Photo by Hotel Myu

While Hotel Mju (Hotel μ) is rather retro-chic and the rooms aren’t as spacious as those in other hotels, this Asakusa love hotel offers one thing no one else can.

All rooms that end with either a two or a four offer stunning views of Tokyo Sky Tree across the Sumida River. Those on the sixth floor come especially highly recommended for their views.

Short stays start from ¥3,900, while overnight rates range from ¥6,800-¥9,800.

Address: Tokyo, Taito, Hanakawado 2-14-2

4. Hotel Colore

Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Hotel Colore© Photo by Hotel Colore

Although slightly off the beaten path in Kinshicho, Hotel Colore is a very modern, very colorful love hotel that is highly ranked among fans. Each room has its own color palette, there are free drinks and a snack corner, and upon booking your room, you’ll be offered a complimentary carafe of wine and snacks to take up to your room.

30 minute super short rests cost only ¥1,000, while, depending on the room, stays range from ¥4,000-¥11,500.

Address: Tokyo, Sumida, Kotobashi 4-8-6

5. Hotel Kahni

Japan’s Love Hotels- 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Hotel Kahni© Photo by Hotel Kahni

Located right by Uguisudani Station, Hotel Kahni (under construction) is a very convenient love hotel for sightseers. The exterior is rather old school (retro-chic to some). Every room is different, all features under bed or table black/rainbow lighting, and some of the pricier suites have this gothic edge that fans of that genre are sure to enjoy.

Unfortunately, from May 1st (2020), this hotel has been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Address: Tokyo, Taito, Negishi 2-14-7


Adventurous Love Hotels


1. Hotel Zebra

© Photo by Hotel Zebra

Though the name suggests it to be monochromatic, Hotel Zebra is anything but. Lisa Frank lovers will adore the exterior of this colorful love hotel. Each room is somewhat less brilliantly colored but comes complete with a karaoke machine and a jet bath with adjustable rainbow lights, plus a complimentary bottle of champagne too.

Rental options include love hotel standards plus board games as well, so this hotel is also a popular after-party spot as well. You can also book rooms in advance for joshikai (女子会 ladies’ nights) too, if you’re looking for that instead.

Room rates go from the 30 minutes super short stay (¥1,500) to short stays from ¥4,000, to overnights ranging from ¥4,900 – ¥14,500 depending on the suite and amenities chosen.

Address: Tokyo, Toshima, Higashi Ikebukuro 1-37-1

2. Beat Wave

Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Hotel Beat Wave© Photo by Hotel Beat Wave

Recently renovated (September 2019), Beat Wave is located on Shibuya’s famous “Love Hotel Hill” in Dogenzaka. Originally a music-themed hotel, their rooms are now based on ultra-modern interiors with luxurious designs—the majority of the rooms come with massive screen TVs, and are fully decorated. They also have an amenities bar with brand name shampoos and other products, plus a free non-alcoholic drink and snack bar in the lobby as well. 

What makes this hotel especially popular is its appeal to the influencer crowd —each suite looks like the kind of home you would want to show off on your social media, and they pride themselves on being a stylish but home-y experience.

Short stays start from ¥3,800, while overnights range from ¥9,680-¥15,500. 

Address: Tokyo, Shibuya, Maruyamacho 2-9

3. Hotel Balian Resort Shinjuku Island & Higashi Shinjuku

Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Shinjuku Bali - an© Photo by Bali An Shinjuku Island

Slightly cheating here, as these are two separate hotels run by the same chain, but in a nutshell, any time you see “Hotel Bali An Resort” you are in for an amazing hotel experience.

The Hotel Bali An Resort Shinjuku Island and Hotel Bali An Resort Higashi Shinjuku have been ranked within the top three love hotels not only in Tokyo but in Kanto consistently for the last five or so years. With good reason—they put more effort into the guest experience than some luxury hotels do. The rooms are spacious, beautifully decorated with a Bali resort theme, come with plenty of amenities, excellent room service—and are very well priced for all that they offer.

Shinjuku Island runs from ¥6,800-¥30,800, while Higashi Shinjuku goes for ¥6,800-¥31,100, depending on the length of stay, room type, and day of the week.

Address:

Hotel Bali An Resort Shinjuku Island: Tokyo, Shinjuku, Kabukicho 2-22-10

Hotel Bali An Resort Higashi Shinjuku: Tokyo, Shinjuku, Kabukicho 2-19-17

4. Hotel Papion

Japan’s Love Hotels: 10 Hotels To Suit Every Taste - Hotel Papion Nishi Nippori© Photo by Hotel Papion

Though the styles are different, Hotel Papion pays as much attention to their decor as the Balian hotels mentioned above. Located in Nishi Nippori, this hotel is very spacious and rather well known for being different.

Each room is very unique – false windows with images of famous night views adorn many of them. Other special features of certain rooms are grand pianos (playable of course), a classic car queen-sized bed, roulette and slot machines, a fountain, and even a candy-themed room. 

Super short stays go from ¥1,500, while short stays range from ¥4,180-¥8,580, and overnights run ¥8,030-¥14,630, depending on the room and day of the week.

Address: Tokyo, Arakawa, Nishi Nippori 5-15-5

5. Hotel Alpha-In

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @lady_piterskaya on

This hotel is not for the faint of heart or those without a healthy interest in BDSM. If you need to google what BDSM means, this is not the love hotel you’re looking for.

Hotel Alpha-In is a hotel exclusively designed for S&M purposes. Each room comes equipped with free to use whips, collars, ball gags, clothespins, feather dusters, and blindfolds, while others include suspension setups, X, or T shaped bondage frames, S&M chairs, and other such themed items. You can also purchase other items (candles, rope, etc) or rent costumes from their in-house store as well.

It was closed from the end of April until June 1st during the initial coronavirus lockdown but is now back to business mostly as usual. Because of the nature of the activities taking place in their rooms, they are far more fastidious about clean-up than usual at this time, so the turnaround and availability of the spaces differ greatly.

Given the nature of the rooms and the activities that take place therein, the rates are also more expensive than the others on this list. Depending on the room, short stays range from ¥9,820 – ¥18,950, while overnight stays are from ¥16,670 – ¥36,480.

Address: Tokyo, Minato, Higashi Azabu 2-8-3


There you have it—ten of Tokyo’s best vanilla and adventurous love hotels. Just remember to be safe, and have fun!


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.



Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

50 Ways To See, Feel And Taste Tokyo

Your Guide To The Best Things To Do In Tokyo!

Take Me There!

Other Articles by Hilary

@savvytokyo

What convenient apps do you use living in Tokyo?💧📲 #mymizu #freewater #lifeintokyo #lifeinjapan #ecofriendly

♬ やってみよう - WANIMA