Not just Bangkok's go-go bars being kept alive by the Chinese!

Love Hotels have been an institution in Japan for 50 years. Families tended to live together and conditions used to be so cramped and that a space outside to spend time with a loved one - or just have old-fashioned sex - in a sort of fantasy surrounding was much in demand, especially when it was all totally anonymous. Rooms can have mirrored ceilings, be equipped like dungeons, are decorated in all manner of styles and sex toys are usually available. Patrons never see any staff in those hotels which are to be found in all cities and most towns. It's an industry estimated to be worth between US$17 and 25 billion annually with an estimated 1.4 million Japanese visiting these hotels EVERY day.

Or "used to" is probably more accurate if a report in yesterday's Guardian newspaper is anything to go by. Even Tokyo's famous Love Hill, a street filled almost exclusively with Love Hotels close to the trendy Shibuya district, has been seeing a fall-off in clientele. Blame it on rising living standards which enable more young people to live on their own or with partners - and decreasing birth rates. Whatever the reason, times for the owners are getting tough.

Enter the Chinese tourist. Thanks to Japan's proximity and a lower exchange rate, Chinese have been flocking to the country. One of the sights to be experienced is the Love Hotel. Just like in Bangkok's go-go bars, it's a chance for them to experience something totally exotic that they can not visit in their own country. And as in Bangkok, for nearly all the Chinese it will be a one-off experience. But the Japanese are not complaining, any more than some of the bar owners in Soi Twilight!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...falling-demand