Great, long essay on the rise and fall and rebirth of heavily themed Japanese "love-hotels."
Love hotels always seem to end up costing more than you expect. There is usually a mysterious 10% 'service charge' and also 10% surcharges if you are staying on a Friday or Saturday night or national holiday as well as 5% sales tax. Count on the final price being about 25% more than what is listed on the room board if you are staying on a weekend and be careful to check whether you're paying by the hour or not. You can save a lot of money by getting a member's card (just make sure you have a different one for each of your girlfriends or boyfriends) or by staying on weekdays or in the afternoon. If you pick up a magazine like Date Pia, it will have a lot of information and pictures of various hotels and they also offer a selection of discount coupons (usually about 10%).
There are still a few hotels where a grey, liver-spotted hand reaches out through the curtains to take your money when you enter, but most hotels have gone high-tech and have automated the payment system. After you choose your room at the display board in the lobby (just push the button of the room you want) you'll be given a paper card with the room number on it. When you're ready to leave, you put this card in the slot of the control panel near the door and push the total button. Your room charges will be automatically added up and you put your money into another slot in the panel. At hotels using this system, you are often locked into your room until you pay.
(via Geisha Asobi)
