The award-winning Parisian photographer and art director takes us on a journey through the establishments where you can rent for an hour and “rest”, living out your wildest fantasies in a hotel shaped like a castle, ship, or flying saucer.
It’s not long until Valentine’s Day, that regular fixture on the calendar that encourages us all to send cards, flowers, or chocolates to express our undying devotion to those we’re coupled up with or have yet to do so.
While many of us have private spaces in which to, ahem, enjoy each other’s company, spare a thought for those living in Japan. In a country where small homes often lack closed doors for such amorous activities, it’s no surprise that a certain type of establishment has an estimated annual revenue of $40 billion, a figure double that of Japan’s anime market.
The Love Hotel is one of Japan’s most intriguing cultural fixtures. A type of short-stay hotel, its prime purpose is to allow guests privacy for sex. Japan has roughly 37,000 love hotels, enjoying more than 500 million visits each year – that’s the equivalent of around 1.4 million couples visiting such a place every day.
But if you find yourself in a situation where you need such privacy, how do you know where to look? Easy. Love hotels can usually be identified using symbols such as hearts and the offer of a room rate for a “rest” (休憩, kyūkei) as well as for an overnight stay. That “rest” period varies from one to three hours (or perhaps 15 minutes, depending on how honest people are).
These hotels can be found in cities across Japan, often near stations or highways on the outskirts. Their architecture is often garish or far from the discreet kind of place you’d want to be seen entering… at least if you’re British. We’re talking castles, boats, or even UFOs – their presence is very much felt. Pay a visit to one of them, and it’s unlikely you’ll have to deal with any staff as entrances and receptions are discreet. In each room, you might find mirrored ceilings, revolving velvet beds, and themes that play on various naughty fantasies.
For those of us not familiar with such a cultural phenomenon, love hotels are indeed fascinating. For Paris-based photographer François Prost, it sparked a new series as he travelled across Japan. On discovering them, he began capturing their unique forms as he drove from Tokyo to Shikoku Island in 2023. The result is a refreshing new portrait of a country often documented for its colourful facades, neon lights, and street life.
The body of work follows similar projects. Prost has previously documented French nightclubs in After Party (2011/23), American strip clubs in Gentlemen’s Club (2019), Spanish discos in Discoteca (2020), and Ivorian nightclubs in Club Ivoire (2023). Love Hotel! naturally extends his exploration of roadside architecture while giving us a unique insight into Japan’s unique landscape.
Prost’s collection highlights the incredible attention to detail and imagination that defines these establishments. Common motifs include replica castles, evoking fairy-tale fantasies, and boat-shaped facades that feel like an invitation to sail into a paradise of love. The recurring use of nautical themes, such as the name ‘Water Gate’, even nods to Japan’s maritime history, leaving plenty to the imagination. Hello Sailor!
The design trends also reflect their respective eras. For example, the castle replicas were particularly popular in the 1960s and ’70s, while more contemporary love hotels feature tropical Balinese aesthetics, incorporating bamboo, natural materials, and tropical motifs that resonate with younger generations.
Interestingly, Prost discovered that many of these establishments also incorporate ‘franponais’—French-inspired names that often lack literal meaning but convey a sense of romance or sophistication. This reflects a uniquely Japanese fascination with European culture, which many hold in high regard.
While love hotels are still primarily used for romantic encounters, their purpose is evolving. Today, they’re becoming spaces for karaoke, parties, and social gatherings, especially among younger people. This shift blurs the lines between love hotels and mainstream entertainment venues, adding another layer to their cultural significance.
“In many ways, my approach to photographing love hotels mirrors my other projects, which I consider a form of landscape photography,” Prost explains. “I choose specific types of venues in each country—those with distinct, often kitschy, or roadside architecture—and photograph them across the region with a consistent framing style. This allows me to create a portrait of a country through the lens of its vernacular architecture. I’m drawn to the aesthetic of these places and how their facades reveal something about the people who inhabit or frequent them.”
Through Love Hotel!, François Prost captures a side of Japan that often goes unnoticed. His visual portrait celebrates the architecture of love hotels and highlights their cultural significance, offering a deeper understanding of Japanese society today. His images remind us that there’s beauty and meaning everywhere we look and that if you look beneath the surface, you can find many intriguing layers of history, culture, and human connection – even if you only need 15 minutes.
