Japanese Accommodations

Everyone lives their lives differently and everyone lives in different types of houses. Some live in huge mansions to show of their wealth, others have no choice but to live in poor areas. And some people choose to live a poor life for spiritual development, or they have no interest in showing off material things. No matter what, the type of house you live in will reflect your way of life. For this post I would like to investigate a little bit into some of the more peculiar Japanese accommodations.

Let's start with the past as far back as we can go - to ancient Japanese civilization. During the Spring break I went on a trip to Kyushu, and one of the places we visited was the Yoshinogari Historical Park in the Saga prefecture. This is a large area where ruins were found from the Yayoi Period, about 250 BC to 250 AD (Japanese History Online). This is the period where raised floors became widespread (Japanese History Online). This custom of raising the floor has extended even into modern day Japan. Below is a picture of a reconstructed typical house from this period.

Now let us investigate some more modern, yet different accommoadtions. Once again, while I was in Kyushu, we had the chance to experience a type of accommodation many young people take advantage of. It's cheap, it has a 24 hour service, and there are no checkin our checkout curfews. It is the humble internet cafe.

You can select which type of cubicle you want. This particular internet cafe offered 3 types: 2 personal cubicles, one with a sofa and the other just a mat on the floor, and a communal room where everyone sits at their chairs playing their games. Each cubicle comes with a private computer and TV. You can order food, and the entrance fee includes free drinks from the vending machines. Other internet cafes have also been said to offer free icecream. Generally the people who use these sorts of accommodations are young gamers, but they can also be used as emergency accommodation for travellers who can't find any open hostels.

The last type of accommodation I will talk about is the ever infamous Love Hotels. I can't say that I've yet had the experience to stay in one, but you can find them everywhere around town. Not even restricted to just in the cities, you can find them in rural areas as well.  These love hotels provide a private room for couples to enjoy some 'private' time together. This is still such a strange concept to me, but I asked one of my Japanese friends for their opinion on it, and they said that because Japanese houses are so small and you often share with someone, it would be embarrassing to do anything in your own house for fear of being heard or discovered. Therefore, couples will head out to these Love Hotels to do the deed.