Japan's Love Hotels see business booming

This picture taken on February 10, 2014 shows a love hotel consultant Masakatsu Tsunoda speaking to an AFP reporter in a room of the Two-Way hotel in Tokyo. -AFP

TOKYO: From rooms kitted out like medical clinics where couples can play "doctors and nurses" to grottos where it is permanently Christmas, Japan's "Love Hotels" cater to almost every taste, offering a few hours of reasonably-priced privacy in a crowded country.

And with the kind of occupancy rates that most hotels can only dream of, even during economic hard times, they are an almost recession-proof business, and a sector that is sure to see a bump over Valentine's Day.