Fuurin Motel / Annie Chapman Love Hotel, Japan

Fuurin Motel is a once majestic Love Hotel in Japan, which opened in the early 1970s. After two decades of abandonment, the hotel is now decaying. The surrounding bamboo forest is encroaching, swallowing the hotel. Although quite a small hotel, this location is a wonderful place to explore. This is one of the older Love Hotels, and a classic Japanese haikyo (“ruin”).

Exploring the Fuurin Motel / Annie Chapman Love Hotel

We visited this location in 2019, as part of a two-week tour across Japan. We entered via the ground floor. This was the was an undercover car park area. A stairway leads up to the hotel, one in each car parking garage. This affords guests privacy.

Upstairs, is the hotel and the ten themed suites. The floors are rotting, and there are many holes in the corridors. The ceilings of many of the rooms have started to collapse. This once-popular love hotel will surely collapse over the next few years. Interestingly, the suites are named after plants and trees. These include; “水仙” (Narcissus, or Daffodil), “桐” (Paulownia, or Princess Tree), “葵” (Aoi) and “蘭” (Orchid)

The most iconic room in this love hotel is the Medieval room, the “Aoi” room. The bed has the appearance of a fairytale carriage, with large golden cartwheels. A knight suit of armour stands watch next to the bed. Mouldy and musty bed sheets lie tangled on the rotten mattress. A chandelier precariously hangs from the decayed remains of the ceiling. Red curtains decorate the mirrored wall panels.

There are several other love hotel themed rooms that we visited. The “Daffodil” room features a rustic theme and features several taxidermy animals on the walls. The “Paulownia” room appears to be Imperial Japan-themed judging by what remains of the ceiling panels. The most well-preserved room is the “Orchid” room. This was also the most expensive room to rent. A faux marble bust of a topless woman looks down on the circular bed. The bed would rotate, and the walls are mirrored. An angular retro phone stands on a pedestal.