As if out of the bowels of soap opera proclivities, urban Japan offers secluded respites for the carnally adventurous at hourly rates.

Films about marital deceit are always loaded with clichés, the most popular being the worn-out image of the seedy motel. It's an old stand-by, a place where onscreen lovers embrace infidelity for a few hours, and where writers snatch moral symbolism from the drab curtains and cigarette-burned carpets. In more sophisticated settings, the swanky lunch hour sexcapade provides the same release for whiny professionals, who get it over with quickly, then gripe at each other in 25 cent words.

The hotel provides that magic prop essential for effective conflict - the incriminating matchbook. Usually unearthed from a jacket pocket, the useful little booklet gives angry wives and private detectives enough fodder for speculation and deduction.

If only the writers of tedious romance scenarios would pay a visit to Tokyo's Shibuya ward. They'd walk away with a veritable bushel of naughty twists.

In Japan, a philandering mate has to be a bit more cautious about pocketing souvenirs. A john can easily explain away a matchbook, however he'll need a bit more creativity to explain away a hotel embossed condom package, or a room service ordered sex toy. In the land of the Love Hotel, prurient trysts are not disreputable, but celebrated in the true spirit of capitalism.

Shibuya refutes the myth that Greco-Roman columns, Egyptian pyramids and Spanish Villas can only be found next to each other in Vegas. Tokyo's counterpart to Times Square is not only famous for its sun lamp charred Panda girls and big TVs, but for various "boutique" or "fashion" hotels, as they are now popularly called. Unlike the hovels stacked alongside adult cinemas in Ueno, or the Yakuzza-riddled haunts of Kabukicho, Shibuya provides a respectable spot for amorous encounters, a veritable Disneyland of kink.

A two to four hour rest session costs anywhere from 4,000 yen (35$) to 8,000 yen (70$). An entire evening starts at around 8000 yen and rises concurrent with the level of chintz that a customer requires.

Love Hotels provide amenities for every mood and occasion. Those looking for romance will find heart-shaped beds and cherubs awaiting them, while the less sentimental can rent S&M rooms with appropriately equipped furniture.

Hoteliers stock refrigerators with beer, sushi and other aphrodisiacal treats and keep shelves loaded with pornographic videos ready for viewing. Those in need of a little musical foreplay can easily find rooms outfitted with spotlights and karaoke machines. Hotel proprietors have anticipated almost every fantasy, no matter how bizarre, and for those they have not, customers are more than willing to give feedback.

In Japan, where fandom of any sort is out of the closet, Hotel aficionados sponsor and maintain web sites as a kind of "Consumer Reports" for fellow love-goers.

In Japan, where fandom of any sort is out of the closet, Hotel aficionados sponsor and maintain web sites as a kind of "Consumer Reports" for fellow love-goers.

The hotel Umibouzu wasn't so lucky. "The place wasn't very clean, the room was big and cold, and the machinery was old. Not only that, one of them broke and someone had to come from the front desk to fix it," complains a disappointed Romeo.