Japan’s Hotel for the Dead

Credit: Amusing Planet

With the cremation rate in Japan at almost one hundred percent and the country’s death rate on the rise, it’s no surprise that the country faces the challenge of overcrowded crematoriums. In response, Yokohama-based Hisayoshi Teramura has opened Lastel, a “hotel” to house the remains of people who have died as they await cremation.

Much like a mortuary, the hotel holds remains in refrigerated coffins over the average four-day waiting period for a crematorium. Families, who have typically kept the remains at home, can rent space for the equivalent of $157 a day. The hotel accommodates 18, and an automated storage system moves coffins into a viewing room, where families and loved ones can pay their respects.

Though Lastel is the first of its kind, it fills a growing need in Japan’s death industry, and we may very well see copycat businesses springing up around the country.