April 29, 2016
As Japan struggles with overworked crematoriums and a lack of burial space, a creepy new type of business has emerged: the 'corpse hotel.'
These makeshift facilities allow family members to safely store their departed loved ones until their final resting place is ready.
One location in a residential neighborhood in the city of Kawasaki boasts ten specially-designed rooms which serve as veritable way stations for the 'funeral refugees.'
Charging a mere $84 to families needing use of the rooms and limiting rentals to just four days, the owner of the business, known as Sousou, is already looking to expand as demand for the strange storage continues to grow.
Although the concept seems to be a necessity for the resource-strapped nation, people who live in the area are not exactly thrilled with their unique neighbors.
As such, Sousou have been subjected to protests from unhappy residents of the neighborhood, who contend that the building is not properly designed for such an eerie endeavor.
Nonetheless, with a stark rise expected in Japan's death rate over the next few years, it appears that more and more 'corpse hotels' are likely to open.
And those unhappy to be living next door to them may simply end up hoping they never need a room.
Source: IBTimes
As Japan struggles with overworked crematoriums and a lack of burial space, a creepy new type of business has emerged: the 'corpse hotel.'
These makeshift facilities allow family members to safely store their departed loved ones until their final resting place is ready.
One location in a residential neighborhood in the city of Kawasaki boasts ten specially-designed rooms which serve as veritable way stations for the 'funeral refugees.'
Charging a mere $84 to families needing use of the rooms and limiting rentals to just four days, the owner of the business, known as Sousou, is already looking to expand as demand for the strange storage continues to grow.
Although the concept seems to be a necessity for the resource-strapped nation, people who live in the area are not exactly thrilled with their unique neighbors.
As such, Sousou have been subjected to protests from unhappy residents of the neighborhood, who contend that the building is not properly designed for such an eerie endeavor.
Nonetheless, with a stark rise expected in Japan's death rate over the next few years, it appears that more and more 'corpse hotels' are likely to open.
And those unhappy to be living next door to them may simply end up hoping they never need a room.
Source: IBTimes