With the stagnant economy, rising death rate, and drastic decrease in the number of tourists, in Japan after the earthquake, it’s no surprise ghoulish businesses are popping up.

In a suburb of Yokohama, Japan, hotel owner Hisayoshi Teramura has cashed in on a rare and morbid market, and set up a hotel for the dead people.

The Hotel Lastel offers rooms with refrigerated coffins for families to store and visit their deceased relatives, as they wait in line for crematorium.

The city’s crematoriums are currently being overwhelmed, due to the increase in deaths from unexpected natural disasters last year.

Lastel is charging US$157 per day, but with the expected death rate to increase in the coming years the price may increase.

In Yokohama, the average wait for a crematorium oven is more than four days—which drives up the demand for morgues such as Lastel—according to Reuters.

“Otherwise people have to keep the bodies where there isn’t much space,” Teramura said.











[via PSFK, images via Reuters]


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