Love Shacks!

Times are tough in Tokyo, too, but business is booming there at "love hotels."

"I'd hate to use the term 'recession-proof,' but it's certainly proven very resilient over the last six to nine months," Steve Mansfield, CEO of New Perspectives, which operates six love, or "leisure," hotels in Japan, tells cnn.com.

Yes, I thought we were talking about just spots for quickies -- but that's apparently not the case.

Because of the population density in the country, it's mostly young couples who seek out the love hotels for privacy.

"Even these days, on the weekend, every love hotel is full of people -- it's hard to get in," a woman with her boyfriend in Tokyo, said, laughing with embarrassment when asked for her name while waiting to check in.

Many of the hotels even have thriving VIP programs, underscoring the value of the destinations as desirable spots for, well, desire.

Tamer hotels are in Tokyo, featuring saunas and Jacuzzis. Flashier love nests abound in in Osaka, including a Hello Kitty-themed hotel and one with a room featuring a merry-go-round. Sounds like Vegas.

So, would you consider going (or have you been) to a Love Shack?

Or maybe we should start a chain of them here in the U.S.?