5 Unusual cafe experiences in Tokyo you have to visit at least once

Robot Cabaret, Anyone? 5 of Tokyo’s most unusual cafes you have to visit

MF editorial team

17 Jan 2018

Cuddling strangers and robot cabarets are just some of the wacky places to dine you can find in Tokyo.

1/5
Robot Restaurant
Creepy with a side of cool is how we'd best describe Tokyo’s Robot Restaurant. Much less a restaurant, and more a Cabaret dance experience by Robot Monsters, this place will send you on the trip of your life. Yes - a trip on par with wherever the Beatles were at when they wrote Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Unsurprisingly, this bizarre restaurant has been frequently likened to an LSD trip. Expect perfectly-synced performances from warrior princesses and 10-foot-tall robot transformers. Granted, this alternative reality experience will leave you slightly dazed when you step back into the normal world when it’s all over.

Photo: Robot Restaurant Facebook
2/5
The Lock-up, Dungeon Cafe
For a side of horror with your meal, here’s the Lock-up café in Tokyo. Get this: this place specialises in prison themed meals. For those with a fear fetish, you have found the spot of your dreams - or perhaps, nightmares.

The horror starts as soon as you arrive, where guests are required to place their hands in a guillotine hole in order to enter. The 'wardens' will then handcuff on one person in your group and charge them for a crime. After being sentenced to a prison cell, your meal commences. With drinks such as Medusa’s Eyeball and Skeleton Hamburgers, you’re in for a meal that would put the Addams family to shame.

Photo: Cocins
3/5
Moomin House Cafe
Does anybody remember Moomin, the Swedish cartoon that captured the heart of Japan? Well there’s a café for that too.

At this Moomin House Café, patrons can pull up a seat next to a plush toy of the beloved character to keep them company during their meal. Moomin, created by Finnish author Tove Jansson, will combat loneliness by providing a beloved face from childhood – or so we’re told. Go on, see for yourself.

Photo: College Candy
4/5
Aisekiya
'Aiseki' is a common concept in Japan. It is where solo diners can sit at communal tables and enjoy their meals together. Here's where it gets interesting at Aisekiya: the café has added a romantic spin on this concept by making it a blind date dining experience.

Singles report their preferences to staff upon arrival and are seated accordingly. At this bar women can drink for free, whilst men pay 1,500 Yen per 30 minutes of drinking. (This apparently balances out the gender ratio evenly.) And voila! There you have it, a Tinder-esque Tokyo café experience. Hardly romantic, and perhaps verging on awkward, but hey - free drinks and maybe a new man to boot, ladies.

Photo: Tabelog
5/5
Soineya, Cuddle Cafe
Ever really, really wanted a cuddle? Look no further than Soineya Cuddle Café in Tokyo. This spot allows customers to sleep next to a stranger, starting at 6,000 yen. For an additional 1,000 you can sleep in a girl’s arms, pat a girl on the head, or stare into each other’s eyes – albeit for 1-3 minutes. Hold up though, this place is far from a brothel. The café is simply made for combatting loneliness - no sexual desires or acts are allowed. Whoever said spooning was just solely for couples?

Photo: JP Info

Japan is nothing short of innovative when it comes to weird (and occasionally wonderful) concepts – and the same is true to their dining scene. There is a solution for almost everything in Japan, so it is no wonder they have cafes to target pretty much any social desire: loneliness, dating, horror fetishes, even robot cabarets! You name it, they have it.

Would you cuddle up to a stranger for 3,000 yen to beat the solo January blues? Or if Tinder’s not your thing but you’re looking to date, there’s a actually café conceptualised specially for blind dates! Cat cafes are pretty much the norm now (and there are even owl and reptile cafes today too) but that’s nothing compared to what some of our research unpacked. Check out our pick of some of the wacky cafe concepts to suit every imaginable taste and need!

Shelina Assomull

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