You may recall a post we did a few years ago called Crazy Asian Restaurants. It covered restaurants in Asian countries with bizarre themes and atmosphere (medical theme, jail theme, toilet theme)…
Now comes Japanese fashion designer/blogger La Carmina and her new book entitled Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants
As she says on her blog:
La Carmina takes you on a tour of Tokyo’s most outrageous dining establishments. Her adventures include a haunted jail, Dracula’s lair, Wonderland, Little Hong Kong, and cafes where women are served by waiters dressed as schoolboys. Her advice: stay away from the “God-made-humberger” at the Jesus-themed cafe…
Here’s an interview with the “Gothic Lolita”:
These are full-blown Disneyland acid-trip-like experiences where you can expect to drink cocktails with fake eyeballs in them, or a vampire waiter to burst from a secret passageway and spook you. You might be served by a pretty girl dressed as a French maid and who offers to massage your hands. I think [The Japanese] are a bit more open to participating in a fantasy dining experience. It’s a favored form of escape from everyday life, something we in America don’t necessarily seek out.
A few wacky and odd-themed restaurants include:
Alcatraz
As La Carmina notes:
A “haunted mental hospital”-theme restaurant. It has a couple locations; the one in Shibuya District is the main one. Inside there are two levels of cells, and crazy haunted medical decor is everywhere … organs in jars, monsters in mental hospital uniforms strapped to the walls, and so on. You speak to the hostess, who handcuffs you and leads you to your cell and locks you in. If you need a waiter, you grab a metal bar and bang on the cell door. Then you place your order, which might be a cocktail that comes in a “syringe” or chemical beaker.
Here’s their website.
Christon
A Jesus-themed cafe with genuine Eastern European relics.
Website here.
Kagaya
It’s presided over by a man who seems normal until you’re asked to choose a country with your drink order. Say you choose Bali (Indonesia). He’ll go into a little closet and come out dressed as a Bali dancer, spinning and dancing. Then he’ll duck back into the closet and come out dressed normal. Pick France and he’ll draw a portrait of you, look lovingly at you, and then rub the drawing all over himself … not everything makes sense.
Brazil Option
USA Option:
Spain, USA, China
You get the idea…
Webpage here.
Vampire Cafe
Goth restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo. “All of the menu items have vampiric names, which you won’t be able to decipher if you can’t read kanji.”
Website here.
Haunted jail theme. Website here. Here’s a summary from Julie in Japan.
