Tokyo, at Robot Restaurant

 

While wandering at night in the Kabukicho, we saw a very unique restaurant. The name is Robot Restaurant, which was hugely displayed at the top of the restaurant with glittering light bulbs, so it could be seen from far. Anybody visiting this area wouldn’t miss to notice this restaurant. We wondered what kind of restaurant it was, were we going to be served by robots or something like that? Actually, the place offered a spectacular Robot-themed cabaret show, and calling it a restaurant was a bit misleading. It was more a show rather than a restaurant. They did serve food there, but it was the kind of food to be eaten while watching the show. The room arrangement was like an arena stage surrounded by seats for the spectators, not like a normal dining tables arrangement in restaurants.

The show was astonishing, loud and full of energy from the beginning. Dancers, laser lights, dazzling spot lights, mixed with dinosaurs and robots danced in rhythm with the drum beats. It was spectacular. The movement seemed unchoreographed, but the performance is actually a carefully planned routine that requires weeks of preparation. The dancers must master everything from dancing to drumming, pole dancing and robot riding for the performance. So did one of the dancers told us after the show.

Though there seemed no storyline in the 90 minutes show, it appeared to be a classic battle between robot armies. The dancers ranged from the kawaii (cute) to the monstrous animals, the goofy anime characters to the ancient Japanese fantasy characters. There was blaring rock music in the room, with warrior princesses in bikinis fighting a 3 meter tall transformer robots.  They came to tease you at every corner and in front of your seat. There were also a giant shark attacking a robotic horse, a Kung-Fu panda wrestling on a Segway. They made us smile.

For 90 minutes we entered a different world, monsters and kawaii characters came in flesh, robot toys became huge, it was a show as well as a wild party.  It was one of the top tourist attractions in Tokyo, located in the Shinjuku nightlife district. It earned a reputation not long after it opened in 2012, but sadly it must close during the Covid 19 pandemic and remained closed forever.

 

THE END