I initially learned about this bizarre Japanese restaurant a few weeks before my first trip to Tokyo, and I was instantly enthralled by this futuristic concept.
- Recently Updated: April 2022
After reading about how unusual this vacation spot was, and being someone who love automated stuff myself, a friend and I decided to check it out.
So yeah, if you are planning a trip to Shinjuku that includes tasting tons of authentic Japanese cuisine in this restaurant, you will get a thrill of a different sort instead.
It was supposed to be a Japan restaurant but with a different twist with dinosaurs, humanoids, tribal drums and many other odd and canny stuff. It is like giving a 10-year-old boy a blank canvas and a checkbook to design a restaurant.
The made-in Japan robot-theme restaurant opened in mid-2012 in Shinjuku, Tokyo after someone spent 125 million dollars building the venue.
Constructing the robotic figures and hiring the female population that seems like the whole cast of Wonder Woman movie to come perform 3 times a day, 7 days a week.
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Quirky Tokyo Restaurant At Night
We had a fairly entertaining performance at this Japanese restaurant which my friend and I pretty much enjoyed until it turned rather hilarious. A giant humanoid called King Robota was wheeled out to the dance floor.
There was someone inside the 8 foot costume figure and tt was totally amusing watching King Robota dancing, singing to remixes of Queen’s We Will Rock You.
And of course dancing to Gangnam Style. There were quite a lot of other humans dancing in Power Rangers-style costumes as well as members of the Albert Einstein fan club in this Tokyo Japanese restaurant, and they all seemed hesitant to share the dance floor with the eight-foot tall half man, half robot.
The wacky Japanese restaurant itself is hard to miss – there’s a giant dinosaur out front which is like a lighthouse beacon.
We waited in the fancy lounge until the previous show had ended with audience consisting of Westerners and Japanese.
This is remarkable, because in Japan it is quite rare to see so many westerners in one place. My only intoxication was the surreal extravaganza events around me.
After being walked through narrow corridors to a room that would surely have become our grave if there had been a fire, we were given bento-boxes of food.
What I had experienced the first time at this Japanese theme restaurant was an acid trip or some sort of hallucination. What exactly the restaurant was (there is no food menu) is indescribable.
This quirky theme Japanese restaurant is impossible to classify, but in the end it is best described as a wacky dinner show with a parade of crazy stuff.
What Is Japanese Food Restaurant All About
As for the food served in Japanese Bento, I don’t know what to say about it. The restaurant began on a somewhat serious note with dancers performing tradition dances with drums beating, and surprisingly the show turned into total madness.
The first crazy scene is of robots against animals, culminating in a parody of Kung Fu Panda riding a bull through a formation of robots.
In another scene, there were Captain America, Fembots (female humanoid robot) with Thor’s hammers, and a dinosaur or a dog-like creature in John Carter movie…. it’s hard to say.
The fight scene was called Robots vs America. In fact, the stage show had similar reference to American culture.
The next scene was dinosaurs gathering in large numbers and fought with the robots to a convincing victory. In other instalments of the show, a giant snake and other creatures fight the robots.
The winner never seems to be determined in your prediction, and the results vary depending on the turnout of the crowd.
Later, glow sticks were handed out to the audience and some dancers rode giant Fembots to fight each other. Robots on scooters and Segways also appeared at that time. It was a rather light scene compared to the intense battle scenes that had preceded earlier.
This all happened to the music of Gangnam Style. After this scene, the audience was also allowed on stage to take pictures with the Fembots and dancers. Despite the rule not to touch the dancers, most of them touched them while posing for selfie.
As the dancers started to hang down from the ceiling, a huge tank appeared. Maybe I was wrong about the order of some scenes, but I don’t think there was pretty much a linear plot.
Basically, it went like this: An amazing thing happened… then something even more amazing happens… then something else… You get the idea!
They say the best things in life are free but they are definitely not here, the entrance fee cost 8,500 yens onwards and they come with a bento box dinner. Not that you’ll be thinking about the food and after all you’ll probably have to only do it once here in Tokyo.
There are definitely some locals who make it a weekly pilgrimage to this Japanese theme restaurant. If you’re looking for an authentic
Japanese restaurant then you might want to give it a miss but for a fun night out. YES! The quirky restaurant is well worth the time and money you spend on it.
It’s utterly insane and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before – it’s a blast and worth it even at full price. The Japan restaurant have been selling tickets online with discounts of up to 34 percent, depending on the show.
And I recommend you grab the tickets online before travelling to Tokyo, Japan. Tickets to the Robotic restaurant may seem like a lot of money, but this is a luxury show, and I wouldn’t mind paying the cost price or more for a ticket.
Even the simplest appetizers were mostly terrible. With the abundance of Japanese street food nearby in Shinjuku, there’s no reason to pay for expensive dinner at this restaurant. That said, Shinjuku is not the most kid-friendly place after dark, especially on weekends.
Another thing I would recommend is to have your dinner or meals elsewhere before you arrive. On our last visit, the food was an extra option (including one drink)
I don’t know if this will continue, but we’ve never had a good meal from a Bento-box here.
The Best Japanese Izakaya I would recommend….
If you are not so sure where to go for mouth-watering Japanese dinner, try out authentic Izakaya cuisine in Shinjuku, Tokyo’s bustling district hosted by a veteran local host (Mr. Yuma). This respected local guided food tour website provides tons of food tasting trips from all over the world.
If you have kids and are considering going to the Robotic restaurant, I highly recommend one of the first two shows, and preferably on a weekday.
On the weekends, it is quite noisy at 9pm, which is different from what you usually find in Tokyo. But that’s just my opinion…!
Bottom line:
Here’s a short description of this Tokyo Japanese restaurant : Crazy stunning performance, and it was awesome. Fantastic in a way you don’t expect.
I was impressed with the well choreographed show which makes sense considering that everything together with the dances seemed very unscripted.
If you’re reading this, it’s worth it. We laughed more that night than we had in a long time and it was incredibly funny as well.
Robot Restaurant is located in Shinjuku, the area best known for its neon lights, about a 15-minute walk from Shinjuku Station.
Surrounding the robot restaurant are the same seedy businesses as in Vegas or New Orleans, but with a Japanese twist.
There were no rules and you could get on stage with the dancers and touch the robots.
We were warned several times before the show that large cameras were not allowed to film the dancers up close.
We were also warned not to touch the Fembots and dancers or leave our seats.
Be sure to buy your tickets online in advance for a discount and don’t forget not to order food in this place.
I highly recommend this fun and quirky Japan theme restaurant. Travelling to Tokyo and not seeing this entertaining show is like not watching Cirque Du Soleil in your city.
If you like frivolous and fun things and have a great sense of humor, you’ll love this riotous and zany showmanship by the performers.
It’s not a show for everyone, there was definitely some sexuality and soft-violence, but both are pretty harmless just like in the movies, and everything is so hysteric that it is hard to take the show too seriously.
After all, there is a reason why this theme Japanese restaurant in Tokyo is so popular. It’s fantastic and represents the quirky side of Japan and totally a Japanese-made experience…..a must for tourists who likes to have some fun times in Tokyo.
