The name of the themed restaurant we went to was "Alcatraz ER." It's noted for being one of the original theme restaurants in Japan. Bizarre Food's host even went there (go to about 4 minutes in). It's a mental hospital/Monster-themed restaurant.
After seeing this video before head, I got really excited. We got to Shibuya, which is where the 'Hachiko' statute is. More or less, Hachiko was a dog who would everyday, go to the station with his master, go home, and return at the time the master would get back to the station. One day, the man died at work, and never came home. Nonetheless, the dog would still everyday go and wait for his master to come home. They made a statute for the dog:
So we made our way to Alcatraz ER. The restaurant was on the second floor of a building... upon entrance, you push a button that has your blood type (Blood types are a really big thing in Japan, kind of like astrological signs). We got put in a cell room, with seats on the floor. Thankfully, we could fit everyone at one time. To get the waiters/waitresses to come (who are all dressed like doctors and nurses), you have to cling on the bars with a chain.
Now, themed-restaurants means themed food and drinks. Well, the drinks were certainly... appropriate. I suppose these will speak for themselves:
The first one was called "discharge of the brain," and featured the drink... inside of a head. It tasted kind of like grape. The second one was called "Japanese TinnTinn" or something like that. It was basically a banana yogurt drink, with a banana shaped like a penis in it.... rather gross looking. The last one... was part of a drink called "hitori asobi," which means "Fun by yourself."
Pretty sure you get it by now. You mixed the drink with the... vibrator.
The food was also themed. While we weren't actually eating things like brains, tongues, or hearts, but it's shaped like that. After that, all the lights went out... and these people in monster costumes came out. I was WANTING to be scared, so I screamed. A lot. It was actually pretty funny. However, the scariest thing about the restaurant: the price.
Most themed restaurants, as far as I know, have a sitting fee of usually 200 - 700 yen. That's right: You have to pay JUST TO SIT DOWN AT THE PLACE. As an American, that's seem crazy to me. However, you don't really tip in Japan, so it's not terrible, but still... wow.
Total cost for a discharge of the brain, a slice of pizza, some noodles and sitting /service fee:
1900 yen. That's like, 20$. Trust me: not worth it.
After that, we just hung around Shibuya. It was nothing really special, but WOW SO MANY PEOPLE!!! Seriously, you know those screen shots of people walking all in a square in Japan, with lots of bright lights? It's just like that.
However, perhaps my favorite find of the day:
Colonel Sanders statute!!!
Back in high school, I saw a video on KFC in Japan. One of the big features was that each KFC had a Sanders statute outside the front. After seeing many KFC restaurants in Japan, I hadn't seen one til now, so I had to get a picture with it!
Another strange thing I saw was when I was walking home, late at night to my house. I know people say all the time "Oh, Tokyo is super safe. No need to worry (much) about being in danger." This may be, but honestly:walking anywhere in the world, in the dark, alone, on a not-super-well-lit street is terrifying, except maybe Earlham (IMO).
I was walking and all the sudden, this girl was walking my way. She was wearing nothing but a uniform jacket, a bra and panties. No. Joke. Needless to say, I pretty much walked as fast as I could without jogging to get home.
At first, I kind of freaked. Looking back, now I'm just curious WHY the girl was like that. I'm hoping it was just a costume thing... not a like "she got mugged" thing.
My next blog is probably not going to be super happy, just BTW. I have a LOT to rant about, so just to warn y'all.
No comments:
Post a Comment