Tokyo’s Robot Restaurant

Deep in the bustling Kabukicho district of Shinjuku is a show like no other. Tokyo’s famous Robot Restaurant is a must-visit destination for travelers who find themselves in the city.

Each 90-minute performance is a cabaret-like show featuring a Frankenstein medley of loud, visually stunning characters. From the bikini-clad dancers riding tanks and motorcycles to the mechanical swimming sharks, to the neon drummers, to the Power Ranger and Transformer-like robot performers — some manned and others remotely controlled — the Robot Restaurant is certainly dense with experience.

Every inch of the restaurant — the floors, chairs, walls and tables, as well as the costumed performers — is covered in a metallic or mirrored texture, or painted in intense neon colors. During the show, there are dozens upon dozens of different flashing strobe lights, lasers and glowing surfaces.

© Picturecorrect | Dreamstime

Although the show is held on the main room, the lounge is perhaps equally astounding. Like a Las Vegas casino floor designed by Salvador Dali, this lounge features gold-painted snail-shell chairs, a full bar and a place to order your small but tasty Bento box, complimentary with the ¥6,000 (about $50.26) admission fee, that can be paid for and booked a week in advance.

While some visitors are left with sensory overload, visitors should remember consistency and clarity are not as important as the overall experience.