Restaurants and bars can be found everywhere in Japan, and with an inexhaustibly wide range of options to cater to everyone’s interests and preferences. In Tokyo, there is a selection of trendy, unique, weird and crazy themed cafe’s and restaurants that you’d probably never imagine. You have probably heard of animal cafes, maid cafes, and many others. If you’re a bit bored of the “normal” restaurants/bars and are looking for different experiences, consider one of these unique restaurants in Tokyo from our list below!
1. Vowz Bar
In the heart of Tokyo, a short walk from Yotsuya Sanchome station, you can find Vowz bar. A cocktail bar that is owned by Mr. Yoshinobu Fujioka, a Buddhist monk. He opened the bar with the purpose of creating a meeting place for all different kinds of people.
All the bartenders are Buddhist monks, and all their cocktails have names related to Buddhism. Besides cocktails, they also have a surprising selection of light snacks that also find their origin in Zen cuisine.
If you would like to learn more about Buddhism, Japanese culture, and history, the staff will happily answer your questions or you can read the books that are there for everyone to read. If you’re lucky, you might even experience some sutra chanting, known by the Japanese as okyo. The staff also speak some English and they have an English illustrated menu. So, even if you are not familiar with Japanese, the atmosphere is enjoyable and you might end up learning some new valuable life lessons!
Official Website: Vowz Bar
Address: 2F, 6 Arakicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Hours: 7pm – 1am, (closed on Sundays and holidays)
2. Ninja Cafe
Next up is the Ninja Cafe, located in Asakusa, a area which is a must see destination for any visitors. The small cafe is tucked away in the underground shopping center. This hidden gem offers a large selection of both ninja themed food, like ninja curry and okonomiyaki, as well as specialty drinks like ninja bombs.
While you’re there, you can learn and practice some of your ninja skills, learn how to use the blow gun or how to throw shuriken. You can even dress up in a ninja outfit! They also now have another branch in the popular and fun Harajuku area!
Official Website: Ninja Cafe
Address: 1F, 3-27-24 Nishi-Asakusa, Taito
Hours: 10am – 9pm (last order 7:30pm)
3. Robot Restaurant: Now “Samurai Restaurant”
Chances are you have heard of this place before as it is one of the most famous restaurants in all of Japan that began in 2012! However, in recent years it was been changed to the Samurai restaurant! While it may disappoint some, rest assured that the experience you’ll get here is very much on brand and will leave you with a great, unforgettable memory. Be sure to check out guided tours to get an even more epic experience!
Official Website: Samurai Restaurant
Address: 1-7-7 Kabukicho, Shinjuku
Hours: 9am – 11pm
- 1st show: 10:50am (doors open10:30am)
- 2nd show: 2:00pm (doors open 1:30pm)
- 3rd show: 4:30pm (doors open 4:00pm)
4. Tsuribune Chaya Zauo
This izakaya offers another fun experience with their own unique concept: you can catch your own fish and et them soon after! The artificial lake below the “boat” has more than 200 hundred fish swimming around, ready for catching. Grab a fishing rod and try your luck! If you like fishing, you will enjoy having dinner at this place very much with this one of a kind interactive dining experience.
After you catch your fish, the restaurant will prepare it fresh for you: sashimi, fried, salted, or baked. Along with the fish, they also serve a variety of izakaya food including fried chicken, edamame and french fries. But for obvious reasons, we recommend the fish. Let’s go fishing! There are four locations to choose from: Shinjuku, Meguro, Kameido, and Shibuya like in the photos!
Official Website: Tsuribune-Chaya Zauo
Hours:
11:30am – 3pm, 5pm – 10:30pm (Mon – Fri)
11:30am – 2:30pm, 4pm- 10:30pm (Sat – Sun)
At the Shinjuku Location, fishing is available from 13:00 on weekdays during lunch time
Address: 3-2-9, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
5. Little TGV
The Little TGV is a 2-in-1 experience: it’s a mix of a train style themed izakaya and a maid cafe! Everything from the interior, the menu, and the food is in line with the train or railway theme. There are model railways and train videos running in the background of the restaurant and even the drinks carry railway-inspired names. For example the Ginza Line, cassis orange, or the Hanzomon Line, violet fizz.
Akihabara, where this cafe is located, is home to a large number of maid cafe’s and this place is no exception. The staff are cute girls dressed up in train conductor uniforms that will happily serve you your train themed food and drinks!
Official Website: Little TGV (Japanese only)
Address: 4F, 3-10-5 Sotokanda, Chiyoda
Hours:
6pm – 11pm (Tue – Fri)
4pm – 11pm (Sat and holidays)
12pm – 11pm (Sundays)
closed on Mondays
6. Planetarium Bar
When you’re looking for a romantic night out, don’t forget to consider this spot! Tokyo is such a big city and is lit up at all times of day, so it can be really hard to see the stars and planets. But don’t worry, there is a bar that solves this issue for you! At Planetarium Bar, you can enjoy a drink while gazing at up beautiful stars without having to go all the way out to the rural parts of Japan. At this cozy little place, about 5 million stars are projected on the ceiling making for an amazing atmosphere. Rain, clouds, or cold weather? It doesn’t matter, you can always find the zodaic signs here. There is nothing better than having a delicious drink under the clear sky filled with shining stars.
Official Website: Planetarium Bar プラネタリウムBAR
Address: 4-9-23 Tsutsui, Minato
Hours:
6pm – 2am (Mon-Fri)
5pm – 2am (Saturday)
5pm -12am (Sundays, Holidays)
7. mr.kanso
While most people prefer fresh food over canned food, mr.kanso might make make you rethink that! They have over 50 locations all throughout Japan that serve canned food ranging from ¥200 up to ¥2,000! They serve canned food from Japan as well as from around the world. Check out one of the various mr.kanso’s and it will definitely be a unique experience where you will have the chance to discover all the different types of canned food the world has to offer. It is also fun to just take a look at the shelves filled with neatly arranged cans!
Official Website: mr.kanso
Hours: Vary from store to store, but usually 5pm – 12am(every day)
8. Curry Station Niagara
Curry Station Niagara isn’t your average curry restaurant. Located in Yutenji in Meguro, this fairly small train themed curry restaurant’s decorations are all train related or have actually come from a real train. The late owner had a passion for trains from a young age and has collected loads of train memorabilia over the years. The seats inside the restaurant are even those that were used on trains back in the early 1900’s.
You order your food from a train ticket vending machine. There is a variety of different kinds of curry ranging from vegetable to cheese to shrimp curry as well as spaghetti. When your food is ready, you will hear your conductor announce that your food is on it’s way as it is brought to you on a miniature shinkansen that rolls right up next to your table on a set of train tracks that runs by each table throughout the restaurant.
Being in the restaurant you really feel as if you have gotten on a train and are headed somewhere. This isn’t something you see everyday and it is definitely worth checking out if you are in the area or are interested in trains!
Official Website: Curry Station Niagara
Address: 1-21-2 Yutenji, Meguro
Hours: 11am – 9pm (Tue – Sun), Closed on Mondays
9. Vampire Cafe
The Vampire Cafe is a themed cafe around the topic, you guessed it, vampires! At this unique and one of a kind cafe, you’ll be able to enjoy various different kinds of delicious and creative Italian dishes as well as original cocktails in a mysterious air alongside a coffin in which a vampire sleeps and bats are flying. The dishes are also fun and vampire-esque, and a lot of them come with roses, flames, and even “blood” to add to the theme. This can be a fun place for couples and families alike and is a nice change from your average Italian restaurant.
Official Website: Vampire Cafe
Address: 6-7-6, Ginza, Chuo City
Hours: 5pm – 11pm (Tue – Sun), Closed on Mondays
10. Sushiya No Nohachi
Have you ever seen sushi made so small that you have to squint to see what type it actually is? Probably not… but that’s what you can expect at Sushiya No Nohachi. Each piece of sushi is made with just ONE grain of rice! Pretty hard to believe isn’t it? This miniscule sushi is a work of art in itself, and each piece surprising really resembles what a normal sized piece of sushi looks like. But don’t worry, they also serve normal sized sushi so you don’t show up and leave with an empty stomach. The sushi (both small and normal sized) are actually excellent when it comes to taste, and the atmosphere of the restaurant in general is great. It’s safe to say that you won’t find another sushi restaurant like this one.
Official Website: Sushiya No Nohachi
Address: 1-3-7 Kaminarimon, Taito City
Hours: 5pm – 12am (Mon – Sat), Closed on Sundays
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