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Apr 30 2014 19 Comments

Pole dancers, robots and illuminated tanks

The Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho red light district is an experience like no other. An audio and visual extravaganza so mindbogglingly bonkers it’s almost impossible to describe. As such, images, and even video, don’t really do the experience justice.

So sadly these photographs only offer a mere hint of what the performance entails. And, like the title suggests, there are pole dancers.

Tokyo robot restaurant pole dancer

Tokyo robot restaurant pole dancer

Illuminated tanks.

Tokyo robot restaurant

An equally luminous aeroplane.

Tokyo robot restaurant

The odd form of rather tamer transportation.

Tokyo robot restaurant

And oh yeah, the occasional robot.

Tokyo robot restaurant

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Martin says

    4/30/2014 at 8:36 am

    That looks worth checking out!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/30/2014 at 4:45 pm

      It is. I’d recommend it without hesitation. An hour of out and out entertainment. An absolute blast from start to finish.

      Reply
  2. Squidpuppy says

    4/30/2014 at 9:59 am

    Grown up Electrical Parade. Anthony Bourdain’s last show on Tokyo, in 2013, had a segment featuring this place, so if you find that episode, you can see video of it. I’m surprised they let you take photos, or was there a lot of that going on?

    Reply
    • John says

      4/30/2014 at 3:55 pm

      You are allowed to take photos and video. They encourage it,

      Reply
      • Lee says

        4/30/2014 at 4:48 pm

        Yeah, very actively encouraged. A smart move on their behalf. So much of their advertise is done for free. Just like I’m doing…

        Cheers. I saw the Bourdain show after I’d been there. That was well done, but it still doesn’t come close to the real live event.

        Reply
  3. Ed says

    4/30/2014 at 3:22 pm

    Looks like you’ve had a great time there, mate 😉

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/30/2014 at 4:49 pm

      I did. A very good time!

      Reply
  4. Cynthia Vasconcellos says

    5/1/2014 at 1:01 am

    … and welcome to Shinjuku!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/1/2014 at 10:13 am

      Very true! Nothing is surprising in Shinjuku.

      Reply
  5. Marcin says

    5/1/2014 at 6:07 am

    Looks like fun, what kind of music were they playing?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/1/2014 at 10:15 am

      The music is the one thing I can’t recall. Nothing I’d want to listen to at home that’s for sure, but it was fitting for the high tempo madness on display.

      Reply
    • John says

      5/1/2014 at 4:05 pm

      One of the songs they use is “Gangnam Style” from Psy.

      Reply
      • Lee says

        5/1/2014 at 4:21 pm

        Cheers!

        It’s a long while since I went, but the visuals, perhaps not surprisingly, have stuck in my mind, whereas the music hasn’t.

        Reply
  6. Hans ter Horst says

    5/3/2014 at 3:11 pm

    What are the customers like, groups of sararimen or a bit more fun? Looks like a place to put on my list of things to visit next time.
    You really should set up shop as an alternative travel guide, or organize an area of your website as a map of Tokyo pinning down the locations, I bet it would be popular enough to generate income 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/3/2014 at 9:04 pm

      That would be nice. Very nice in fact! I don’t really see the places I go to as alternative, but this spot aside (it’s a pretty popular tourist draw), I suppose many of them aren’t necessarily the norm. Or at least not the norm presented in the tourist books. Something for me to think about then!

      It’s definitely worth a visit. We had an absolute blast. To be honest I was a bit apprehensive, but my worries very quickly disappeared!

      Customer-wise it’s a real mixed bag. Salary men. Couples. Small groups of men. Small groups of women too. Plus a real mix of ages. And of course the odd gaijin!

      Reply
  7. Ken says

    5/11/2014 at 9:36 pm

    Just took the bus from Narita into Tokyo and this place has a write-up in the company magazine

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/11/2014 at 11:01 pm

      There you go then. A sign that it’s not only respectable, but also a place you must visit!

      Reply
  8. Vamp898 says

    5/26/2014 at 6:45 pm

    Sadly no color fotos here. The Laser Light is one of the key arguments of the show, without the colorfull laser light its like sex without orgasm.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/26/2014 at 9:04 pm

      Each to their own and all that. Personally I found the colours way too distracting in the photos. The stills and the real thing were very very different.

      Reply

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