The Robot Restaurant, Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo

    The Robot Restaurant is one of those outrageous experiences that needs to be seen to be believed.  I went with a friend who described it as the most typically Japanese thing he'd ever seen.  Forget the 'restaurant' part of the name, you get a 'bento' box set for 'dinner' (read, cheap and convenient, available for microwaving from any convenience store).  But that's not the point.  The show is everything, and beer is served.
    It's a great touristy thing to do, and friends of mine still living in Japan when asked if they had been to the Robot Restaurant yet replied that they hadn't, but would consider it if friends visited from overseas.  Fair call, but I wouldn't have waited personally.  But I like outlandish kitch stuff like this anyway.
    There is a 'plot', or rather sequence of events would be more accurate, and I'll walk you through them via the photos.  Or you can just go for the pretty pictures and make up your own story.  That would work just as well, but with the stuff that went on, explaining it to friends that hadn't seen it, I felt like I was making up the most outlandish shit I could think up on the spot. I was nearly ready to call 'bullshit' on myself, it sounded so laughably outlandish in the light of day. 
    But it's real, my friends, oh so real...

The entrance is a couple of floors down, and the gaudy stairs are still no indication of the horror that awaits...

 First up, is a semi-decent Taiko show performed by semi-dressed ladies.  This will become a regular theme (not the Taiko)

 After a costume change, the girls come out again as a marching band.  Of course.

 After another break, at this stage, I'm wondering a little whether I've been let down a bit.  The stop-start has killed the atmosphere a bit.  But then the chain fences are brought out and the battles begin.  The reason for this becomes real obvious real quick.  The costumes aren't so good for seeing out of, and the action gets a bit real.  Then it's on like Donkey Kong.  First up, Champion Robo Big Boss Vs King Godzilla!

 Next battle, Champion Robo Big Boss Vs Kung Fu Panda.  Kung Fu Panda gets his tail handed to him, and he retreats...

 ...only to return charging in on a cow!

  Then it's Cutie Honey with a Captain America Shield and a Thor Hammer vs mecha.  Cutie Honey Wins!  Flawless Victory!

Then there were some girls on the back of a robot Armadillo attacking some mecha.  I'm not making this up!

 To celebrate, we then have a good old-fashioned Roller Disco.  With Robot dancers and robot DJ on the back of a truck.  Because Japan.

 Then the huge robot women that get carted around town as advertising get ridden into the roller disco by scantily clad girls.

 Then the giant robots come out for a dance.  For real.  They are basically large puppets from what I could gather, controlled by a ninja at the back.  I'm not making this up, honestly!

 The ladies explain that, before the finale, folk can come out and have happy snaps taken with the giant robots.

 Meanwhile, other scantily-clad ladies are suspended in seats above the customers, ready to go for a ride around the floor.

 The Robots are ready...

 The girls are ready...

 Just a quick reminder of the rules (basically don't be a lecherous jerk) in English!

 And we're off!

 This is the bit you may have seen on Youtube.  A bomber comes out of one side, with cute girls hanging from all parts and lights and sounds going nuts.

 A random portable toilet gets ridden around because it can

 Remember all the while, the girls suspended above you are giving you high fives while this bizarre show is happening...

 We all got handed these mini-light-sabers to wave around while this was going on.  Yeah, look down, below the nice girl, you might see a couple.  Of mini light-sabers that is.

  The Bomber circles around with its payload of scantily clad performers

 Limbering up for the final battle...

 Then the camouflage tank attacks from the opposite direction.  Camouflaged in a disco that is, with lights flashing, and cleverly hidden under more scantily-clad girls. 

 And it's tank vs bomber in the raucous finale.  And the winner?  All the innuendo flying about the place.  Stuff that up your Glee!

 Tanks for the show!

And back outside, the robots are taking over Kabukicho.  This is what I came to Japan to see.  

 My images do not belong to the Public Domain. All material in this portfolio is owned and © copyrighted by Peter Pascoe (Doctor Pedro). Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from myself is prohibited by law. All rights reserved.

Do The Japan! March - April 2013

    Another trip back to Japan, and more photos in between drunken bastardry.  It's been one year (and a bit) since I was last in Japan.  What's changed in Tokyo?  Lots.  Tokyo is the city that is constantly rebuilding, and if you're not careful, it will all go and be replaced with something even weirder (apologies to Douglas Adams).

    So what has changed.  Fewer Pads and Tablets on public transport.  In 2012, there were probably 4 or 5 people per train carriage using some sort of pad or tablet to while away the oppressive commute.  This year, I reckon I saw maybe 2 in my whole trip.  Ipads are soooo 2012.

    Shimokitazawa Station has changed.  The underground, 3 levels deep Odakyu line (from Shinjuku) changed from above ground to underground during my trip.  I had one last use of the Odakyu above ground station early in my trip, then the next time I used it, I was suddenly in some deep well-lit, shiny subway station that took for ever to get out.  The odd little market that was next to the old station is no more.  Well, it's reduced to one little drinking venue on the North side, but everything else is eerily empty, awaiting demolition.  And the South Side exit, where I spent years drinking MD Super Hops from the conbini, is now a fully functioning exit.

    Tokyo Skytree is open for business.  When I was there last year, it was pretty much built, but not yet open.  Now, nearly a year later, and it's open.  BUT.  We tried to book a ticket for the observation deck online from Australia, and All. Of. March. Was. Full.  When we got there and tried for the beginning of April it was All. Full.  I guess I'm waiting till my next trip for those shots.

    Coca Cola is still 150 yen for a 500 ml bottle.  Still.  That's about a dollar fifty in Aussie dollars.  Australia gets raped for prices by Apple and Coca Cola, and many other things.  It's pretty much double to triple price here.  It's a very odd feeling to walk around 'the world's most expensive city' and wonder why things are generally so much cheaper than in Australia.  I do know, having lived there, that there are living expenses in Tokyo that aren't apparent to visitors that do make it pretty seriously expensive, but it's still pretty outrageous comparing prices of things to back home.  When I moved over in '99, everything in Tokyo was pretty much double what it was in Oz.  Now, it seems nearly everything is cheaper.

    My favourite eating hole, Iseya, in Inokashira Park, home of the best Gyoza in the world, is gone!  The classic old building with its shit service, its smokey atmosphere and its grubby appearance, is no more.  Iseya has reopened temporarily just past Yodobashi Camera on the north side of Kichijoji while the new building is being built, so I could still get my gyoza fix.  But that ramshackle old building is gone.  And that's a great loss.  That building had such rare character.  And probably serious health and safety issues, but that was half of the charm.  It was an oasis of grunge and character in a sea of sterile eateries.  Bugger.

    And the Robot Restaurant.  But I'll get into that in a subsequent post.  Right now, here's a teaser.  There will be more entries to follow.  Stay Tuned.

 Hanami.  Cherry Blossom Season.  Nicely timed. 

  Hentai Chikan Dragon

 These Robots are driven around during the day and night, advertising the Robot Restaurant in Kabukicho.  They are a part of the show.

 Another Cho-chin (paper Lantern) shot.  My obsession continues.

 A sneaky shot inside a Kabukicho Host club.  Alot of the clientelle are hostesses who have finished their shift.  The boys all look like they're from J-pop bands.

 More sleaze in Kabukicho.  Glitter girls!

 I'm happy to comply, but what the hell it is I'm not supposed to do!?!

  A Super Mario Bar in Shinjuku. 

  Evangelion Champagne, available in the Evangelion shop in Harajuku.  Are you fan enough?

  A quiet stroll in Harajuku...

  Mobile Suit Gundam, Odaiba

  Melt Banana in Super Deluxe, Roppongi

  WTF?!? in the Robot Restaurant, Kabukicho.  LOTS more to follow...

 Velvet Worm rocking on in Shin Okubo

 The Zombie Walk, Roppongi

 Tokyo is a 2020 Olympics Candidate city.  The opposition is small and polite.  But to the point.

  Secret shot

  A very leggy dragon.  Just, you know, on the street.  Because Japan.

 Warning!

  Akihabara Donkihote.  Home of the infamous Akiba48. who do a regular show on the 8th floor.

 Gacha Gacha Pon vending machines in Ahihabara.  'Gacha' is onomatopeic for the sound of cranking the handle to get the capsule toy, and the 'pon' is the sound of the capsule dropping into the chute.  There are vending machines for nearly everything in Japan.

'Itansha' in Akihabara.  I seriously just googled that term.  I have known of the term 'Itasha' for quite a few years now.  'Itasha' literally means 'painful car' and refers to cars that have been decorated with anime, manga or video games characters.  I saw this motorbike suffering the same fate, but only now when I googled 'Itasha' did I just find out that the term has morphed into 'Itansha' for motorbikes and 'Itachari' for bicycles. 

My images do not belong to the Public Domain. All material in this portfolio is owned and © copyrighted by Peter Pascoe (Doctor Pedro). Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from myself is prohibited by law. All rights reserved.