Robot Restaurant was an entertainment venue operated by Robot Restaurant Co., Ltd. located in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo. The restaurant offered dinner with a robot show.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant has permanently shut down.[2]
Overview
When it first opened in July 2012, the theme was to "enliven office workers", targeting office workers in Shinjuku with a show featuring female dancers in extreme costumes and robots.[3] Hollywood film directors Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams, and Guillermo del Toro have visited the location.[3]
From there, word-of-mouth spread on social media, leading to an increase in the number of foreign tourists.[3] They subsequently shifted their target audience to foreign tourists, and also had shows that include many elements of Japanese culture.[3] In addition, the mascot character "Roboko" was permanently installed at the storefront as an advertising tower.[4]
External links
References
- DK Eyewitness. DK Eyewitness Tokyo DK Publishing, 2021, retrieved 2022-10-07^
- Youka Nagase. 19 popular attractions in Tokyo that closed during the pandemic, including Robot Restaurant Time Out Tokyo, 2022-10-06, retrieved 2022-10-07^
- Y. Sone. Japanese Robot Culture: Performance, Imagination, and Modernity