By Sarah Chin A Sen - 
Japan has the reputation of bringing the craziest products, places and experiences to the world! Heated toilet seats with cleansing jet of water, insane game shows involving a human Tetris, and so many more. Foreigners constantly find themselves in awe of all the futuristic and unconventional inventions by the Japanese.
Here, I’ll share with you my best findings of unusual places to visit in Tokyo. Get ready to be blown away by the world you’re about the enter!
1. Kawaii Monster Café
At the top of our list of unusual places in Tokyo is the Kawaii Monster Café. This place is an explosion of color, cute, crazy and kawaii (cute in Japanese)! It is truly a unique place for an extraordinary and trippy dining experience that you will never forget.
Entering the restaurant is like entering another world where the food is just as colorful and fun as the décor: rainbow pasta, decadent ice creams, multicolored monster burgers, bizarre cocktails, etc. A feast for the eyes as well as the palate!
Designed by Sebastian Matsuda, the restaurant is divided into four areas: the Mushroom Disco, the Milk Stand, the Mel-Tea room and the Bar Experiment. They all join at the center around the Sweets-Go-Round, where girls dressed in insanely bright and eccentric costumes dance to techno music every 40 minutes.
Definitely a place to add to your list on TWISPER!
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2. Robot restaurant
In Tokyo, the Robot restaurant is not exactly a restaurant. It is a live show during which all your senses are awakened, as you witness ninjas, dinosaurs, robots, dragons and other creatures battle for your entertainment.
Before the start of the show, people are welcomed into a bar which doubles as a waiting area where you can grab a drink. Once the show starts, the sensory experience is taken to a whole other level. It is like a psychedelic dream. Some snacks are available for you to munch on while your brain tries to process the blinding neon lights, the insane interior, the overwhelming music, the dazzling costumes… and of course, the robots everywhere!
As you might expect, tickets to such a show are not cheap… But this experience is an important part of Tokyo’s modern culture. Don’t hesitate to go there at least once if you’re ever in Tokyo.
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3. Animal cafés
In the last few years, cat cafés have been popping up everywhere in the world. Dog cafés have also been growing in popularity. But in Tokyo, the animal café trend goes far beyond your common pets…
Hedgehog Café
With several locations across Tokyo, the Hedgehog Café, HARRY, is the first of its kind. The place welcomes visitors who want to enjoy the company of the cutest hedgehogs! Hold them (with special gloves), play with them and even adopt one and take it home if you’d like!
Despite the specific name of this café, the type of animals you’ll find depends on the location you choose to visit. For example, you can spend time with adorable hamsters in Mogu Mogu, or beautiful otters in Harajuku.
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Mipig Café
Come cuddle-ready! The Mipig Café in Tokyo is a place where you can have food and drink while you wait for adorable micro pigs to come to you. As they often stay together, you might end up with an entire pile or row of them lying on your lap. It’s pure cuteness overload! Make sure to wash your hands before you start playing with them.
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These are just examples of the type of animal cafés you will find in Tokyo. Other options include bird cafés, bunny cafés, and even one cat café where you can pet a capybara surrounded by his cat friends! For anyone who isn’t fully versed in South American mammals, a capybara is the largest rodent in the world. We bet the cats won’t be hunting this one though!
4. Capsule hotels
Capsule hotels (or pod hotels) have become a real attraction in Japan. Claustrophobics, beware… These hotels are probably not for you! They only have bed-sized rooms in which you can spend very affordable evenings. Although there is enough space for you to sit up, it can become quite cramped.
If you don’t mind small spaces, it is a very fun experience to have in Japan! The capsules usually have a television, a safe and air conditioning. All other amenities such as bathrooms are shared between guests. Bigger versions of the capsules exist as well, allowing guests to stand up. Of course, they are more expensive but include lockers inside the rooms.
Nine hours
This capsule hotel was named after the idea that a person needs 1 hour to shower at the end of the day, 7 hours of sleep, and 1 hour to get ready in the morning: a total of 9 hours. Of course, guests are welcome to stay for more or less than 9 hours! Check-ins and check-outs are done daily anytime between 1pm and 10am the next day. But you can also just rent a shower for the day, use a desk for a few hours, enjoy a coffee, or take a nap between 1pm and 9pm. It’s a very good solution if you’re on a budget or if you need a place to take a break from your day.
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Book & Bed Tokyo
To all book lovers: have you ever dreamt of being surrounded by books, eat and sleep with books, see books everywhere and constantly? Book & Bed is haven for all book worms out there: it’s a bookshop where you can spend the night. The beds are literally built in the bookshelves! You can choose a single bed or a double bed. Another option is to rent a bigger room, but what’s the point if you cannot be surrounded by books? You’ll find a great selection of books in Japanese and in English, but of course, you can bring your own. They even have a coffee area for you to enjoy a drink while you read.
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5. Omori Chaya
Geishas are an important part of the Japanese culture and remain quite mysterious to foreigners. Far from the pre-conceived idea that they are the Japanese equivalent of western prostitutes, geishas are actually performers of ancient traditions of art, dance and singing. They are very well versed in traditional instruments, poetry, literature, songs, calligraphy, and much more. Their training starts from a very young age in specific areas of the city called hanamachi and nowadays, it is very hard for tourists to spot them.
As it is difficult for foreigners to get see an ozashiki (banquets at which geishas perform), especially without invitation, one of your best options is to book a table at Omori Chaya. This restaurant is open to first-time customers and offers several plans with different prices. Have an afternoon tea or a lunch while enjoying the show and even interacting with geishas. It’s an exceptional opportunity to get to know the Japanese culture better!
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All the places mentioned above will provide you with extraordinary experiences that you will not be able to find elsewhere. I really hope you do check them out when you’re in Tokyo. Don’t forget to add them to your list on TWISPER to remember to visit them!
