I received the final book cover of my Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants book and it’s eeeeeee kawaii! I’m so happy!

Mark Batty Publisher is known for its fab fonts and design sensibility, and I’m thrilled at how the cute-meets-strange illustrations amp up the wackiness. The backdrop is the retro restaurant in Odaiba (Little Hong Kong), and the characters hint at what’s inside: cat cafes, haunted pubs, chittering monkey waiters and more.

The backside gives you a glimpse inside Tokyo’s Dog Cafe, Princess Heart, and Cos-Cha maid cafe in Akihabara. The copy reads: “La Carmina, mistress of the hugely popular Gothic Lolita website, has traveled all over Tokyo to document insanely themed eateries. Traditional dishes like sushi, rice balls and curry get tricked out thanks to theme restaurants inspired by everything from religions to animals. Waitresses dressed as maids slap you when you lose a food version of Russian roulette that concludes with a mouthful of wasabi; a drunken Buddhist monk imparts wisdom; boy-toys dote on female customers; ninjas deliver menus and throw food. With stories as quirky and singular as the restaurants she visits, illustrated with photographs of the food, menus, interiors and waiters, Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo reveals an astonishing and utterly fascinating niche of dining in one of
the world’s most vibrant cities.”

I’m so proud of this book, and ecstatic that my friends were able to take part in it. For the Vampire Cafe chapter, Count de Sang bared his fangs in front of a shattered mirror.

This is a La Carmina book, through and throughout. For our field trip to the Alice in Wonderland cafe, Yukiro Dravarious transformed into the Cheshire Cat. Each chapter has a lively writeup about our adventures.

The Wizard of the Opera theme restaurant was fun to shoot (you can see more of it in this video). Can you spot The Happy Phantom dressed as the Phantom of the Opera?

Dying to see more cute maids, schoolboys, ninjas, monsters, and bartenders in frog suits? Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants comes out this JULY… but you can pre-order it from Amazon right now. Thanks for your support, darkings – I promise to keep sharing my love of J-pop madness with you!