ROBOT CAFE IN YOYOGI, TOKYO: OTAKU BAR & RESTAURANT, JAPANESE ROBOTO FIGURES, RARE TOYS & COLLECTIBLES.
I aim to visit every bizarre theme restaurant in Tokyo — and Robot Cafe in Yoyogi needed to be crossed off the list. I rounded up Professor Fearstone (head of Horror High School) and we circled around the block several times, looking for signs of otaku. Finally, Gundam appeared and saved the day.
I was filming with the CNN TV show earlier that day, hence the same outfit (more photos here).
Little cake hat: gifted from Agent Lover. So cute, and easy to attach.
Gothic Lolita dress: Innocent World, from Closet Child Harajuku.
Long, sheer overcoat: Ozz Croce, from Closet Child Shinjuku.
Orb-print tights: Vivienne Westwood, from Marui Womens Shinjuku.
Swashbuckler boots: Alice and the Pirates, from Closet Child Harajuku.
Coffin backpack: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child Ikebukuro.
Robot Cafe is, obviously, a hangout for nerdy types. The decoration was a bit too close to “otaku reality”: every square inch of the slightly shabby establishment was covered in toys, superhero belts and collectible vinyl figures.
Growing up? Becoming an adult? No thank you.
Manga and anime heavyweights left their signatures on the wall.
Every customer received a loyalty card with a cute girl on it. You can rack up points on return visits.
The special cocktails came with sexy vinyl girl figurines. Kim chi, hot rice, soy sauce and raw egg mixed together — a favorite Akihabara dish. Don’t know it til you’ve tried it.
The drinks were not very strong, so we sought another theme (and alcoholic) fix. Onward to Showa Disco, a Shinjuku bar dedicated to Japanese pop idols of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
The Backstreet Boys look like the Ninja Turtles next to this old-time Japanese boy band.
You could request Italo Disco songs, such as covers by Japanese girl duo Wink. We were the only people there, other than a middle-aged couple reminiscing about their days of glory. Want to see more? Check out this post about Showa Disco.
Any Italo Disco fanatics out there? Who are your favorite artists from that horrible and genius era?
PS: thanks to you, I made it to the final round of the Canadian Weblog Awards! The polls are closing tomorrow, so please take a second to vote for La Carmina. Huge hugs.
PPS: Add me on Twitter for my latest Tokyo updates! Such as… “Bought a RIDICULOUS amount of yuzu juice, pumpkin pizza and nail clippers.” “A Nightmare truck drove by, covered w/ photos of the #visualkei #jrock band + blasting their new single. 10th anniversary album out 10/20.”
Japanese Word of the Day: Otonagai = People who buy a lot of child-like goods
Song of the Day: Wink – Boys Don’t Cry (Italo cheese alert!)
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LA CARMINA
20 Comments
First and foremost. Oh my god your boots. I’ve been eying those for years and it broke my heart when they were taken off the site.
where is this store ??? wow.
You are UNSTOPPABLE! Go go go!
Are you gonna be in NY for my speech at FIT the 5th? !
Haha – great expressions!
wwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww nice XD
Love the photos girllll! I want your boots!! haha
hehe! <3 pirate boots arr
Maznigar Z !!!!!
Looking forward to seeing you on Norwegian TV~~ Do your best! :):)
YAY that’s awesome reach for the stars girl
I love the outfit :P
i love your boots so much
AHHH!!! Otaku paradise! – Would’ve been the place for me…about 5-6 years ago…these days I’m just not into it anymore. I occasionally watch anime here and there, sometimes read manga – but lately I’ve been just so out of tune with all the new stuff that’s going on. I try and reconnect at times – but that’s usually during the summer, afterwards it just all travels out and I only have a faint memory of them.
“Growing up? Becoming an adult? No thank you.”
HAHAHA now I lived that quote for quite some time and WILL CONTINUE to do so. Only thing I’ll live as an adult for is my dream and what I really want to do.
AND HEY that loyalty card just doesn’t have any cute girl on it – that’s Mio Akiyama! The shy skilled bassist of the TOTALLY REAL LIFE band – HO-KAGO TI TIMU!!! (Ho-Kago Tea Time) of the TOTALLY REAL LIFE SHOW – K-ON!.
And that dish looked so warm and filling to eat. I would have loved to have taken a bit of it. But usually I would take some warm green tea with that kind of dish than a colorful cocktail hahaha ^_^. But hey whatever let’s you live as who you are day to day!
Car Radio “something” reru
Setsuna sugiru “something x 4” ga
Well at least I can read Hiragana now…now on to Katakana…and…ugh…or – I’m not even sure if I really want to go there oh god…please do I really have to learn KANJI!?!?
So yep ELEMENTARY JAPANESE 1 class is going well for me. Or ok so far at least haha. There’s still so much to learn!
Nice! Ah, the quest for Japanese learning is never-ending… check out smart.fm – there are great drills there.
WHOAH. VIVIENNE WESTWOOD! <3 I love her fashion so much~ (The punk side of me at least). Do you actually buy all of the clothing items from their respective stores? Doesn't that burn some kind of abyss into your wallet? or at least a chasm. They ARE expensive…aren't they? ; n;
haha they are all from Closet Child – USED! Most things are under $20.
Lookin fab and those shoes are smokin!
<3 <3
Cute tiger figurine in special drink photo!
Growing up is another way of saying “I just want to wait die”. XD