Themed-Restaurant

Hi, I would like to know about themed-restaurants in Tokyo.

We are 2 females in early 20th, going to Japan in April, and want to at least once, come to themed-restaurant or even butler cafe while in Japan.

I have some ideas : Kawaii Monster Cafe or Ninja Akasaka or some Alice-in-Wonderland-related restaurant (if you guys have any other ideas, please tell me).

The problem is I am kinda confused with reservation and not wanting reserve through middleman (with fee, since themed-restaurant is known to charge entrance fee or any additional fees).

As far as I know, both Kawaii Monster and Alices owned by Diamond Dining, which is can reserve from https://ddmile.com/reservation/d/(restaurant number). Does they the only way to book? I notice we have to have a Japanese number to reservation validity and of course, we as foreigners don't have one. And their websites doesn't have any inquiries form. Any other way?

Or can we just go there and choose the seat (we want to since we want take pictures)? I have searched that Kawaii Monster can receive guests w/o reservation (dunno about Alice) but we can not choose the seat and probably have to queue really long. Please tell me if my information is wrong.

For Ninja, I noticed from their website that they have abolished the service fee and I can reserve through their website directly.

Is there any additional fee aside from service fee? Ie reservation fee, entrance fee, photo-taking fee, entertainment fee, etc (some restaurants use different terms to "come-in fee" and "service fee" so I dunno...and sometimes they charge so many additional fee and have so many regulation that we don't aware of).

From the three of them, which one is most worthies?

Anyway do they have requirement of order perperson?

Some detailed helps would be appreciated.

Thank you.

I have never been to a theme restaurant, so I don't have any experience but I do have some suggestions. There are maid/butler cafes if you are interested in that. I know in Shinjuku there are the Robot shows, but I heard the food there is terrible and overpriced. In Akihabara there is the AKB48 cafe or Gundam cafe right outside the station. There are sumo, samurai, Alcatraz prison, and vampire restaurants.

Thank you for the suggestions! :)

Do you know how to reserve those maid/butler cafes?
Ah and I have already tried AKB48 cafe since they doesn't have reservation system.

I don't think you need to reserve at a Butler/Maid cafe. I always see girls in maid cafe outside their store trying to bring customers in, which leads me to believe they need customers to come in.

https://www.tsunagujapan.com/you-can-be-a-princess-for-a-day-try-japan...

I would forget about reservations until you arrive, then ask your hotel, inn, or hostel for assistance. Most of them will take walk ins on weekdays especially if its a small group.

I would recommend the robot restaurant, the food is uninspired but the experience is worth doing twice. I've been to AKB48 it was okay, there is a insane asylum restaurant called Alcatraz E.R. it's fun to do once. The Ninja restaurant, Ninja Akasaka is fun, but it's over priced and cheesy. Alice in Ginza is okay, especially if you dress for the part but you'll see much of the same in Harajuku's Takeshita street. The drinks and desserts are the best.

Alcatraz has a sitting fee, Ninja's prices are already high enough, we weren't charged a fee. Alice is more a cafe they only charge a reservation fee for groups.
It would go without saying however, that none of these options are budget friendly, the prices of the menu reflect the entertainment value. The most affordable of the 4 is Alice, as it's more a cafe.

It's kind of pricey but if you use Skype you can actually get a Japanese phone number to use before you go, which if you don't have mobile phones can be used kind of as a mobile.

(I am using a registered account now)

Thank you, MikeTI! We have ever read that exact reviews about Butler Cafe, so probably I drop Butler Cafe option for now. Too many restrictions and apparently one of us doesn't like that kind of things.

And as far as I know, girls in maid cafe (like in Akihabara) does do that, BUT, they mostly didn't explain to the (expectant) customers regarding the rules and their additional fees beforehand. That's one of the reason that I posted this question in the forum.

So maybe the best option now is Alice..or Ninja.

From Skype? Thank you for mentioning that, PsyGuy, but can you explain it more?

Anyway, anyone knows how to reserve KAWAII MONSTER CAFEE?

Well if you use Skype you can buy a subscription which allows you to make calls in a particular area. In Japan it starts at $4/month for 100 minutes up too $20/month for unlimited calling to landlines and mobiles. You can then buy what's called a Skype Number, which is $18 for 3 months or $60 for a year. If you have a subscription (even if it's just for a month) you save 50% making the Skype Number $9 or $30. They have Skype Numbers for Japan, so you'd get a Japanese phone number. Then when you get to Japan you just rent a WiMax at the airport and use the Skype app on your phone to make calls, and people can then call you.

Wow, thank you for explanation! I appreciate it.
I will try it later when I have time.

I have been to multiple themes restaurants during my 3 visite to Japan:
- robot restaurant in shinjuku: great experience but food is optional and should be considered to be more of a show than restaurant. Eat elsewhere. It has gotten more international than when I visited in 2013, which makes it less awkward. They have also more focus on selling you merchandise these days.
- kawaii monster cafe: less off the wall than robot restaurant: food is okay but expensive. Not as crazy as it looks from the pictures.
- akasaka ninja restaurant: great experience, was recently at the same place in Kyoto and went for the buffet this time. Don't do this because there's not much theming ongoing. The restaurant was great when I visited Tokyo 4 years ago.
- Alcatraz ER in Shibuya, very weird experience but fun in a spook show kind of way. Food is weird but okay.
- @home cafe in Akihabara: maid cafe which gives a good impression of this weird part of Japan. good experience but I can't get used to being called master...

Have fun!

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Do you have to reserve to go to Monster Kawaii and maid cafes?
And is it weird if females to go to maid cafe? I hears mostly visitors are males.

In Akihabara there are many maid cafes so I think reservations are not needed. There may be a bit of a queue and we waited 15 mins to get a seat. A maid cafe is weird for everyone to go into, but that's the point, right? :-) The one we went into seemed quite well organized and the maids were very well into their acts. The crowd that goes in usually is half of the experience, old guys going in solo with collectors booklets in which they store pictures they took with the ladies, or playing very silly games.

Kawaii monster we paid for a reserved seat to buy us some time but there was a small queue that went in at the same time with us. Everyone can stay for 90 or so minutes and they do a brief show after which most guests leave at the same time. In hindsight it didn't seem necessary and we went on a very busy harajuku Sunday at 13:00.

By the way Robot restaurant is actually cheaper through some middlemen. Just google and you will find it. We went in with voyagin.