Surviving in Japan – Eating and Drinking
So… there you are, standing in Tokyo, waiting for your friends. How many are you, where are you going, what are you going to do? You’re hungry and in no doubt that the others are as well. You know you’re going to be at least 7 people and you have no dinner reservation, so what on earth do you do in a city like Tokyo?
You try find your friends among this madness!
The answer is very simple – go have a look!
The most easy thing to do is to walk around, enjoy the buzz of the Tokyian life and have a look at the different restaurants and izakayas (explanation will follow later so just sit back tight and keep reading!) flaunting the streets. You see, in Japan you don’t necessarily need a reservation, in fact it’s rare to do so unless it’s a really fancy restaurant.
European and Japanese restaurant cultures are completely different – besides the fact that there are hardly as many fast food joints gracing the streets as Europe or the U.S., there are a lot of small, cozy businesses, serving fresh, fast, and delicious food for almost no money. They are sort of like cafés in their concept and yet they’re also much like Burger King. In some you can even buy a food ticket from a vending machine and then go in, hand over the ticket to the nice, too perky for his own good, Japanese and get your meal before you’ve counted to 3 Mississippi’s. You usually sit at a counter of some sort besides other hungry people and enjoy your meal. So although it’s difficult to find seating for 10 people, it is possible!
If you don’t mind sitting at separate tables that is. OR you could go to this really neat concept restaurant which fills the streets of Asia (and are totally awesome by the way). This is known and the Eat, Drink, Show solution. You could also just go for a collective drinking and eating solution, meaning you get beer and get to try different dishes. Maybe that’s not your cup of tea, but really, who in their right mind dislikes the concept of eating and drinking? Nevertheless there is also the option of eating, drinking and singing in true Japanese style. Let’s check out the options, shall we?
A meal, a drink and a show
Finally your friends are here, some only 20 minutes late, but no worries, you don’t have a table waiting for you anyway. Finding a place with a table for 10 people is going to be difficult, since this is your first time to Japan or generally just because 10 people is pushing it.
This is where The Lock Up comes in. After wandering the streets, trying to cater to everyone’s desires and needs, you finally find place located at the basement of a building in Shibuya. The Lock Up is a nifty place, created to bring you both dinner and a show. After greeting women dressed as police officers and seeing all the waiters as inmates, it slowly dawns on you that the concept of this restaurant is a prison and you are the new inmates.
Dun, dun duuuuuun…..
After being handcuffed and taken to your cell, which conveniently has a long table and seating, you are free to order all you can eat and drink for 120 minutes for only 3000 yen. So after ordering and receiving all your alchoholic drinks, a waiter – sorry, a fellow inmate brings the grub. A total of approx 5 meal course awaits with different dishes enough to fill the stomach along with the alcohol.
After being led down this, you get a wee bit suspicious!
Things are going nicely; people are laughing, eating, drinking, having a good time. Things are going perfectly! That is…until everything goes black. What’s going on?! An alarm suddenly starts to go off and a Japanese woman starts to speak gibberish on the speakers. After working out some kinks (mainly in your head) you start to make sense of the broadcast given in Japanese. ”Watch your backs!” Eh?
Aaaaaaaaaaah!
Screams of terror sound from other cells, high pitched voices crying, low pitched voice giving a shout of surprise. Constant mumbles; “no no no no no”. You look around the table, what on earth is going on? Whatever it is, it had better not come in here!
But it does…
Right, I’m gonna stop right here, ’cause I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you. This is only funny if you’ve experienced it yourself. So ladies and gents, go have a look at The Lock Up in Shibuya if you’re ever in Japan! It’s right past the great big bag of french fries, past the creepy guy standing outside, down the stairs and through the tunnels.
No I’m just kidding, I’ll reveal everything…in the next issue!
Dun, dun duuuun….
So stay tuned for the other options when deciding where to go to dinner in Tokyo, and the exciting (I bet you’re all going: pfff at this, aren’t you?) ending of our mental and somewhat personal trip to The Lock Up.
