The Kayabukiya Tavern (居酒屋 かやぶき, izakaya kayabuki) was a traditional-style Japanese "sake-house" restaurant (izakaya) that was located in the city of Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, Japan.[1][2]
| Kayabukiya Tavern | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Owner(s) | Kaoru Otsuka |
| Food type | Japanese |
| City | Utsunomiya |
| Country | Japan |
The tavern's owner, Kaoru Otsuka, owns two pet macaque monkeys who were employed to work at the location.[3] The first monkey, twelve-year-old "Yat-chan", is dressed in a shirt and shorts while he takes customers' drink orders and delivers them to the diners' tables.[3] The younger macaque, named Fuku-chan, is currently four years old and has the main duty of bringing the attendees hot towels to clean their hands before ordering drinks.[4] Fuku-chan had only two years of experience, while Yat-chan has been reportedly performing the job for a longer time.[4]
Both monkeys received boiled soya beans from customers as tips for their service.[5] The monkeys' environment has been inspected to ensure proper treatment of the animals;[6] due to Japanese animal rights regulations, they are each only allowed to work for two hours a day.[1] The restaurant was also featured as a reward for the winning team in the third episode of Season Two of I Survived a Japanese Game Show.
The tavern was abandoned after the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami. The monkeys still belong to the owner. The current state of the tavern and the monkeys was documented in a 2014 movie by artist Pierre Huyghe.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b Jamie Rhein (2008-10-11). "Monkey waiters in Japan a hit with diners". Gadling.com. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ Gary Fennelly (2008-10-06). "Monkey works as waiter in Japanese restaurant". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ a b "Japanese Tavern Hired Pair Of Monkeys As Waiters". Javno.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ^ a b "Monkey waiters in Japan". Reuters. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ^ "Monkey waiters better than some human counterparts". 3 News. 2008-10-07. Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ^ "Monkeys work in Japanese restaurant". BBC News. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ^ "Monkey waiters and axolotls the disconcerting art of Pierre Huyghe". The Guardian. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2015-07-24.