Robot Restaurant was an entertainment venue operated by Robot Restaurant Co., Ltd. located in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo. The restaurant offered dinner with a robot show.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant has permanently shut down.[2]
Overview
editWhen it first opened in July 2012, the theme was to "enliven office workers", targeting office workers in Shinjuku with a show featuring female dancers in extreme costumes and robots.[3] Hollywood film directors Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams, and Guillermo del Torro have visited the location.[3]
From there, word-of-mouth spread on social media, leading to an increase in the number of foreign tourists.[3] They subsequently shifted their target audience to foreign tourists, and also had shows that include many elements of Japanese culture.[3] In addition, the mascot character "Roboko" was permanently installed at the storefront as an advertising tower.[4]
References
edit
- ^ Eyewitness, DK (2021). DK Eyewitness Tokyo. Travel Guide. DK Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7440-5539-9. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ^ Nagase, Youka (2022-10-06). "19 popular attractions in Tokyo that closed during the pandemic, including Robot Restaurant". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ^ a b c d Sone, Y. (2016). Japanese Robot Culture: Performance, Imagination, and Modernity. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-137-52527-7. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ^ "Roboko: Shinjuku Kabukicho Robot Restaurant gets its own mascot character". Japan Trends. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2022-10-07.