What I Did Today: Robot Restaurant

I'm not quite sure how my friend found this place but she said one of the things she wanted to do while in Japan was visit Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. So we got someone to watch the kids, and headed over. The show is billed as family-friendly, but the marketing implies pseudo-sexual content, so I didn't want to take any chances. It turned out that you see way more going to a beach in Southern California than you do during the show, though. It also turned out to be less of a restaurant and much more of a show.

We were rather confused about where to go, so I totally forgot to take a picture of the (incredibly loud) outside of the restaurant. Before the show, we went upstairs to a garish lounge, where we were entertained with truly lounge-y music:


The pre-show started with an acoustic guitarist (pictured), who was joined by a flutist. They were then joined by a saxophonist and a bassist, and for the last song, they were all joined by a singer (the girl on sax switched to piano for that song). I can't remember the full playlist but the second of the five songs they played was "Nothing's Gonna Change my Love for You" by Glenn Medeiros on guitar and flute. My friend and I were laughing because the music was so mellow, and a total contrast to the booming techno music the restaurant pipes out onto the street.

After the lounge act, we moved to the sub-basement (level B2) for the real show. In this shot, you can see where the audience sits and the mobile drum stage used in the first act:



We were allowed to take photos during the show, but without flash so my pictures aren't great. Here's the stage in use, plus more shots from the first act:





I wondered if he was the same guy from the lounge act!
There was a ten-minute break, during which you could use the restroom, or buy beer, drinks, and snacks (including some pretty tasty popcorn). Then came Act 2, which was just ok (it had this weird robots vs. nature theme that was too forced):



I think she's riding a dragon.
I think this robot was part of Act 3, which was marching band-themed:


And then they brought out the robots featured in their marketing for the finale:




This guy ended up right in front of me - kind of a cross between a Transformer and the Terminator:






He came off his transport platform, then danced bounced to the music, while the girls and guys with more mobile robot costumes danced and performed. I didn't get any good shots because they moved too fast, but I was fascinated by these three Segways which had detachable pieces to fit the theme of the act.

My friend and I agreed that we don't need to see the show again, but it was worth seeing once!