
Goodbye
fuel surcharge means airline promos are legit again, and this was proven when I
booked my Manila – Narita – Manila tickets via Cebu Pacific. I only spent
PhP4000 all-in! How can you say no to that? There is a problem, though; I
already did the tourist thing in Tokyo back in 2012; what the heck am I going
to do there now? I decided against exploring the Tohoku region north of Tokyo
because I’m lazy like that, even if it’s just a short train ride away. Oh well,
let’s just chillax in Tokyo then!

I am not that adventurous when it comes to food. I’ve been a devout worshipper of McDonalds and KFC. Why fix something that ain’t broke, eh? But I still turned to my ever trusted Wikitravel Japan page to see if there are some weird restaurants in the area. After all, Shinjuku is no stranger to the odd and the strange. And then I saw the Lockup. The concept is simple; you eat dinner in prison. Exciting! I’ve seen videos online and they even handcuff you. Okay, I’m eating there tonight!

Finding
it could be a bit of a challenge. Located a bit close to the red light
district, Yasukuni-dori is the street you want to be in. Before you cross that
road, look behind you and you should see KFC. Cross the street and you’ll see
Mister Donut to the right. Walk AWAY from Mister Donut. In short, head left.
There are many buildings! Look up and try to find the sign for the Lockup. It’s
on the 6th/7th floor of one of those buildings to your right!

By
the way, this restaurant opens 5PM onwards, so no lunch here. Once you get off
the elevator on the 7th floor, just enter the door to your left. You will then
find yourself in a room with a guillotine and a red alarm button on it. Push
the button. The door will not open, though, until you insert your hand (or your
head if you are that adventurous) in the guillotine. Don’t worry, it’s all for
show. You would still be able to use your hands for dinner.

You
would be escorted to a waiting room where there is a bathroom you could use.
You wait there for around 15 minutes, after which a policewoman in a mini skirt
would escort you to your cell. Yes, she will also handcuff you. You could ask
for a souvenir photo, but she only speaks Nihongo. Fine, you could ask her: 写真を取ってもいいですか?
She would most likely comply because most of them are friendly, although there
are warnings about too much camera use within the premises.

The
food is okay, although you must understand that this place is actually a
tourist trap. A very, very entertaining tourist trap! I chose finger foods, but
they also have a wide variety of different dishes to choose from, like
chocolate milk in a syringe accompanied by a beaker full of ice and
marshmallows, for example. Prices are a bit steep, although nothing that would really
get you bankrupt, except that you could get the same items for half the amount
of yen in some random fast food chain.

Oh
stop complaining! You are paying for the experience, not the food. You should
know that by now. Anyway, there are two or more other branches of the Lockup
all around Japan. This one in Shinjuku has a bit of an identity crisis. On one
hand, it wants to be a prison. On the other, it also subscribes to a freak
horror experimental theme. It’s all fun, although it could get a bit weird if
you are alone. Or not, if you are that addicted to solitude. Bring some friends
along!
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