The Kawaii Monster Café in Tokyo is one of the most popular themed restaurants in a city where its possible to dine with robots, attend mad hatter tea parties and be served by ninjas! We dined at the Kawaii Monster Café on a recent trip to Tokyo and loved the psychedelic décor and Kawaii theme. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting the Kawaii Monster Café.
Kawaii Monster Café
Located in Tokyo’s most colourful and quirkiest neighbourhood, the Kawaii Monster Café serves up a Kawaii dining experience. The Kawaii Monster Café is a visual feast with bizarre food, eye-watering décor, fun drinks and a crazy atmosphere. Hanging out there is one of our favourite fun things to do in Tokyo!
How to buy Tickets for Kawaii Monster Cafe
Advance tickets are only sold via Voyagin or, if available, walk-in tickets can be purchased on arrival. We highly recommend you use Voyagin as they are the official partner for Kawaii Monster Café tickets and have live availability on their website. You can book your package (entrance only, food and drink or themed and premium packages) and time slot via their booking system and have your tickets send via email. We used them and it was super easy and reliable – click here to book now!
Book your ticket for the Monster Cafe now!
Kawaii Monster Cafe Ticket Prices
Ticket prices range from 540 Yen for an admission only/cover charge to an all you can drink with dinner premium plan for 6,000 Yen per person. We opted for the drink and dessert package which costs 2,500 Yen per person.
Visiting the Kawaii Monster Café
The Monster Café concept is based around the Kawaii culture of cuteness which originated in Japan in the 1960s and remains popular today. Despite its name, there are no monsters in sight at the Kawaii Monster Café!
The Monster is actually the colourful and quirky Harajuku neighbourhood and the city of Tokyo imagined as a monster which swallows the world’s fashion and culture to create its own superior version.
Where is the Kawaii Monster Café
The Kawaii Monster Cafe is located on the 4th floor of the YM Square building in Harajuku.
Kawaii Monster Cafe tip: It s just down the street from the Tokyu Plaza Omotesando shopping mall, famous for its mirrored entrance escalators.
There is lift and escalator access from the street which makes it easy to reach the entrance of the Monster Cafe The entrance is right at the lift/escalator on the 4th floor and you’ll likely find a queue there.
Once you’ve checked in at the door you’ll have a short wait until the restaurant host comes out to escort you to your table.
Entering the Kawaii Monster Café
The Kawaii Monster Café is all about the experience and it is sensory overload from the second you pass through the colourful cafe doors. Loud music, a kaleidoscope of colours and an incredible giant cake themed merry-go-ground greet visitors on entry. The staff, dressed in bright Kawaii themed attire, will show you from the door, around the merry-go-round and to your table.
The restaurant is split into four Kawaii themed sections with each of the imaginatively named sections has its own décor and theme. The areas are:
- Mushroom Disco
- Milk Stand
- Bar Experiment
- Mei-Tea Room.
We dined in a spacious booth in the Mushroom Disco, a colourful area with giant mushrooms hanging overhead. The Milk Stand area is adorned with hanging rabbits, unicorns and sheep drink from baby bottles! There’s also a funky bar and a tea room with ice cream and macaroons lining the walls.
The booths are super roomy and there is easily enough room for 6 to 8 people. We loved the central location of the Mushroom Disco and we just had to step out of our high walled booth to watch the show.
Kawaii Monster Café tip: the Monster Café bathrooms are also awesome so be sure to take a peek during your visit!
Kawaii Monster Café Food and Drinks
There are some very whacky dishes on the Kawaii Monster Café menu – a rainbow pasta is the highlight of the mains while the colourful poison cake and parfait are the quirkiest on the dessert menu.
We opted for the colourful poison cake and an ice cream dish for dessert accompanied by an experiment themed cocktail and a hot chocolate.
Kawaii Monster Cafe: while the food is not exactly Michelin Star it’s most definitely edible. Remember, the Kawaii Monster Cafe is all about the overall experience rather than a dining extravaganza!
Kawaii Monster Café Entertainment
The Monster Café entertainment depends on whether you visit during the day or in the evening.
Day visits
During our day visit the kawaii dressed hostesses performed some moves at the cake merry go round. It was short and fun and perfect for a day time visit. The show takes place every 90minutes.
Evening visits
Monster Café runs themed nights – there’s the more family friendly Orian and Pop Culture nights and the adult only burlesque and drag evenings.
Taking Photos in the Kawaii Monster Café
Photography is allowed all throughout the venue and you only have to ask the technicolour clad staff and they will likely agree to some cool photos with them. Due to safety concerns selfie sticks are not allowed and guests are asked to only sit at their own seats.
Kawaii Monster Café with kids
The Kawaii Monster Café is suitable for kids during the day We took our almost one year old to the Monster Café and he was mesmerised by the bright colours and the music. Despite the loud music and psychedelic colours he even managed a very content nap which lasted well over an hour!
Kawaii Monster Cafe tip: the burlesque and drag evenings are adults only so make sure to avoid these evenings if you are bringing kids.
Overall
The Kawaii Monster Café is a colourful, loud and a truly unique experience! The food was reasonable, the drinks quirky and the setting amazing.
Our visit was so much fun and the Kawaii Monster Cafe most definitely features on the long list of our favourite things to do in Tokyo!