Kogetsu (鼓月) is a Japanese sweet shop and cafe in Kyoto. One of its three stores is located in the beautiful district of Gion, where it is one of several cafes specialising in green tea matcha parfaits.
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Shinjuku Takano is a purveyor of couture gift fruits and gourmet fruit dessert creations, and has been around since 1885. As the name suggests, its main store is in the Tokyo suburb of Shinjuku. It takes up several floors, with each level dedicated to something different (but always fruit-related), from expensive fruits in gift boxes to take-away treats, gourmet jellies, and a fruit parlour serving gorgeous parfaits made from seasonal fresh fruit. The top floor of the Shinjuku Takano flagship building is the Takano Fruit Parlour – a must for any parfait lover, and anyone with a taste for fresh fruit desserts.
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Berry Parlour is one of several cafes owned by the clothing and homewares company, Comme Ca. Don’t be put off by the fact that the cafes are run by a clothing company; their cakes and parfaits are real works of art. This is a big call, but I think the fruit parfaits and tarts at Cafe Comme Ca’s Berry Parlour may be some of the most beautiful that you will find. And they taste every bit as good as they look.
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Themed cafes are a big thing in Japan, and so is Alice in Wonderland. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that Japan is the home of kawaii and of course Lolita fashion. And what better way to combine all of this than an Alice in Wonderland theme cafe? In fact, there are several Alice in Wonderland themed cafes in Tokyo alone.
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If you search for the weirdest, wackiest, craziest, strangest, scariest, spookiest or most unique restaurants in Japan, chances are you’ll come across plenty of references to the Vampire Cafe. Themed cafes, restaurants and bars are scattered all around Tokyo, with the Vampire Cafe located in the luxury shopping district of Ginza (銀座).
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Christon Cafe is a restaurant and clubbing space in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Early in the evening it functions as a restaurant (moreso than a cafe), transforming into a night club later on. Christon Cafe comes up on plenty of lists of weird themed restaurants, so we decided to check it out.
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Akihabara (秋葉原) – or Akiba for short – is a suburb of Tokyo filled with electronics, games, anime, adult items (or a combination of all of these) as well as plenty of maid cafes. If you’re into any of the above, you won’t want to miss a trip to Akihabara. It’s also home to one of several Gundam themed cafes, a popular venue for fans of the Gundam anime series.
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Eorzea is a Final Fantasy XIV themed cafe in Akihabara. Japan takes themed bars, cafes and restaurants pretty seriously, and game company Square Enix is not new to the themed venue playing field. Boasting several themed eateries including the popular cafe and store, Artnia, Square Enix’s most recent cafe, Eorzea opened in July 2014. Eorzea is a collaboration between Square Enix and entertainment company Pasela which runs karaoke and restaurant chains. The cafe is modelled on the Carline Canopy, a building within the Final Fantasy XIV game, and has become a place of pilgrimage for serious Final Fantasy fans visiting Tokyo.
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Themed cafes are a big thing in Japan, and one of the most popular type of themed cafe is the maid cafe (メイド喫茶 or メイドカフ). You might see these included in lists of crazy cafes and weird themed restaurants, and more specifically, in amongst a sub-category of unusual themed eateries known as cosplay restaurants (コスプレ系飲食店). If you’re interested in trying out some themed dining options in Japan, you might want to think about adding a maid cafe to your itinerary.
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Located in an egg shaped building in Shinjuku, Artnia is both a cafe and Square Enix merchandise store. For those who are not familiar with Square Enix, this is the company responsible for Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and other games. Restaurants, bars and cafes associated with games (as well as anime) are amongst the things that Japan does best, and Artnia is no exception.
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