Kawaii Monster Cafe – Tokyo’s Craziest Theme Cafe

Kawaii Monster Cafe in Tokyo was colourful, loud, crazy, and fun. Here’s what we experienced at this unique theme cafe.

During our trip to Japan, we visited both famous sights and historic places. In between, we also tried to find places that would interest or daughter, so she wouldn’t get completely bored with traveling. And in Japan, that was really easy. There seemed to be something suitable for children around every corner.

For one day, we planned lunch at the fun and colorful Kawaii Monster Cafe, as we were sightseeing Tokyo nearby. Monster Cafe turned out to be a real hit, and we were still talking about it long after our trip. It’s definitely worth recommending if you are traveling with children, especially girls!

Kawaii Monster Cafe

Kawaii Monster Cafe opened in 2015 and was created in collaboration with artist Sebastian Masuda, who is also behind several themed restaurants in Tokyo. The city is full of all kinds of unusual cafes and restaurants, including an Alice in Wonderland restaurant, a Vampire restaurant, a Robot cafe, and many others.

At Kawaii Monster Cafe, the servers are Monster Girls dressed in Harajuku style. They also have their own show, where they dance and encourage the customers to dance too while loud music plays throughout the restaurant.

Kawaii Monster Cafe is a little more expensice than a typical Tokyo restaurant. You are definitely paying for the experience rather than the food, as the food itself wasn’t anything particularly memorable. Still, it certainly wasn’t expensive.

Kawaii Monster Cafe is located in Harajuku, one of the neighborhoods in Shibuya. It is easy to combine a visit here with trips to Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Shibuya Sky, Yoygi Park, or Meiji Jingu Shrine. The fun rockabilly dancers also gather around the corners of Yoyogi Park every Sunday.

📍Location: YM Square Building 4F, 4-31-10, Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Our Experince in Kawaii Monster Cafe

We arrived at the Monster Cafe right when lunch started since we figured that later we might have to stand in a line. That was a smart move, we were escorted right in, but when we left we did notice that there was a line.

Before letting us in, we were asked which room we would like to sit in and we had to pay an entrance fee which was a couple dollars. We had no idea what the restaurant would look like, so we went for the room called Mushroom Disco.

The doors were opened in a very theatrical way, and in we went…

It is very hard to describe the atmosphere in this place, but this video above will show you what it was like. The place is colorful and loud, and the decor is definitely over the top.  

While we were waiting for our food we did a little tour in the restaurant. Along with the Mushroom Disco, there was the Meal-Tea Room, Bar Experiment (the bar area) and Milk Stand. After leaving the restroom we accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up in a private room. It was a pretty pink room with a huge kitty cat on the wall. It was very cool!

And I should probably also mention the restroom too. It had an interesting collection of colorful marbles in it. 

The words that come into my mind from this place are; colorful, crazy and corny. It was very dark and colorful inside the restaurant, and the music was very loud. Well, at least it was something we had never seen before.

The waitresses, the Monster Girls, were dressed in the style of Harajuku girls. Part of the dining experience was also a show they performed on a carousel that looked like a giant layer cake. Our daughter got to join them on the carousel which she loved. The Monster Girls were also happy to pose for photos.

The menu at the Monster Cafe was quite limited, and unfortunately, many of the desserts were sold out even though the day was just starting. My husband chose the only Japanese sounding dish on the menu while I decided to try the Monster Burger.

Our little girl, meanwhile, got French fries served with different coloured dipping sauces. During our trip to Japan, it was actually quite difficult to find food for her because she wasn’t used to the local cuisine, and we didn’t want to eat at international chain restaurants. It wasn’t until the very last few days of the trip that she suddenly fell in love with ramen, and she is now a big fan of Japanese food.

My husband also ordered a drink, which was brought to the table in laboratory test tubes. We never actually figured out what was in it.

For dessert, we ordered one ice cream serving to share. All the most unusual desserts on the menu had already sold out, and the ice cream we chose ultimately quite ordinary. These dishes definitely weren’t a food experience, and I wouldn’t recommend this place because of the food. They were fun, but not as tasty as the food we had been enjoying during our Japan trip.

You leave Monster Cafe American-style, just like in many touristy restaurants in the United States through a souvenir shop. There are all kinds of small and larger items to take home with you.

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Overall the lunch was very interesting and fun, but I would say it’s more of a “once in a lifetime” kind of thing. I especially recommend Kawaii Monster Cafe for families with children, as this experience ended up being the highlight of our entire Japan trip to our daughter.

We enjoy visiting different themed cafes and restaurants, or places that are simply a little unusual. So far, the most unusual food experience I’ve had was at Los Zagales restaurant in Spain. For the kids, the best places besides Kawaii Monster Cafe have been Tio’s Tacos here at home in California and Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas.

During our trip to Japan, we also visited Hello Kitty Cafe, which was located in Himeji, as well as the fun Moomin Cafe, which was also in Tokyo.

All in all, this was a really fun place and a memorable experience. Kawaii Monster Cafe definitely makes onto my list of the most unusual restaurants I’ve visited!

Unfortunely, Kawaii Monster Cafe is now permanently closed, but a new Kawaii Monster Land is in the works, so it’s worth checking out once it opens! Masuda has also been involved in designing a new Future Train restaurant in Kyoto.

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