Kujira — Restaurant in Tokyo

Tourist Trap Alert*

We went to this club based on the many many great reviews on Trip Advisor and Google.

What a big mistake.

This review may put me in the minority, however.. I recommend you read a few points before visiting..

Firstly, costs. There are 2 entry ‘packages’.. you cannot just stop in for a drink. The base package is 5,000yen per person. This includes 1 free drink and some Monopoly money to tip the performers. This is a rip off for the quality of the bar, drinks and entertainment. Added to the total bill is 10% tax and 10% service charge. The other package involves buying a bottle of champagne. The free drink is off a separate drinks menu - very watered down and basically terrible.. after this drinks are pretty reasonable in fairness!! We stayed for a couple of the performances. At best Amateur and reminded me a bit of a secondary school assembly performance. The juggling barman spent most of his performance picking various dropped cocktail paraphernalia off the floor. All the staff were friendly and attentive enough, doing their best to earn tips and flirt with gullible guys in order to get drinks bought for them. The whole time I could not understand how this place possibly merited such great reviews… then it all became clear!!!!… The waitress came over and said - if we wrote a Google / Tripadvisor review there and then, we could have a free drink (off that free drink menu I assume!). So there you have it!!! Luckily for anyone reading this I am a man of high integrity and would not lower myself to being bribed by a lemonade ‘cocktail’ to leave a false review for such a shocking establishment!!

So where does all this leave us? Being a tourist in Tokyo can be challenging when looking for a club or late night music bar.. my advice would be to ask in your hotel or any tour guides you come across, or do a little bit more research - Timeout have some listings/ recommendations with descriptions, and this one isn’t...

I walked into Kujira Entertainment with a buddy of mine, neither of us not knowing what we were getting into.

It was cyberpunk night and I do enjoy the cyberpunk theme. We walked in, the host told us how the pricing worked, and we were seated. To my amazement, this wasn't your traditional sit-down bar. This was sort of a "bar with entertainment" where you have bartenders doing tricks, dancers on stage doing performances, little game shows. The performances were really cool, I particularly liked the bartender show.

There is an option to tip the performers. Which we found out way later. I had to ask what the fake dollars were for in order for me to figure things out. It wasn't explicitly stated to us. I was under the impression that there was a strong no tipping culture, these kinds of places are the exception. I feel bad not tipping these folks more for doing such an incredible job. So when they walk around to your table after a performance, make sure to drop them a few of those fake dollars as a tip.

The drinks were definitely lacking in the ABV department but it seems to be the cultural norm. You just have to ask them to make it stronger for folks who are used to stronger drinks.

It's also an obviously touristy, if that matters. Regardless, it's still a good time.

This is an experience, not your traditional western style lounge. So come in with that expectation and you'll have an...

Kabukicho… It’s expensive and you’re not paying for quality. We arrived 1 hour before the opening (and before the time of our reservation) to ask more informations about the concept and the range of prices. The staff told us that we had the choice between three plans : a normal set, the « enjoy set » and the « VIP set ». Actually you have only two choices and the less expensive is 5.000¥ (one cheap drink that you have for 500¥ in izakaya) In 2 hours we had only 2 performances of less than 5 minutes each. A simple dance that is not amazing and juggling (this one was nice). And yeah true the screens on the walls are good… but you have them for free to enjoy all around Tokyo. Ah ! And the performances were late so if you have to take the last trains be careful you’re not going to see much. One member of the staff is not even of the legal age to drink alcohol. That’s a detail but it’s also saying a lot. The staff doesn’t speak English (then come with your Japanese friend who’s going to play the translator) even when the majority of their clients are Gaikokujin (like the boss speaks English but that’s it). When they accept to take pictures with you it’s only with signs advertising their bar… I live in Japan. I’ve travelled around the world. We are coming to Japan because we know what we are paying for. Well not in Kabukicho. Not...