Kagaya is different from the previously mentioned because it doesn't depend on decor, but rather on the man who runs it, along with his many persona. He goes by the name of Mark, but he also gave us the option of calling him Master.
I got there a few minutes late because, even though it's only a minute from Shimbashi station, I had a hard time finding it. All of us did. The map on the restaurant website threw us off for some reason. Anyway, I did eventually find it with a station map, and the help of a kind policeman. This is a picture of that map; I've marked the approximate spot with an X and a note that it would be best to use the New Shimbashi Bldg as a landmark. Once you exit the Karasumori exit of the station, simply go straight toward the New Shimbashi Bldg and keep going straight when you hit the first intersection. Kagaya will soon be on your right side.
This was the sign that led me there. Some of the people in my group were worried when they saw the frog theme, thinking that it was tonight's menu. (They'd never tried frog before.)
When I stepped inside, he was explaining the menu to my friends. They all looked up at me, a little disheveled, and said that I'd just missed something. The menu, written in crayon in a notebook typically owned by elementary schoolchildren, had a flower on its cover. At the time I arrived, Mark had just finished. . .caressing the flower, over and over. Three of those in our party were mothers, and they said they'd never again look at their children's notebooks the same way.
As I sat, Mark had my oshibori (moist washcloth to wipe my hands) brought out on the head of an Anpanman robot. He then asked us to choose a country--USA, Japan, France, Brazil, China. . . ? We had no idea why at first, but we soon found out. Apparently, the country you choose has nothing to do with the food or drink you receive, but it decides the way in which the goods are delivered.
The guys at the next table chose Japan first. (Every time something is served to you, you can choose a different theme.) This was the result:
And soon after came the Anpan robot.
He also did his French routine, a Frenchman in a beret who drew a quick (and pretty decent) likeness of one of our group's ladies.
You have a few choices in terms of set menus and price. We chose the biggest and most expensive, which at ￥4200 was pretty reasonable for the food we got and the all-you-can-drink deal. Sorry, I don't have pictures of the food. I remember there was spinach cooked in sesame, a chicken wing for each of us, boiled pumpkin, tofu curd (which was really good! And I usually don't have any feelings about tofu curd), a salad consisting of cabbage and a bunch of other vegetables, saba (mackerel). . .A couple of other things. The lady in the kitchen made it all herself, it seemed. We weren't really full by the end but we were satisfied.
This was kind of the finale. The last set of drinks he brought to us was preceded by:
The Japanese group in this picture took everything perfectly in stride. Just laughing and enjoying the performance. I don't know if Kagaya is everyone's cup of tea, but it wasn't boring. I found some other videos on You Tube:
As I was looking around for other reactions to Mark and his craziness, I came across some blogs that thought it was simply weird, others that said you can't leave Japan without having gone there at least once. I'd say it's a pretty good time; the food and drink alone would probably be worth it, if you drink alcohol. The performance is a plus if you're in the mood and don't mind some over-the-topness. Be warned, he does do some stroking (e.g. as he handed me the menu, he started to focus on my hand and caress it as he spoke) and some poking (with puppets, mostly). He also used the puppets on the crotch of one of the guys in our group. But I think Mark is careful not to cross the line with women; I'm not sure about that, but it was just my feeling when I was there.
I also came across this CNN article. It gives a fuller description than mine.
http://travel.cnn.com/tokyo/play/kagaya-izakaya-dining-performance-art-250001
And this is the Kagaya website
http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~kagayayy
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