Harajuku is the home of all things kawaii and cool. Every corner you turn, there’s the most up to date fashion and the best food in Tokyo. Famous art director Sebastian Masuda’s new café, Kawaii Monster, brings the two together in beautiful, surreal, adorable harmony.
As the elevator doors open, you’re instantly immersed in a world of pink, purples, and bright lights. Wander a little further in, through the entrance, and the first thing you’ll see is the giant, insanely colourful merry-go-round, perhaps with the five ‘Monster Girls’ riding it.
These Monster Girls - named Baby, Crazy, Candy, Nasty, and Dolly - are characters created for Kawaii Monster, their outfits designed by Misha Janette. With the bizarre, neon, Alice in Wonderland décor serving as these models’ backdrop, you get the sense that you’ve entered one of the coolest, most fashionable places in Tokyo - if not the world.
And that’s before you’ve even explored the whole café. Look up at the ceiling, and you see the colours of the merry-go-round and wacky decorations reflected in a fractured mirror, making you feel like you’re walking through a stunning, terrifying dream. Here, there’s the Milk Stand and the Mushroom Disco booths, where you can sit down and have a drink or something to eat.
At the back of the restaurant, you’ll find the Mel Tea Room, a pastel pink area with giant macaroons built into the walls. Before that, you’ll walk past the cool and creepy Bar Experiment, where you can get all sorts of scary looking (and delicious!) cocktails.
Kawaii Monster is exciting enough just for a visit and a sit down, but there’s also the food and drink to consider. Peruse the touch screen menus and choose from the test shot cocktails, the colourful rainbow pasta, burgers, pancakes, waffles, ice-cream sundaes, cakes - the list goes on. There’s a huge amount of choice, and for very decent prices considering the quality of the food. Not only is it all delicious, but every single dish and drink is a work of art.
This café is unique. You’ll find nowhere else like it. You need to take your time when you visit, just to soak up every inch of the place - it’s an overwhelming, beautiful sensory overload with something exciting in every nook and cranny. However, while the décor and food might be mind-boggling, the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, many speaking good English (in fact, I had a lovely chat with Monster Girl Dolly about my outfit choice during the café’s official launch). It’s an intense experience, but you’re certainly not left without any help or direction.
On your way out, you can buy a little reminder of your visit to what is possibly the coolest place in Japan. Kawaii Monster sells official merchandise, such as iPhone cases, stationery and mugs - all of which are based on the wonderful, dream-like world created by fashion visionary, Sebastian Masuda.
If you’re ever in Tokyo, Kawaii Monster should be up there in your top ten things to do.
