What?!, Whaaaat?! and…Ahh.
Good morrow to ye all! Last week I decided to check out Anata No Warehouse (Your Warehouse), as I’d seen some pics on the net and thought it looked like a typically quirky Japanese place. Hmm, should have done more than skim-read the text with the photos. From outside it looks like it might be cool, something like the haunted hospital attraction at Fuji-Kyu Highrando (which is damn scary!).
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And the entrance was pretty atmospheric, the automatic sliding with a whoosh of air. And then onto a corridor where I thought there would be some jump-scare awaiting me.
And then more decor that suggested this place was cool!
And then…an arcade. Oh, right, think I remember reading about an arcade level. Yeah, pretty cool! Hey, look Pac-Man! And Purikura (Print Club – little boothes where you can take photos with your friends and spice up the images; probably with high school girls…though with the latest mobile phone, not sure there’s much need for them anymore).
And then there was a gambling machine level…and a darts/table tennis/pool level. And a sharp turn into a different taste in interior design.
As you ascended the floors, the stench of cigarettes got worse. Probably worst on the gambling floor where people sat at machines, ash-tray to hand, endlessly puffing away. It just stank to hell. The kind of smell that is ingrained after years of heavy smoking.
And that was it. Basically a place for salarymen to goof off in the day or people who like to exist in a fug of cigarette smoke. Apart from the design, there was nothing special. I was expecting some quirky place with staff dressed up, weird food on sale and more visual entertainment. Suffice to say, my visit was short. I was in and out in ten minutes. Unless you enjoy reeking of ciggies, I’d give this place a miss.
A more enjoyable day was Saturday at the World Beer Museum in Yokohama. It’s not, as you might think given the name, a museum. At all. It’s a restaurant and beer shop. Great beers and the food was pretty good. Decor is suitably beer hall-ish. They were playing hip-hop music though, which for me and my stuffy tastes, just seemed off-kilter. Ordering a huge glass of weissen, video of the German Oktoberfest running, nice meaty sausages and a noble attempt at sauerkraut, faux-stone brick walls…and hip hop. It’s like if you had heavy metal playing in a Gucci store.
So being a bit selfish (it was my birthday so pls forgive me), I asked them to change the music.
“What would you like?”
“Anything but hip-hop. Got any 70s?”
The waitress, probably born just shy of the millenium, went off and a minute later, the CD stopped. Mid-song! Classy. A new song came on and I was glad there were no other foreigners with me, as I would have wet myself laughing. “Africa” by Toto! The 80iest song of the 80s.
And then followed a string of 80s classics. It was like being at home but with much better beer, waitress service and decent grub.
And then we got the bill.
Holy Gold Mountains, Bat-Man! Just under 28,000 yen for the four of us. Ouch. A nice meal with great beer and some awesome 80s music (Yey!) but not sure we can justify another trip there.
So that’s my What?! & Whaaaat?! The Ahh is a book I’m almost done with, which is a bit of a curio. “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata. An interesting glimpse into the world of a conbini worker but quite a challenging protagonist (how to keep the nephew quiet line…ahh). Worth a read though. Very short and easy to zoom through.
And so we come to the end of another incredibly exciting, breathless tale from yours truly. Keep safe people and remember to avoid Pumpkin Spice Latte.
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