Fantasy Dining Alice in a Labyrinth

This place is much more than a restaurant. It’s a labyrinth of storybook pages, followed by a stack of books that make you feel caterpillar-sized. You enter into the main dining room to see various scenes from Lewis Carroll’s classic novel: the hedges from the Queen’s croquet-ground, enormous cards on the ceiling, and chairs in the shape of rose-bushes. The staff welcomes you in Alice’s pinafore dress and Mad Hatter-inspired costumes.

To top off the interior design, even the food is Wonderland-themed. You can have an appetizer in the shape of cut-out cards and roses (with references to the famous “Eat me” quote in the book, of course), beef ragù pasta with the Cheshire Cat’s iconic grin, or an ice-cream parfait that resembles the White Rabbit.

A project of the Diamond Dining company of Vampire Café (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vampire-cafe) fame, the original Alice’s Fantasy Restaurant opened in Shinjuku in 2003, further paving the way for Japan’s world-renowned “concept cafés.” It spawned up to seven locations across the country in its heyday, including Nagoya and Osaka, although three of them are still open today.

This restaurant provides an immense (and immersive) entertaining experience, almost as if you were lost in Wonderland. In addition to that, since there are so many types of decor within the place (as well as an expansive menu), you can keep going over and over, having a new experience every time.