I must admit that in my life I had never been handcuffed, and certainly I never thought to try this experience here in Tokyo, and not in a restaurant.
The Lock Up is a prison-themed restaurant that left me breathless, either for fear, or for accuracy in details. It was not easy to find, despite being in the bustling Shibuya in between neon lights and tourists. The entrance is underground and a bit hidden. At the entrance I found no one but a very dark corridor. After taking a deep breath I opened the door and entered. Crossing the hallway, in the dark, and alone almost caused a heart attack. While I was walking, hoping to meet someone in the hall, a loud noise scared me, and a light lit a screaming man on an electric chair. After the initial shock I walked the last few meters of the corridor and I came to another door. Here, a girl dressed as a cop , after checking my reservation, handcuffed me, and shouting something incomprehensible to me since I don't speak Japanese, accompanied me to my cell, exactly like a jailer for a prisoner. There are cells of different sizes, depending on the number of "prisoners".
With a bilingual picture menu, it is easy to pick from a wide selection of food (including vegetarian) and desserts, plus a menu dedicated to cocktails and soft drinks . All dishes in the menu are scary themed. I ordered a Test Tube Cocktail. The waiter, dressed as a prisoner, served me the cocktail into a beaker, with 5 test tubes with different flavors, and a dropper, to add and mix flavors into the drink. I was waiting to be able to order some food, when suddenly the light turned off and a loud music accompanied by disturbing noises of sirens and flashing lights scared me, and within minutes the entire restaurant was filled with escaped prisoners and zombies running with scary masks, guns and chainsaws. They did everything, and succeeded in scaring me. As the light turned on I could order a dish of sausage pizza. The highlight of the restaurant is definitely the attention to detail: the architecture, the menu, the clothes of the waiters, everything is themed. Definitely an interesting experience to try in Tokyo.
