If you thought Tokyo’s colorful food scene couldn’t get any weirder (ahem, Harajuku’s Kawaii Monster Café or underworld-themed Yurei Izakaya), get ready for Doggy Bento.
While animal restaurants are not a new concept in Japan, Doggy Bento kicks it up a notch having the dogs wait on tables, with no human workers in sight.
So how does it work?
From a set menu, the dogs have been trained to recognize food items as commands. Once the customer has placed their order, the furry guys will go through a doggy door to the “kitchen” and enter your order via a dog-friendly touch screen. The kitchen staff (humans) will prepare the bento fresh and place it on a tray, which is then saddled to the dogs’ back.
Note that you can pet the dogs, but do not feed the dogs any food from the table.
Reservations
Doggy Bento’s website is still under construction, but we’ve been told reservations can only be made online for a set price of 5,000 yen per person, with a maximum party of 6 allowed at a time. The price includes a bento, dessert and unlimited non-alcoholic hot/cold drinks (self-serve). Doggy Bento is set to open up in Shibuya this June.