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All Japan Tokyo Christon Café
Christon Café is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

AO Edited Gastro Obscura

Christon Café

A Catholicism-themed restaurant where sacrilege is on the menu.

Tokyo, Japan

Added By
Molly McBride Jacobson
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Catholic iconography at Christon Café.   Chuck
The dark atmosphere of Christon Café.   kazamatsuri
A gargoyle at Christon Café.   Chuck
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
The menu.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
One of the displays outside the café.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
The dining area.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Gâteau au chocolat.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The interior.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Walls painted to look like ruined frescoes at Christon Café.   Chuck
Stained glass at Christon Café.   Chuck
The entrance.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
  Hermit09 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Though Christianity exists in Japan, it doesn't carry the same weighty history as it does in many Western nations. This might be why restaurant proprietors can not only get away with running a medieval Catholicism- (and in Christon Café's case, Catalonian-) themed café, but also why such business is booming.

Beneath the vaulted ceilings, candlelit chandeliers, sumptuous velvet curtains, glimmering gold and marble tabletops, stained glass, and polished wooden altars, guests might forget they're not in a cathedral after all. Statues of blood-weeping Christ and nimbate Virgins grace every nook and cranny. There is also a decidedly gothic element to the restaurant: gargoyles loom in the corners, menus are cross- and coffin-shaped, and organ music scores your meal. Cocktails like the "Little Devil" and the "Joan of Arc" come with crucifix-shaped stirrers.

Diamond Dining, the restaurant company responsible for some of Japan's most famous concept cafés, allegedly collected the Catholic antiques in Europe and South America and transported them back to Japan. The original Christon Café is in Osaka, but its popularity led to the opening of two more locations in Tokyo (one in Shibuya and this one in Shinjuku) as well as one more in Fukuoka.

The restaurant has become a popular place for "joshikai," or women-only gatherings, particularly with Gothic Lolitas who match the scenery in their black lace. After hours Christon Café transforms into a nightclub, and it's rumored to play host to all-night fetish parties.

Related Tags

Catholic Restaurants Bars Religion Shops Sacred Spaces

Know Before You Go

The café is located on the 8th (and 9th) floor of the Oriental Wave building in the Shinjuku district, generally open from 12:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

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Community Contributors

Added By

Molly McBride Jacobson

Edited By

Fred Cherrygarden, Hermit09

  • Fred Cherrygarden
  • Hermit09

Published

March 21, 2017

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Sources
  • https://appetiteforjapan.com/2015/06/13/christon-cafe/
  • https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/christon-cafe
  • https://www.picrumb.com/unique/christon-cafe/
  • https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/nov/27/tokyo-theme-restaurants-japan-food
  • https://www.thrillist.com/venues/christon-cafe
  • http://www.notquitenigella.com/2008/07/08/christon-cafe-at-shinjuku-tokyo/
Christon Café
5-17-13 Shinjuku Sankocho Heim 8-9F
Tokyo
Japan
35.693055, 139.705836
Visit Website
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