🗾 What to do in Tokyo: eat in a Dagashi Bar (All you can eat candy restaurant)

The most frequent question I've been asked since I got back from Japan has been: 
"What's the weirdest thing/place you saw there?"

... 

Now, I don't want to set your hopes off, but Japan isn't that absurd country we all thought it was, based on clichè and things we saw in movies/animes or read in books.
Yeah, of course, there are people who go out dressed funny (especially in Harajuku, that's no clichè!) and there are things we don't have in Europe (like Robot themed restaurant) but the more I got to live there, the more I understood that Japan's much more normal than it appears.

BUT, a very interesting, unique and fun place I went to has been a Dagashi Bar in Shibuya... it's basically an "all you can eat" candy restaurant!! How cool is that!!

the entrance of the Dagashi Bar in Shibuya, Tokyo.

From the outside the place looks kind of sinister and dark, my friends were afraid I was going to kidnap them! The inside, however, is a mix between a western saloon and a 50's diner, because everything is made out of wood, but they're also very cozy and spacious.

 

How does it work?

You have to pay a 500¥ fee for the candies plus other 400¥ for the drink (there's the "all you can drink" choice as well!), then you're ready to go: you're free to eat all the candies you want and can refill as many times as you like.

The staff will show you the English menu with all the rules at the entrance, the most important one is that you CANNOT take the candies home, you have to eat them there.

fizzy sugar crystals

top: strawberry mochi (my favorite Japanese sweet!!)
down: tiny dorayaki (Japanese pancakes filled with sweet red beans paste)

From puffed rice dipped in chocolate to all-shaped gummy candies, needless to say, everything is written in Japanese, but that's where the fun part begins! It's like you're choosing them blindfolded and I had a great time (and even greater laughter) seeing my friends' faces when they first tried some of their strange picks.

Of course, there're also some chips and salty snacks and, since the place is an actual restaurant, you can order proper food.

I'm a sweet tooth, so this place was like Pinocchio's Toyland for me! The staff was very helpful and tried they're best to understand what we wanted, so for me is a big YES!

There are a bunch of these restaurants scattered throughout all Tokyo, high chances are that you'll be able to find one in every major district of the city: Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ebisu, Shinjuku and so on...

PIN IT FOR LATER

Ph: all mine