We are approaching the third year of the pandemic, and it is not a stretch to say that many of us have become accustomed to wearing masks every day. For this reason, for some time I have been hunting for solutions, or rather, "creative adaptive reactions" to this state of affairs, and I must say that in Japan I always find many.
Most of the time they perplex me, as in this case. Hear this, really typical of such a multifaceted and fascinating people, almost borderline: Hosinoya Tokyo, a restaurant in the Japanese capital, offers a way of dining that is a whole program. From October 13, guests can enjoy a “Tokyo Lantern Dinner,” a dining experience with guests placed inside transparent dividers shaped like lanterns.
You understood correctly, the guests eat under a... paper bell. Dinner lanterns. This is not a Netflix series, they are real images.
Function and aesthetics: the lantern dinner, some like it and some horrify it.
The “lanterns” are suspended above each person's head, which means that you can sit at the table not only without a mask, but also without worries. Why did Hoshinoya Tokyo choose lanterns? What questions: why lanterns are an object attributed to traditional customs and culture.
It is no coincidence that the dividers are made by a historic lantern shop, Kojima Shoten in Kyoto. They have a large clear vinyl section and even have a built-in light that illuminates your face with a soft glow. To be elegant, they are elegant.
But it's a "horror" elegance these days. Dinners take place in a 40m5,5 private space, ventilated about 11 times per hour – about XNUMX times more than Japanese building standards law.
For the modest price of almost 200 euros per person you can enjoy a quiet dinner, inside the lanterns, in a muffled atmosphere similar to a concert on the Titanic. When they say "the end of the world". Barricaded, but with style.
These are dark but curious times. Enjoy your meal.
