We are approaching the third year of the pandemic, and it is not a gamble to say that many of us have become accustomed to wearing masks every day. For this reason, for some time now I have been looking for solutions, or rather, for "creative adaptation 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, lantern-shaped dividers.
You got it right, the diners eat under a ... paper bell. Dinner lanterns. This is not a Netflix series, they are real images.
Function and aesthetics: the dinner of lanterns, there are those who like it and those who horror.
The "lanterns" are suspended above the head of each person, which means that one 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, the Kojima Shoten in Kyoto. They have a large transparent vinyl section and even have a built-in light that illuminates the face with a soft glow. To be elegant, they are elegant.
But it is a "horror" elegance these days. Dinners take place in a private space of 40 square meters, ventilated about 5,5 times per hour: it is about 11 times more than the Japanese building standards law.
At the modest price of almost 200 euros per person you can enjoy a quiet dinner, inside the lanterns, in a muffled atmosphere like a concertino on the Titanic. When we say "the end of the world". Barricaded, but with style.
These are dark but curious times. Enjoy your meal.
