If you leave the colorful and Akabane Ichiban-cho Shopping Street behind and venture deeper into the narrower, calmer streets of the neighborhood, you’ll inevitably stumble upon an eerie building emitting a strange atmosphere. Welcome to “Akabane Reien,” or Akabane Graveyard Bar!

If there wasn’t a big sign above the door, you’d never think that this mysterious place was a pub...

“Obake-yashiki izakaya” says the sign, meaning “haunted house pub.”

But... there are other little signs, one says “comic izakaya.” What kind of place is this, really?

“Can you handle freshly severed heads falling from the ceiling?” asks Akabane Reien’s main sign dauntingly, while the line just below promises a cozy(?) stay in an old-school tatami prison cell and “yokai cuisine.” Yokai are ghosts and spirits from ancient Japanese tales, some friendly but most of them rather fearsome. What kind of food do ghosts cook...?

Befitting for a “graveyard pub,” the inside of Akabane Reien is goosebump-inducingly dark.

Not knowing when the promise of the falling heads might be fulfilled, the darkness and the enigmatic atmosphere really make for a graveyard-worthy spook! The numerous objects and decorations on the wall and the ceiling, some of them undoubtedly hand-made, only help to drive home the eerie feeling that you’ve stepped into a genuinely haunted place – at least most of them. Some of the knickknacks don’t seem to follow the theme of “spooky” at all. Look:

What is that clock with adorable animals doing in the middle of a graveyard-themed house of horrors?!
Akabane Reien is not just that, however. Primarily, it is an izakaya, a traditional Japanese pub. And maybe the ghosts and monsters who come to drink here enjoy a cute clock on the wall, who are we to judge?!
Generally, the ghastly pub offers an all-you-can-drink set, snacks included. Men pay 2,500 yen, women 2,000. The best part: karaoke is included in this offer, making it surprisingly reasonable!

The drinks included in the all-you-can-drink deal eerily glow in a black light, but the beverages themselves seem fairly normal and safe to drink.
Just as you ponder what to order...

SURPRISE SKELETON FROM THE CEILING!!

In the darkness, you’ll see things starting to move in the corner of your eyes... is it imagination? NOPE, that thing falling right on your head is definitely real! Akabane Reien is a haunted house alright – one that serves delicious drinks.

Get a glimpse of what spooks await inside:

“The ghosts of this izakaya know perfectly well when to show themselves, to draw proper screams from our customers”, says the owner of this unique pub with a smirk and a little shrug. Do you think you can stay calm? By all means, come and try.

These eerie wooden plaques are actually the snack menu. While the drinks’ names are pretty straightforward, the side dishes are far from it. Care for a serving of “Medama Oyaji,” Papa Eyeball? How about a slice of nurikabe, a Japanese spirit that is infamous for leading travelers astray by blocking their way? However, some regular dishes can be found among the many monster names, such as chijimi, Korean pancakes, for those who don’t want to risk it and rather go for something they know.

“Medama Oyaji” is a crisply fried egg that evokes the image of a popular Japanese anime character.

The aforementioned “nurikabe” turns out to be cold tofu that, regarding its spooky namesake, is surprisingly delicious!

This dish is called “yokai dororo,” but it looks and tastes like regular cheese... one of them surely has to be a ghost! Dare to eat them all?

Along with the food, you’ll suddenly be served a strange triangle. Century-old ukiyo-e prints and paintings depicted ghosts with such a triangle worn on their forehead, like a crown.

“Put this on before eating!”, is the order – is that the moment when you finally cross over from the world of the living into the realm of the dead?

In any case, the ghastly headgear is sure to enhance every selfie. Naturally, Akabane Reien offers a plethora of fun and spooky photo spots, so by all means, don’t be shy and put that triangle on!
In all honesty, though – what kind of person does it take to run a ghost izakaya in Tokyo?

This is Akabane Reien’s manager. Originally, he started this place entirely different but changed it to the famous, fun ghost izakaya that it is today. But... why?
“I always wanted to have a pub or bar, but thought: if I really do it, it can’t just be yet another izakaya. Back then, horror movies were a big trend and since there were no haunted house izakaya yet, I thought it could be interesting. Now, you have various horror-themed pubs, but we were the first one.”

Behind the manager is a thicket of different strings. From here, he operates Akabane Reien’s various spooks and scares.

As you might have guessed already, all the horrors in the ghastly izakaya are man-made and controlled by the manager. Still, there are so many strings, do they really all belong to different mechanisms? How many are there in total?
“Well, if there are too many, I’ll start to lose track, won’t I. But I regularly make little modifications. Otherwise, the regulars get too used to it and won’t be scared anymore.”

Speaking of regulars: a lot of them bring newcomers to Akabane Reien and have the time of their life giggling at their various screams and shocks to the izakaya’s spooks. There seem to be numerous ways in which to enjoy this unique theme pub, but the manager burns with a one-of-a-kind passion to keep scaring even his most loyal regulars.

“Oh, that was a nice scream!” or “Did it get you? Did it get you?” are phrases that you’ll hear a lot from the manager, who enjoys the reactions of his guests to the fullest. Scaring people can be a passion, too.

Surprisingly, you’ll find yourself to be fairly relaxed as you enjoy the izakaya’s drinks and dishes. By the way: judging from the number of couples who come to Akabane Reien, it sure does seem to be a popular date spot! There actually seems to be a way to see how well two people harmonize, according to the manager.

“When two people bond over a shock and master the spooky surprised together, that’s a good sign. If they jump away from each other, well, that’s probably a dead giveaway.”

That actually makes sense. And even if a conversation comes to a halt and an awkward silence starts looming dangerously over a date, there may be a sudden ghost falling from the ceiling! With a shocked scream and a good laugh afterward, the atmosphere lightens up immediately.
Not just couples profit from the unpredictable excitement that Akabane Reien has to offer. Just imagine bringing your best friend and watch them be hugged by a plastic skeleton out of the blue! We also highly recommend the place for drinking parties. You probably can guess why.

If you aren’t too scared and can muster the ghastly outside of Akabane Reien... do you dare to enter?

Hours: 7:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Closed: Sundays

Writer: Jin Kitamura