Tokyo: Zombie attack at The Lock Up

It’s easy to get the impression that Tokyo is full of weird and crazy themed bars and restaurants, and yes, it’s also the case, but they can be hard to find, if you don’t know where to look.

I’ve wanted to visit the jail/horror themed bar The Lockup for ages, but it wasn’t until when I was in Tokyo earlier this year that I actually managed to find the place. Located at the basement floor of one of the most anonymous buildings in Shibuya, it was quite a challenge to find it, even with Google Maps at hand, but finally, Poul and I could step into what looked like a medieval dungeon.

The entrance area at The Lockup looks empty and closed, but the door slams behind us and loud, funeral-like music starts playing. Cautiously, we step down the hallway while suddenly Poul is grabbed and handcuffed by a girl dressed as a Halloween police officer, and she takes us to our table. Then Poul is released again, and we can relax and order food and drinks.

The menu is full of scary-looking small dishes, but as we’ve already had dinner, we just order drinks and fries. My drink is blue and tastes good, but I make sure only to take small sips in order not to swallow the big jelly-eyeball, which is floating around in it.

Poul doesn’t feel like eyeball drinks, so he orders what he thinks is just a regular-sized draft beer. Talking about eyes, Poul’s eyes are almost popping out, when a 1L measuring glass full of beer is brought to our table a few minutes later. Cheers!

We’ve almost finished our drinks and agreed that even though The Lockup is a cool place, it’s not half as scary as we thought it would be. But then the lights go out and the music starts, and suddenly, there’s a zombie running towards our table!

I scream. A lot. I can’t control it and while Poul is laughing like crazy, I just scream and scream and scream. Ever wonder, how you would react under a zombie attack? Well now I know: I’ll be the one hiding in a corner screaming my lungs out…

Here’s a video of the zombie attack:

If you’re looking for one of those “only-in-Japan” experiences, then The Lockup might be what you’re after. It’s a prison/horror themed bar with a dungeon-style layout located in the heart of vibrant Shibuya. Loud death metal announces the arrival of the in-house zombies, which will scare the guts out of you at hourly intervals. I’ve never screamed so much in my life as I did when visiting Lockup, and I didn’t even dare to go to the restrooms alone, after the first zombie attack.

The menu includes drinks with eyeballs staring back at you and test-tube cocktails. The Lockup also serves food ranging from bizarre-looking eyeball chocolate fondant to more innocent, ordinary dishes such as pizza and fries, but you will probably be too scared to eat anything, so just stick to the drinks.

Not a lot of the staff members speak English, but the menu has images so ordering food and drinks shouldn’t be much of a problem. There’s a call button at your table, which you use, when you’re ready to place your order or need to get in touch with a waiter.

The Lockup can be a bit hard to find as it is located underground and only a small, Japanese sign reveals the location. There’s also a picture of the entrance below.

My blog about Tokyo

The Lockup, Shibuya Grand Tokyo Building B2, Udagawacho 33-1, Shibuya, Tokyo, Tel: 03-57287731 Address in Japanese: ロックアップ, 〒150-0042 東京, 都渋谷区, 宇田川町33-1 渋谷グラント東京ビルB2

> Visit The Lock-Up’s website (Japanese)