New dinosaur-themed restaurant already popular

Everyone loves the excitement of a good themed restaurant, and if you’re in Japan, you have plenty of options to choose from. There are ninja restaurants, jail-themed restaurants, hospital-styled restaurants, and more anime/manga themed cafes than you can shake a stick at.

With the whole world riding high on dinosaurs this year, it makes you wonder if anyone has ever tried a dinosaur restaurant before. Well you don’t have to wonder anymore, because Dinosaur – Ancient Times Restaurant and Bar opened in Yamato City in Kanagawa Prefecture last week.

This dinosaur bar and restaurant is located close to Kozashibuya Station on the Odakyu Enoshima Line in Kanagawa, but even from that station, it is still a bit of a walk. If you can take a car there, it’s probably more convenient; just remember this is also a bar where you might be consuming alcohol, so make sure you utilize the advances in designated driving technology that have occurred since the Cretaceous Period, (don’t drink and drive).

We knew that a dinosaur-themed restaurant was bound to be popular, but our writer was caught a little off guard as to just how popular it was going to be. He arrived at 5 p.m. on opening day, but was told that the restaurant had already run out of food by 2 p.m. It seems that customers brought a dinosaur-sized appetite to the dinosaur restaurant! Thankfully, food or not, the staff were kind enough to let him in and take some photos of the main attraction: the dinosaurs.

The decorator didn’t hold back when putting the restaurant together; after entering through a T-Rex’s mouth, you’ll be greeted with greenery and sounds that transport you back to the age of the dinosaurs. There are 20 dinosaurs inside the restaurant including Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, Stegosaurus and of course the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex. These aren’t only models of the ancient lizards either – some of them move and roar through animatronics.

Each of the dinosaurs is quite large, but the T-Rex is the biggest of them all here. He towers over guests at four meters tall and menacingly looks around the restaurant wondering which dish, or perhaps human, looks the most delicious.

Wonderfully, two of the dinosaurs also have saddles on them which customers are free to ride on. If you’re a dinosaur fan, these “riding dinosaurs” will definitely complete your Dinosaur – Ancient Times Restaurant and Bar dining experience.

While our writer was not able to try any of the food, perusing their website (Japanese only, sorry) shows that they serve a variety of carnivorous and herbivorous plates to choose from including steaks, hamburger patties, salads and curry; you know, your standard dinosaur fare! But let’s be honest: the real reason you are going to visit this place is the dinosaurs themselves and they definitely don’t disappoint.

If you’re in the area and are hankering for a bit of Jurassic safari, you owe it to yourself to head down to Dinosaur – Ancient Times Restaurant and Bar. Just be sure to do it before they go extinct!

Dinosaur – Ancient Times Restaurant and Bar Kanagawa Prefecture, Yamato City, Daikan 2-16-12 1st Floor 神奈川県大和市代官2-16-12-1F 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. Open every day Website

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Fukui Station, the upcoming Shinkansen station, is also home to roaring dinosaurs! -- Child’s Birthday Coming Up? Why Not Get Them a Life-Sized Brachiosaurus? -- Tokyo temple with planetarium lets you ponder the cosmos while you gaze at it

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