Be it the yokai – supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore – or Godzilla and its countless kaiju eiga (beast movie) spawns, monsters have titillated the Japanese imagination for decades. A shrine to Japan’s friendly and not-so-friendly monsters, Daikaiju Salon may look like a toy shop from the outside but it's actually a restaurant and bar. It is the brainchild of horror aficionado and sexploitation auteur Takao Nakano, director of such fine B-flicks as Sexual Parasite: Killer Pussy and Big Tits Zombie.
Fittingly located in the alternative otaku mecca of Nakano, the monster maniac den is populated by rare collectibles of all shapes and sizes, some of which were invented by resident ‘monster artist’ Pico-Pico. After you have squeezed your head into a disconcertingly warm and wet monster head for the obligatory pic, knock back a few gloopy cocktails in this real-life Mos Eisley Cantina.