Lunch fit for a samurai lord: Japanese cafes offers castle bento lunches, sells boxes too【Pics】

Cafe’s location means it knows its customers will be in a samurai mood.

It’s a pretty safe bet that just about everyone eating at Uraku, a restaurant in Nagoya, is into Japanese history. That’s because Uraku is the cafe attached to Nagoya Touken World, a museum of samurai swords and armor in downtown Nagoya.

▼ Nagoya Touken World

Knowing that its guests would be in a historical mood, Uraku has decided to play to those tastes by offering a multi-tiered meal served not in an orthodox bento box, but in a Japanese castle bento!

The stronghold is filled with omelet, hamburger steak, and, on the highest floor, some sweets for dessert. When pictures of the castle bento meal started circulating online they quickly whetted the appetites of history buffs. There was, however, one potential problem, which was that Uraku’s castle bento meal was also the cafe’s kid’s meal, and exclusively available to diners elementary school age and younger. Hearing the collective sighs of sadness from all the adults who also like to eat out of a castle, though, Uraku has now added an adult version, which it calls the Otono-sama Castle Lunch (otono-sama meaning “lord of the castle” in this context).

In addition to a more luxurious golden-colored exterior, the Otono-sama Castle Lunch has a more grown-up-oriented lineup of contents, representing three of Nagoya’s representative regional cuisine all-stars: kishimen noodles, fried shrimp, and hitsumabushi-style unagi (freshwater eel). At 1,650 yen (US$11.20) it’s 330 yen more expensive than the kids’ castle, but still not the sort of thing you need actual samurai lord-level wealth to indulge in.

▼ The Otono-sama Castle Lunch doesn’t appear to include dessert, so you may want to also order a samurai clan crest latte art coffee, matcha, or cocoa.

Alternatively, if you’d like just the castle bento to take home so that you can fill it with whatever foods you prepare yourself, the non-gold version is offered for sale at the restaurant as well, priced at 5,500 yen.

▼ It’s 28 centimeters (11 inches) fully stacked, in case you’re wondering if it’ll fit on your shelf/is properly scaled for your collection of figures to lay siege to it.

Uraku has a separate entrance from Nagoya Touken World, so you don’t need to purchase a ticket to the museum in order to eat or shop at the restaurant. Note, though, that the cafe matches the museum’s operating hours, meaning that it’s closed on Mondays and not open for dinner, but at least it being located in Nagoya means you won’t be competing with major recording stars for a table.

Restaurant information
Uraku / 有樂
Address: Aichi-ken, Nagoya-shi, Naka-ku, Sakae Sanchome 35-34, Sakae Tower Buildings Main Building 2nd floor
愛知県名古屋市中区栄三丁目35番34号 栄タワーヒルズ本館2階
Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Closed Mondays
Website

Related: Nagoya Touken World
Source: PR Times, Uraku
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Uraku
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