Japan Pulse

Mr. Kanso stocks an impressive collection of 350 varieties of canned goods including bear curry 

A chain of bars currently opening up in Tokyo has been getting a lot of attention for its unusual menu, which includes items such as sea lion curry and steamed Korean silkworm chrysalis. Not for the faint of stomach, Mr. Kanso, is a no-frills drinking establishment that offers an impressively diverse menu of 350 items all of which come out of a can.

The chain has its head offices in Osaka and has already been incredibly successful operating in the Kansai area. Its Shibuya branch, which opened in August, is the first Mr. Kanso in Tokyo, but in mid-November, two more stores will be opened in Yotsuya and Tamachi. Decor is quite simply a bunch of cans displayed on shelves creating a retro feel — though each store manager is free to add his/her own personal touch. Because there’s very little to do in the way of food preparation, costs are kept down and a draft beer comes very cheap at ¥350.

The cover charge at Dagashi allows you to eat as many sweets as you can

Light meals out of a can range from ¥200 to ¥2,000. The selection of canned foods come from all over the globe, but foodies willing to try something new will be keen to order dishes such as bear curry, seal curry, deer curry and sea lion curry, all of which were made in Japan.

As the trend for Showa Era nostalgia shows no sign of slowing down, bars like Mr. Kanso stand to make a tidy profit. Dagashi Bar, for instance, which opened back in 2003 in Ebisu, is now thriving with several bars around Tokyo. Dagashi bars are not only covered in Showa Era memorabilia, including movie posters and toys, they’re also stocked up with cheap sweets that were popular during that time. Table charge includes sweetie tabehodai (all you can eat), a gimmick that further encourages customers to reminisce about the good old days.

But not everyone can afford to pay table charge these days, and spit ‘n’ sawdust establishments in which customers sit on beer crates or lean against standing bars, where you sacrifice a seat in favor of cheaper drink prices have been increasingly popular in recession-hit Japan. We reckon it makes a nice change to find a bar that’s found a fresh new way to interpret cheap and cheerful.

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“The Tokyo of 2061″ by Tenan Ito, “Tanoshii Yonensei” (Happy 4th Year Student), 1961

We generally are obsessed by the next shiny, shiny thing on the horizon, but “Showa Boys SF Guide,” a collection of 1950-1970 memorabilia, had us transfixed from the get-go. The modestly sized Yayoi Museum, nestled in the back streets of Nezu, has put together a terrific trip back to the future as imagined in Japan’s Show Era.

Need more proof of its brilliance? Click the thumbnails below or read the review of “Showa Boys SF Guide” on Japan Times Online.

The show closes soon, so hop in your personal air car, or strap on your jet pack, and whiz over to Nezu to see how we really are supposed to be living.

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