TOKYO (dpa) – Cosy, relaxing little restaurants offering a refuge from the hectic pace of daily life are growing in popularity among Tokyo’s young singles who are tired of dining at big chain restaurants.
Hideout, or kakurega restaurants, are mostly located in residential areas far away from train stations and they are hard to find. Some have no signs outside and are not even listed in the phone book.
In Japanese, a kakurega is somewhere for a fugitive to lie low to avoid pursuers. But in modern-day Japan, the word is used broadly to denote any cosy space that provides temporary refuge from the tedium of daily routine.
“I go to my favourite kakurega restaurant alone maybe once a week to escape from a stressful world. I feel safe going there,” says Toshiki Kimishima, a 37-year-old single man.
Jiro Kinoshita, an owner of a trendy kakurega wine bar called Uluru in Tokyo’s fashionable Harajuku district, says people who prefer going to hideout restaurants are usually singles in their late 20s and early 30s who are bored with eating and relaxing at mainstream chain restaurants.
“Single men in their late 20s and early 30s are main customers for such kakurega restaurants. They have their own money and freedom and they are eager to find a place which has something special for them,” Kinoshita says.
Kinoshita’s bar is located in an alley. It is a house without any visible signs to welcome patrons. Customers walk its stone pavement about 10 metres to get to the entrance. When you open the heavy door, two quiet young men welcome you in.
The room is candlelit and music plays softly in the background. It has a bar where single people can mingle as a chef prepares food in the background. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed and people feel as if they’re at home.
Some old-style Japanese pubs also promote the concept. A pub called Tomoe is a hole-in-the-wall establishment at the end of a deserted alley in Tokyo’s Shimbashi business district. It serves countless kinds of sake – Japanese rice wine – and good traditional food.
“I want to serve fine sake and food as well as warm service to our customers so that they can forget about their hassled life at work,” said Teruko Hino, the owner of Tomoe.
Sake has always been in fashion with Japanese over 50, but it has recently gained favour among the 30-somethings, thanks partly to the popularity of hideout restaurants, which serve traditional Japanese fare and occasional fusion dishes called sousaku ryouri, or creative food.
Travel industry giant Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) has taken advantage of the hideouts’ burgeoning popularity. The company started selling a tour plan called Kakurega no Yado (Hideout Inn) in April. Customers are mostly couples in their 30s and 40s.
A JTB spokeswoman said many hideout inns are located around 100 kilometres southwest of Tokyo near Mount Fuji and the ocean. They usually have fewer than 10 guest rooms. Each room has a private Japanese- style outdoor bath called a roten buro.
“The package is for people in the Tokyo area who want to escape the hustle and bustle of city life to enjoy a quiet time by themselves.”
The package is about 30,000 yen per person (250 U.S. dollars). It is more expensive than an average inn which charges about 18,000 yen (150 dollars).
