New Tokyo Training Facility For Tae Satoya

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Friday saw the opening of ABSOLUT ICEBAR TOKYO in Nishi Azabu. Constructed entirely of ice taken from the frozen Swedish river Torne, which is said to be renowned for its purity, icebars have already opened in Stockholm, London and Milan and now Tokyo. The Japanese press release hails this as the first in Asia but it was mentioned at the London opening that Absolut set up an earlier temporary one in Singapore. To keep the room temperature steady at minus 5 degrees, customers must pass through an airlock at the entrance. Capes and gloves are available to help slow the onset of frostbite - at a cost of 3,500 plus the first cocktail. A second drink sets you back about 1,200 yen. There's room for about 50 and, although there is one table, it is a standing affair. Friends went in at the weekend. They said it was cold.









Here's a shot of the Stockholm bar:

[cynix]

We have one in Sydney too. 30 bucks for a half-hour stay - what a rip off.

[Daremo]

$30.00 to freeze your ass off....

[kurohinge1]

We have one in Sydney too. 30 bucks for a half-hour stay - what a rip off.

I agree. I actually went to that pub (under the "toaster", near the Opera House) for the first and only time in December and I didn't see anyone go in the ice bar part the whole time we were there.

In Sydney, the following restaurant sounds ... "interesting", according to a friend who's been there - not sure if they have anything like it in Japan. It's pitch black inside and the wait-staff use night-vision goggles:

THE DARKSIDE OF HYDE PARK

However, I was lucky enough to be in Hirafu (Niseko), Hokkaido, 2 weeks ago, where they have their own little ICE Bar. No admission fee or double doors required. In fact, there's no door at all. You just enter through an igloo into a bigger igloo - the main bar. They tell you not to look up, though, as the dangling icicles sometimes fall from the roof. The "beer fridge" is in fact a "warmer", to stop the cans from freezing.

Below are photos of the entrance and inside.



It was quite popular despite most people only staying for one or two drinks & photos before heading for a warmer place.

[AssKissinger]

kurohinge1, that is really cool (NPI). If I ever make it up there in the winter again I'll try my best to check that out. I'm glad this thread came up so I could see that. Fuck that phony rip-off bullshit in Tokyo! Your post should've been the thread starter. That would be one tough place to work during flu season though.

[kamome]

I like the look of the place, but I doubt you'll find too many J-women in there. It might be popular as the latest thing for a while, then they'll stop going. They hate the cold.

[kurohinge1]

kurohinge1, that is really cool (NPI) ...

Thanks AK. The funny thing was that the barman (pictured) was from the same home town as my "outlaws" in Kashihara-shi, Nara. Small world.

[dimwit]

Without drunken table dancing is ANY place really worth going to??? Bar sex is definitely out in a place like that.

[Mulboyne]

I like the look of the place, but I doubt you'll find too many J-women in there. It might be popular as the latest thing for a while, then they'll stop going. They hate the cold.

But they apparently like the furry capes. It's just a gimmick bar and hardly a place you would expect to go back to twice let along hang out. The original bar in Sweden made some sense as part of the famous Ice Hotel which is supposed to be a great experience. It would certainly seem to make more sense in a ski resort like Hokkaido.

[emperor]

...It's just a gimmick bar and hardly a place you would expect to go back to twice let along hang out...

so theyll either fail from lack of repeat business or

Fate it seems is not without a sense of irony. The human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTU's of body heat.

melt

[Mulboyne]

Breitbart: Swedish bar invites shivering Tokyo into ice world

[floatr][/floatr]...Although the original Icebar in Sweden melts away in spring, the Tokyo one will welcome customers to the ice world year-round. "I'm looking forward to seeing people's faces when they come here and have drinks in ice glasses in the summer," said one of the waiters, Hideaki Shimada, 23. "This is a totally different space created in the middle of Nishi-Azabu." About 15 waiters will take turns every two hours to serve drinks. Customers are allowed to stay in the ice room only for 45 minutes... So is it environmentally friendly to ship ice blocks thousands of kilometers from Sweden every six months and keep frozen year-round a room that fits a maximum of 50 people? "Just think about the costs of electricity in Tokyo and keeping a freezer of that size running throughout a year," [said] Kenta Matsuno...

[groovewonder]

I would much rather go to a place with plastic artificial ice and a warm climate than freeze my ass off in a place like this... But that's just me.

[Taro Toporific]

Isn't that Sparky* and wife in the upper left of the photo?

*(FG "Sparkzilla")

[IkemenTommy]

Old concept..
Eskibar

Interesting but it only works in a warm country.
I could barely finish my drink and stay in that bar for 20 minutes before wanting to take a piss badly.

[Mulboyne]

I thought this place might have closed but it seems they were just changing the ice and it has opened up again. I think it is a strong contender for Tokyo's dullest bar.