Michelle in Wonderland

I recently came back from an adventure in Japan! You heard me. Japan. That was the place I have always wanted to visit since I was a kid. Throughout the next month or so you will get to see some of the pictures I took and some of the places I went. I experienced my first typhoon weather which was quite......the experience (meaning=I almost blew away from the force of the winds).

One of the things I have always wanted to do when I finally got the chance to visit Japan was go to one of the several Alice in Wonderland themed restaurants. I love AiW and after seeing pictures of these different restaurants, I was sold! Unfortunately we were not able to make the one in Tokyo but we had the chance to visit the one in Osaka.

First of all, apparently you need to make reservations for any of the restaurants! You can make them online at their website but it does require your name in Japanese and a multi-digit phone number. If you can do that then good for you. I had no idea what I was doing but thankfully we had the best hostel owner ever and she helped us make the reservation. ^^ (you're the best Ina!)

Alice in Fantasyland was a short walk for the Osaka Station and relatively easy to find in the DD Dining building. Once I walked inside I almost died from how adorable and awesome the place was. They had a little sitting room in the front and to enter the restaurant part you pushed a life size version of a story book to enter the dining room. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

We were seated fairly quickly and I was surprised how small the place was. Not that it matters...maybe we all just got smaller as we entered "Fantasyland". Their menu looked like a little storybook most of the food items had cute names like The Mad Hatter, Alice's Tears, Cheshire Cat etc.

We went to the restaurant in October so the place was lightly decorated for Halloween. This threw me off for naught but a minute or two (because...there is no Halloween in Wonderland) but I think the overall excitement made me forget about the inconsistency.

While we waited for our food to arrive, the hostess brought us these cute little bottles along with a card that said "Drink Me". So like any good stranger visiting Wonderland.....we did. Every time something cool happened, the waitress/hostess would tell what sounded like a really interesting story but sadly it was all in Japanese (duh) but I appreciated it anyways.

The food was super cute. Too cute to eat in fact. I enjoyed myself and obviously took pictures of everything. I loved how it was not just a restaurant but a dining experience. There was a story or reason for practically everything.

One thing that caught my attention was when the staff came out to a table with a cake. Surprise! Its somebody's birthday! She got a cake, they said...some stuff and then they took a photo of her holding the goodies. Later I saw the hostess give him the picture (a Polaroid) in a nice little holder as a keepsake. d'awwwwwww I'm going to go back there one day for my birthday. Its settled.

As we left the restaurant, the hostess gave us some tea to counteract the powers of the earlier drink that "shrunk" us. Strawberry tea makes us bigger. Ill keep that in mind.

Overall I had a great experience. I would love to visit some of the bigger, more elaborate ones but for now, this one satisfies my craving for wonderful experiences. I completely recommend trying one out or any of the interesting themed dining experiences throughout Japan.

This place certainly has inspired me to create my own Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant someday. It would be the ultimate creative outlet as I would get to design the interior, the food, the graphics and the overall appearance and feel. One day.....one day....