Black Restaurant

Black Restaurant known as Kurayami-gohan (a meal in the darkness) is an irregular event in which the non-profit organization SIEN (a cultural exchange group in Japan since 1997) and Higan-ji (a virtual Buddhist temple created by Japanese monks) cooperate at Ryokusen-ji, a temple in Asakusa. SIEN first introduced the concept of a “blind restaurant” which has since spread abroad (Blind Kuh ), and is now known in Japan as “Black Restaurant”.

At Ryokusen-ji, the members of SIEN wanted to focus on a simple daily action - eating. The monks joined hands and the first blind restaurant in Japan was realized. Guests at the restaurant have to put on a sleeping mask and take their seats. They must listen, taste, and smell. Throughout the Japanese cuisine courses, guests experience the world of blindness and understand mutually between the sighted and the blind.