RocketNews24

If you think “Closed Restaurant: Jewels of the Lady” sounds more like a mystery novel than an eating establishment, you’d actually be half right.

Early next year, the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo will be offering patrons the chance to participate in a unique dining experience that mixes good food with a riddle-solving treasure hunt. The event is aimed at young women and requires participants to apply in teams of two, with one of the members a female.

Large-scale treasure hunts and puzzle-solving games have grown in popularity over the years in Japan, moving out of the realm of family-oriented quiz games at theme parks and into adult events organized by hotels and restaurants such as this. Unlike children, adults show tend to take their role-playing more seriously—especially when there are prizes involved—allowing for more intricate, controlled games.

Event planning company Rush Japan saw a business opportunity in the growing number of Japanese adults eager to solve mysteries and go on pretend adventures in the real world. They have since modeled themselves as Japan’s premier “treasure hunt planning company” and, through their website Takarush, sponsor and organize treasure hunting events throughout the country on a regular basis.

“Closed Restaurant:Jewels of the Lady“ was planned by Rush Japan in conjunction with Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo to commemorate their grand opening on Jan 1 2013.

The new Chinzanso Hotel in Tokyo

The idea is for guests to nourish both their stomach and mind by enjoying a lavish meal while working with their dinner partner to solve a mystery. In the process of sleuthing, guests will have to move around the hotel grounds, exploring the new facilities and large gardens.  ”In this way, they get a chance to appreciate the hotel along with solving a riddle”,  explains a spokesperson for the hotel.

But won’t they be too taken up with the mystery to be able to satisfactorily enjoy the meal?

“No worries there,” says the hotelier, “The meal will take place at the beginning of the program. People have an hour and a half at lunch and two hours at dinner to eat appetizers, soup and a main dish. On the days of the game, there are two rounds, a lunch one and a dinner one. The whole program takes four hours so there is ample time to eat your meal leisurely.”

The hotel interior looks like it’s ready for a good murder mystery

In addition, the contents of dessert will differ depending on whether the riddle is solved correctly or not. In other words, the dessert is the prize that you work for.

There are two dates set in early 2013 for this event.  January 19th (Sat) and February 11th (Mon), each with a lunch round from 12:00 that costs 8900 yen ($106 US) and a dinner round from 17:30 for 12,000 yen ($143 US). Dinner guests may also stay the night for 22,000 yen (about $262 US), which includes the cost of the meal.

Given their past success with such events at restaurants and hotels, Rush Japan is expecting Closed Restaurant to do well.  Another date for a March event is in the books. Perhaps such events can lower the hurdle of staying in a high class hotel and prompt more people to feel comfortable paying for a bit of luxury.

Source: Excite Bit News