Restaurants and hotels have definitely felt the pinch of the Covid-19 pandemic more than most, as they thrive on social interactions and travel.
But safe distancing need not be unaesthetic, as a hotel in Tokyo shows.
Its lantern-themed ‘barriers’ allow diners to still have a meal and see each other without things like glass panels in the way.
Instead, the barriers only add to the atmosphere and make for a light-hearted session.
According to Hoshinoya Tokyo, the hotel wanted a way for diners to eat without masks.
Hence, it created the lanterns that guests can pay S$354.84 (30,000 yen) for outside diners to eat together with them in a group.
However, only one group can use the lantern dinner a day.
Despite the perceived obstruction of a lantern, it’s translucent, allowing you to look at your food and still keep safe from transmission via talking.
The lanterns also aren’t as rigid as they look, as they’re collapsible and there’s enough space at 102 cm tall and 75 cm in diameter.
According to The Mainichi, hearing others talk isn’t a problem, as it might be for more conventional barriers, since the transparent section is just 0.15 mm of vinyl.
The Hoshinoya Tokyo hotel lanterns manage to keep with the overall aesthetic while still keeping diners safe.
For an even safer experience, the room gets ventilated around 5.5 times per hour.
Of course, as one can expect to be set back S$257.56 (21,780 yen) for the menu, along with the venue booking fee of 30,000 yen, you’ll want to know what you’re having.
Here’s a look.
While travel to Japan is still not going to be easy considering the lack of a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) agreement with Singapore, it’s certainly one place you can go to if you’re particularly conscious about safety against Covid-19.
Reservations for the lantern dinner must be made 5 days in advance here. There’s an English option available, so there’s no worry regarding being lost in translation.
Hoshinoya Tokyo
Address: 1-9-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan
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Featured image adapted from Hoshinoya Tokyo.
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