MOON Cafe

CLOSED: MONDAYS

60s Style Cafe with its night scene as one of Yokohama's moodiest.

BDR with his Favorite Banana Split

Do you know about our MOON Cafe Luncheonette? Open Tuesdays thru Fridays, from 11:30 am until 2 in the afternoon. We serve traditional Burgers, Hamburger Platters, Loco Moco, and Taco Rice, with your favorite soft drink on the side starting at 850 yen - 1,200 yen; depending on how many toppings you choose to have. Come on down sometime, and have one of our special meals, during your lunchtime.

On March 17th of 1991, MOONEYES Area 1 opened in Yokohama, Japan commemorating the 5th anniversary of MOONEYES. 2 months after the grand opening, the MOON Cafe opened adjacent to Area 1 as a 50s style burger joint for Car Freaks in Japan. It became instantly popular for Cruise Night stops, a place to bring your loved ones, and also as a photo shoot for various magazines, T.V. shows, and advertisements.

MOON Cafe&MOONEYES AREA-1, demolished 7.1996.

5 years later, on June 2nd of 1996, it suddenly closed. I bet that surprised quite a few of you. But a little more than a month later, on July 13th 1996, MOONEYES Area 1 and the MOON Cafe reopened. The reason for closing was to move from the previous lot to the current one. (Which is only a football throw away.) As a part of the moving process, the Cafe went through a transformation; a transformation from being a 50s style burger joint, to a 60s style Coffee Shop. From a chrome and stainless steel covered shop to a huge diagonal glass window, an open kitchen, lots of green, and stonewall. The background music changed from Rock and Roll to good old Hawaiian music. Sitting in the MOON Cafe will make you forget about all the racket of Yokohama, and make you feel like you're in a coffee shop somewhere in Honolulu suburbs.

Before I can introduce to you the things to look for at the MOON Cafe there is some explaining that has to be done. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the hero of Kustom Kulture passed away on April 4th of 2001. Every time he came down to Japan for the Yokohama Hotrod Custom Show, he would come down to the MOON Cafe for the after-party and have a Banana Split. You got to try it to understand why he loved it so much. We put the Banana Split on the menu, solely for BDR, and every time he had one, he would shout Mazooma! But "Quote the raven, nevermore."; but BDR's spirit is always with us at the MOON Cafe.

The main thing to look for at the Cafe is BDR's graffiti on the Men's Washroom Door. Not only are there BDR's inscriptions, but also there are many others by other guests from the U.S. that came down to the Cafe such as pin stripers and also the Shifters. You got to check this out! Ladies, ask one of our staff, and he will open the door for you.