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Eating out at a restaurant is as common as being asked “can you use chopsticks?” But with so many restaurants vying for your patronage, how does each restaurant separate itself from the rest?

We’ve brought you stories about them before, from the pop culture themed, Gundam Cafe, AKB48 Cafe, Square Enix Cafe, and Resident Evil restaurant, to the ubiquitous maid cafes, Lock Up restaurant, robot restaurant and ninja restaurant. Theme restaurants don’t just rely on popular culture to bring in the customers though. RocketNews24 has written about the restaurant that serves you the food that prisoners eat. Click on through to find out about another unique restaurant giving you a glimpse of how somebody else eats.

Located in the Kumamoto Courthouse, this restaurant offers you the opportunity to eat like judges, lawyers, and other district court members. Perhaps one thinks of judges and lawyers as a class above the common folk, but when they are in court, their busy schedules don’t lend themselves to high-class eight course meals you might see in the movies.

▼Kumamoto Courthouse
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▼Here is the entrance! It looks a little sketch, but don’t worry, this will lead you to food.
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▼The stairs to the basement are about 10 meters left from the lobby
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▼The restaurant is right at the bottom of the stairs
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▼The lovely ladies will be right with you
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The name of the place is just, Kumamoto Courthouse Restaurant.

You would think a restaurant that caters to the needs of wordsmiths like lawyers would have a clever name, but even we were surprised by its frank and straight-forward nature. But don’t let the name fool you. Every day’s lunch special fills up the entire tray, begging to be eaten.

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Everything is in big portions

One thing is for certain though, the Kumamoto Courthouse Restaurant knows its patrons love to eat. Everything is in large portions. When you bring your tray of food to the counter, the chef will ask if you want small, medium or large servings of rice. If you are not a big eater, even the small size might be too big! The price is also right! It’s 420 yen (about $4.50) for a huge meal!

▼Here is the menufoodpic4614598

▼After getting your food, head through this door to the eating area
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▼Here is where you eat! Perhaps it was a meeting room in the past
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▼Help yourself to cold mugi-cha (barley tea)
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The flavor and taste is similar to a shashoku (company cafeteria)

Company cafeterias are well known to be an incredible treat for the employees working there. There is even a website about shashoku that ranks different company’s cafeterias. So when we say the food is close to a company cafeteria, that is high praise indeed! Today’s lunch was a teriyaki mayonnaise chicken and salad. But there was also spaghetti, mabo tofu, a boiled egg, pickled vegetables, a small salad and then rice and miso soup. When we tried the food, it was extremely delicious!

▼Today’s lunch! Teriyaki mayonnaise chicken and salad!
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▼The meal also came with…spaghetti!
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▼And mabo tofu!
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▼And a boiled egg!
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▼And pickled goodness!foodpic4614592

It’s also a place for the courthouse workers to relax

As we were gorging ourselves on the delicious food, actual courthouse workers came in to eat their meals. Even though this restaurant is located in the courthouse, it is not only for them to enjoy. Feel free to come any time and enjoy the cozy atmosphere around you where everyone talks and laughs freely.

There you have it! Another “themed” restaurant to add to your list. What lifestyle will we experience next? Maybe a police station cafeteria? Or a coveted company’s cafeteria like Sony or NEC? How about seeing how the Emperor of Japan eats? Emperor’s Eats! Where you eat the same meal the emperor had the day before! We are sure that the list of theme restaurants you want to try is already very long, but don’t overlook the Kumamoto Courthouse Restaurant because of its plain name. If you have the chance to go once, you will definitely find yourself going time and time again.

Location:
Kumamoto Courthouse Restaurant (in Japanese: Kumamoto Chihosaibansho)
Address: Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, Chuo-ku, Kyomachi 1-13-11, Main Building B1F
Days of Operation: Monday-Friday (Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays)
Hours: 11:30-13:00
Parking: Yes
Price: about 300 yen to 600 yen ($3-$6)

▼And a map to find the place!

Images: RocketNews24