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How many times have you felt sad, angry, lonely, or melancholy and thought, "I'd rather not go out today"? Well, in Japan, these negative emotions could actually become the right reason to leave the house: there are bars, called crying cafes, where you can cry without being judged.
Everything is Designed to Make You Cry
A tear-jerking movie, a tub of ice cream, and a good cry: this is the scenario we've all experienced at some point in our lives . In the Land of the Rising Sun, however, it seems there are places where you can freely let off steam without prying eyes or judgmental glances: crying cafes are born from the need to "let out" negative feelings, perhaps due to stress at work, family, or even a broken heart. Small, carefully furnished rooms, soothing music, soft lighting, and, available to customers, heartbreaking films or touching books: basically the perfect mix to unleash your emotions.
Crying as a Weakness of The Soul
At a time when mental well-being is increasingly important, in Japan—a pioneering country par excellence—it seems that crying in public is still seen as a sign of weakness. Hence the need to create places where people can feel free to vent all their anger, frustration, and melancholy.
As bizarre as it may seem, this isn't the first initiative of its kind in Japan: there's a practice called rui katsu, meaning "the pursuit of tears," which can be defined as a kind of collective crying meeting. The first event was organized by Hiroki Terai in 2013, and these gatherings are precisely those in which crying is seen not as a sign of fragility, but as a cure for all the negative emotions accumulated in daily life.
Then, in 2020, in Tokyo, specifically in the Shimokitazawa area, Bar Mori Ouchi was particularly popular, a true negative café where only "negative" people were allowed in, and, more importantly, only women: men, in fact, could only enter if accompanied. Small private rooms, menus consisting only of drinks, and the option of nibbling on something brought from outside: all to ensure maximum freedom of emotional expression.
Not Only Bars, But Also Hotel Rooms
We'll end this roundup of curiosities with another equally original example: at the Mitsui Garden Yotsuya hotel in Tokyo, you can rent a room where you can cry. It's very simple: pay 10,000 yen for a room, where you'll find warm sheets, eye masks, and soft handkerchiefs to cuddle you while you vent your emotions. Plus, they also offer a selection of films —specially chosen for this purpose—that will help you cry more easily: poignant films like Forrest Gump, The Notebook, One Day, or A Moment to Remember.
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