So you’re sitting down for a relaxing lunch or dinner and you get your drink orders…from monkeys? Believe it or not, at the “sake house” restaurant Kayabuki (in the Miyukihoncho part of Utsunomiya, North of Tokyo) has two in-house waiters that do help out.
The two monkeys, named Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, the pets of restaurant owner Kaoru Otsuka spend a few hours a week helping to take drink orders for customers as well as bringing hot towels for customers to wash their hands (per Japanese customs).
After spending so much time helping out, some long-time customers swear that the monkeys have actually began to understand specific orders. “We called out for more beer,” said one customer, “and he just brought us some beer. It’s amazing how he seems to understand human words.”
And though Yat-chan and Fuku-chan are pets, that doesn’t mean they’re exempt from the restaurant uniforms. Outfitted with tiny button-up shirts and vests–not to mention plastic, human-faced masks and wigs–both Yat-chan and Fuku-chan try their best to blend in with their taller, less hairy co-workers. See the monkeys in action below:
