Japan’s ‘Coffin Cafe’ — A Place To Get Locked In Coffins And Ponder About Death

This experience, priced at 2,200 yen (approx 1,232), has attracted a variety of customers, including couples who even take photos together inside the casket.

Death is inevitable yet for some, it can be a frightening thought, while for others, it can be a motivator to ensure they live a good life. In September, a 120-year-old funeral home in East Japan, introduced a unique “coffine cafe”, offering customers to lie in a casket and reflect on life or death.

The funeral home was founded in 1902, during the Meiji era. It has now collaborated with a funeral supply company. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the cafe is located on the first floor the the main building, the cafe features three intricately designed coffins in green, gold and yellow. Each of them is decorated with floral patterns and motifs which allows the customers to feel more comfortable who wish to lie inside and reflect.

The cafe is located away from the funeral hall so that the visitors do not disturb any funeral attendees. 

This experience, priced at 2,200 yen (approx 1,232), has attracted a variety of customers, including couples who even take photos together inside the casket.

The company’s president, Kiyotaka Hirano, was inspired by this concept from a personal experience after his father passed away suddenly passed away.  He said that “most young people think about weddings only a few consider funeral”. He said that people approach this experience differently, as some people want to close the coffin lid for a “few minutes to contemplate how they’d like to live before their time comes”, Hirano said. 

“The experience also provides an opportunity to re-evaluate your relationships with family and loved ones,” he was quoted by SCMP. 

According to a report by Mainichi, Hirano said that people only think about death when they are told they have “limited time to live, but it is hard to think about death in everyday life”. “In the pitch-black darkness of the coffin, one can think about their remaining life and the final days of loved ones," Hirano commented.

He said that he hopes that people to participate in this experience find it “lively and renewing”. He said that “coming out of the coffin can symbolise rebirth”.