In a restaurant in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, a monthly "monk bar" event is taking place where customers wine and dine with Buddhist clerics and let their guard down. In attendance are about 30 people aged in their 20s to 70s.
Since its launch in April last year, a group of Buddhist monks of the Shin sect's Takada faction have been entertaining visitors at the eatery, Bonbori, once a month with sermons, music and dance performances. For ¥3,000, visitors can eat and drink as much as they want.
"I thought I would only come to hear stories (on Buddhism), but I enjoyed it as I could share my thoughts, too," said a 28-year-old man from Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, who visited the bar with a colleague.