The metaphysical hell exists only in the mind. A Tokyo bar, however, offers its own version of the supposed realm of demons and evil for the curious.
Owned and run by a monk, Vowz Bar in the Japanese capital’s Shinjuku district has a Buddhist theme with drinks inspired by heaven and hell, the BBC reported.
Cocktails include “Nirvana in the Pure Land,” “Never Ending Suffering in Hell,” and “Love and Hate leading to Hell,” each drink priced at 1,000 yen (US$6), according to BBC, citing one customer’s socmed post.
A mix of fruits and spirits, the drinks taste sweet, sour, and spicy and are served with incense stick-shaped hors d’oeuvres.
Also, for 1,000 yen, customers can experience a Buddhist funeral ritual at the bar by lying inside a flower-filled coffin while wearing a white robe with a monk chanting and striking a wooden fish.
Some visitors come specifically to seek advice from the bar owner, Yoshinobu Fujioka, and other monks regarding grave matters.
Meanwhile, a bus company in Poland has its own gimmick of driving passengers to “hell.”
FlixBus offers rides to a seaside resort named Hel and back to Krakow, Warsaw and other cities. Hel is located on the tip of the 35-kilometer Hel Peninsula, which juts off the northern coast of Poland in the Gulf of Gdańsk.
The 13-hour trip dubbed “Highway to Hel” became controversial in 2023 because FlixBus used the number 666 for the bus plying the route.
The Bible identifies 666 as the “number of the beast” and religious groups in the predominantly Roman Catholic Poland accused the bus company of “spreading satanism,” forcing the management of FlixBus to change it to 669.
FlixBus spokesperson Aleksander Kalenik told the Polish news service TVN24 that the bus number 666 is back as a marketing strategy intended to increase the visibility of the connection on the popular holiday route to Hel, according to the BBC.