Piano Lounge Courage

You find a poster in the bathroom of a yakitori joint in Torrence advertising a Japanese piano bar in Gardena. You seek it out, needing to circle blocks and drive through secluded parking lots to find it… next door to a Marie Callendars. You open the door and step in to… the Twilight Zone.
This place is the epitome of… uh… something. It’s a very Japanese piano bar that’s got the style and class that anyone could want out of a 1970’s Japanese piano bar, complete with tables, bar seating and a bar around the piano. The sign at the door lists an almost dizzying array of cover charges, each advising that if you want to sit at a specific seat you have to guarantee a minimum of drink purchases. $ 10 for the bar, $ 15 for the piano bar, and on up from there. The people running the joint are short on English.
This is one of those places where when you walk in and are not Japanese, it’s almost like you can hear the needle scratching across the record and feel the eyes of everyone in the joint turn to you. At least that’s what happened to us. We were informed that, contrary to the sign, they wanted a $ 15 cover from each of us PLUS a $ 15 minimum to sit at the piano bar. While we were prepared to spend the minimum, we weren’t really in to paying a specific cover on top of that, especially since the sign said nothing to that effect. I’m guessing it was a ploy to herd us out, being white and underdressed and all. We even had a Japanese guy in our group but that didn’t seem to wow them.
In the end, we did not possess the monetary courage to stay and pay their extra gaijn-​cover. But we were not so ashamed as to commit seppuku in the parking lot to assuage our lack of honor. I would go back, maybe dressed a bit nicer, as there’s obviously some sort of special experience going on here. They were at least friendly when they piano-​blocked us, and the place looks so… unique. I have to leave it at 3-​stars. Also, it’s unfair to give it anything less since I didn’t get to try the food or drink.