On March 17th of 1991, MOONEYES Area 1 opened in Yokohama, Japan commemorating the 5th anniversary of MOONEYES. 2 months after the grand opening, the MOON Cafe opened adjacent to Area 1 as a 50s style burger joint for Car Freaks in Japan. It became instantly popular for Cruise Night stops, a place to bring your loved ones, and also as a photo shoot for various magazines, T.V. shows, and advertisements.

MOON Cafe&MOONEYES AREA-1, demolished 7.1996.

5 years later, on June 2nd of 1996, it suddenly closed. I bet that surprised quite a few of you. But a little more than a month later, on July 13th 1996, MOONEYES Area 1 and the MOON Cafe reopened. The reason for closing was to move from the previous lot to the current one. (Which is only a football throw away.) As a part of the moving process, the Cafe went through a transformation; a transformation from being a 50s style burger joint, to a 60s style Coffee Shop. From a chrome and stainless steel covered shop to a huge diagonal glass window, an open kitchen, lots of green, and stonewall. The background music changed from Rock and Roll to good old Hawaiian music. Sitting in the MOON Cafe will make you forget about all the racket of Yokohama, and make you feel like you're in a coffee shop somewhere in Honolulu suburbs.

Before I can introduce to you the things to look for at the MOON Cafe there is some explaining that has to be done. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the hero of Kustom Kulture passed away on April 4th of 2001. Every time he came down to Japan for the Yokohama Hotrod Custom Show, he would come down to the MOON Cafe for the after-party and have a Banana Split. You got to try it to understand why he loved it so much. We put the Banana Split on the menu, solely for BDR, and every time he had one, he would shout Mazooma! But "Quote the raven, nevermore." BDR's spirit is always with us at the MOON Cafe.

The main thing to look for at the Cafe is BDR's graffiti on the Men's Washroom Door. Not only are there BDR's inscriptions, but also there are many others by other guests from around the world that came to MOON Cafe such as artists and pin stripers, hot rodders and builders, clubs like the Shifters, Sinners and Choppers. You got to check this out! Over the years the wall has filled and overflowed! Today, it covers the the door and into the interior - of both the Men's and Lady's restrooms!