Goodbye, Royal Host Saitama-Shintoshin: the fans' table across from Saitama Super Arena
If you've been to a big K-pop show near Tokyo, there's a decent chance it was at Saitama Super Arena, or Tama-Ari as Japanese fans call it. For years, the Royal Host right across from it was where my friends and I ended up before and after. We'd sit for hours and talk about nothing but our favourites. This summer it closed, and I went back one last time.
Royal Host Saitama-Shintoshin, by Saitama-Shintoshin Station and facing Saitama Super Arena, closed on June 29, 2026, after opening in July 2003, which is 23 years. It's gone. The nearest open branch is Royal Host Yono (1-7-7 Kamikizaki, Urawa-ku). For the chain itself and its current autumn menu, see my Royal Host autumn guide.
Why this one mattered
Chain restaurants aren't supposed to be sentimental. This branch was different because of where it stood. A concert day at Tama-Ari has a long before and a long after: the goods queue, the hours before doors open, the buzz once it's over, when nobody's ready to go home yet. The Royal Host across the way soaked up all of that. It was calm and comfortable, and the food was reliably good. You could stay as long as the conversation lasted.
I have more memories at those tables than I can count, most of them just hours of talking with friends about the people we love. For a lot of fans around here, I suspect, this was part of the concert, even if it never appeared on a ticket.
One last lunch, with a manga artist
I went four days before closing with a friend who has sat in those booths with me many times. She's nakami, who draws Ronron, Numa wo Shiru (「ロンロン、沼を知る」). The title means roughly "Ronron discovers the swamp". In Japanese fan slang, numa, a swamp, is a fandom you fall into and can't climb out of. The manga follows Ronron, an ordinary office worker drawn as a gently anthropomorphised animal, who one day suddenly falls for a K-pop idol. It's about the friends she meets through fandom and the life that keeps happening around it. It's funny with a serious streak, and anyone who's been there will recognise a lot of it. This is a very real phenomenon in Japan right now.
It's in Japanese only, but free to read in full on OUR FEEL. You can follow it on X (@ronron_numa) and Instagram (@ronron2328). Of course, we talked for hours.
I ordered my favourite rice plate, and we finished the way we always did, with parfaits. That month's menu happened to be Royal Host's 55th-anniversary summer curry line-up, a nice reminder that the chain goes on even when one branch doesn't.
Tokyo doesn't wait
Tokyo changes fast, and so do the places around it. Buildings turn over, leases end, and places that anchored a whole chapter of your life are gone within a season. You usually find out too late to say goodbye. This time I got to, which is more than most places give you. It's still sad. If you have a place like this, a café or a booth or a table you always go back to, go while it's there.
Saitama Super Arena's main arena is closed for major renovation from January 2026 until the end of March 2027. It now also goes by the nickname GMO Arena Saitama. When shows come back, the nearest Royal Host is the Yono branch (1-7-7 Kamikizaki, Urawa-ku). It's open 8:00–23:00 and has a drink bar. Check the hours before you go.
Common questions
Is the Royal Host at Saitama-Shintoshin still open?
No. It closed permanently on June 29, 2026, after opening in July 2003. The nearest open branch is Royal Host Yono, at 1-7-7 Kamikizaki, Urawa-ku (8:00–23:00, with a drink bar).
Why did K-pop fans go there?
Saitama Super Arena, nicknamed "Tama-Ari", is one of the biggest arena venues near Tokyo and a regular stop for K-pop tours. The Royal Host across from it was a calm place to eat and talk for hours before and after shows. The main arena is closed for renovation until the end of March 2027.
What is Ronron, Numa wo Shiru?
A Japanese-language manga by nakami, free to read on OUR FEEL, about an ordinary office worker who suddenly falls for a K-pop idol, and the friends and life events that follow. It's a comedy with a serious streak.