video transcript

Down an alley in one of Tokyo's best-known red light districts, giant mechanical robots stun a sell-out crowd. It's show time at the "Robot Restaurant" - a new high-tech take on the city's cabaret scene that puts an unusual face centre stage. At almost 12 foot (3.6 metres) tall, these custom-made female robots are controlled by dancers, seated up front. Joysticks control their facial features and legs during the hour-long performance of "Fighting Females". And it's not just the giant robots that are stars of the show. Dancers ride airplanes and tanks, just centimetres from a bemused audience. But while some might scoff at the show's seedy side - the owners say half their customers are women, come to experience the peculiar close encounter. SOUNDBITE: 27-YEAR-OLD VISITOR YUKA AOSHIKA, SAYING (Japanese): "The robot here was piloted by the dancers and it came really close. It was dangerous." Three years in the making, the Robot Restaurant cost almost 126 million dollars to build. The owners hope it will bring a boost to waning customer numbers in Tokyo's red light district.