Room Escape Artist

Mr. Miyagi’s Tea Shop is one of the best escape rooms in Southern Spain. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms near Barcelona and Madrid Spain.

Locks on, locks off

Location: Valencia, Spain

Date Played: June 1, 2026

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 90 minutes

Price:  €115 – €159 per game, depending on team size

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: At least one player needs to climb and crawl

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Mr. Miyagi’s Tea Shop was a quirky game that included iconic characters from The Karate Kid, yet it wasn’t the homage to the beloved 1980’s classic we had anticipated. Instead, we found an original story that led us on a mission to Japan in search of Daniel-san, along with a sacred object coveted by Mr. Miyagi. Our efforts to track down this MacGuffin drove both the plot and our gameplay through stylized Japanese-themed sets that reminded us of a long-ago trip to Tokyo.

Our game began outside the tea shop with the appearance of Mr. Miyagi himself. Well, actually, an actor in a rubber mask. The introduction, spoken in Mr. Miyagi’s broken English along with a sharp Spanish accent, was hard to understand through the mask. But once inside the shop, our mission became clear, and we found a variety of puzzles that blended into the highly-thematic surroundings. 

While Mr. Miyagi had top billing, the set design was the most compelling part of the experience. Don Escape recreated simple yet distinctive Japanese settings as backgrounds for puzzles. These creative game spaces were unique and fun to interact with. A few of the puzzles were nicely layered, using unusual props and set pieces for entertaining solves. However, others were straightforward escape room fare that we’ve seen many times before and lacked any real wow moments. We also struggled with a couple of puzzles that needed better cluing, and found one early puzzle to be off-color and distasteful. Let’s just say I was not amused. 

The character of Mr. Miyagi added an interesting layer to the overall experience, though we never felt particularly connected to him or to the mission. The ending could have been a warm, feel-good moment, yet left us a bit dismissed. 

Mr. Miyagi’s Tea Shop received a lot of buzz in its first-year showing on the TERPECA rankings. While the game was entertaining and puzzle-y, and we enjoyed our time in the tea shop and beyond, we found the basic puzzles and lack of connection to the mission and main character left us feeling less than enthusiastic. Do check out this game if you are interested in Japanese theming, or want to revisit a beloved character from the 80s. Just make sure to temper your expectations.

Who is this for?

• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level
• Japanophiles

Why play?

• Immersive theming
• Puzzle variety
• To meet an 80’s icon

Story

Mr. Miyagi needed our help! He had sent Daniel-san to Japan to retrieve a sacred object of great importance, but he hadn’t heard from his protege in quite some time. We were off to Japan to find Daniel-san and return with this important artifact.

Setting

The game started in Mr. Miyagi’s small tea shop, with colorful teapots and flavored teas on display. A few ornamental bonsai trees gave the space a splash of Japanese flair.

Gameplay

Don Escape’s Mr. Miyagi’s Tea Shop was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty. 

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, puzzling, and interacting with an actor. 

Analysis

➕ Set design included interesting game spaces that represented key locales and concepts from Japan. These spaces made for unique backgrounds, puzzle components and integrations, and were a highlight of the experience.

➕ Puzzles using Japanese-themed props and language were entertaining, with one layered solve that felt especially immersive and real-world. Most puzzles were approachable and worked with the unique environment in creative ways.

➖ A technical glitch at the very start of the game required a clunky manual workaround that delayed our start by a short time, resulting in numerous nudges throughout most of the game that detracted from the experience.

➕/ ➖ One original space was perfectly designed for a teamwork puzzle, though it became physically uncomfortable towards the end of the challenge.

➖ A puzzle early in the game contained an off-color joke that might be offensive to some players. In addition, Pat Morita used halted English* in his role as Mr. Miyagi, so it made sense to mimic a stilted speech pattern in dialogue during the game. However, it felt culturally insensitive when it was used in other ways. 

➕ We were pleasantly surprised by a mid-game meta puzzle that incorporated elements from different sections; it was well-done and unexpected. 

➕/ ➖ The in-game actor elevated the experience, making it feel more 3-dimensional instead of a straightforward puzzle game. However, the interactions were somewhat perfunctory, and we didn’t connect with him in any meaningful way. There was opportunity for nuanced interplay that would build more of an alliance between the players and the character, and result in a more enthusiastic, celebratory ending.  

➕ The final puzzle had us aiming to complete our mission in a high-energy, anime-inspired scenario.

🈚 🚽 There are no restrooms available to players, neither before nor after the game. Make sure you arrive early so there’s time to find one if needed. We did not, and it ultimately impacted the time we had to complete the game.

*In fact, Pat Morita was fluent in English and only spoke limited Japanese, having been born in California to Japanese immigrant parents.

Tips For Visiting

• The game is playable in English or Spanish. Note that pricing varies depending on language selected. 
• There is no restroom on-site available to players.
• Street parking near the game is very limited. Taxis are abundant in Valencia, so find a nearby taxi stand, or call for one with Cabify. Due to local laws, rideshare apps like Uber and FreeNow only dispatch taxis. 
• There are a number of excellent restaurants available to enjoy the classic paella valenciana. For an authentic experience, make the 30 minute trip to Albufera lagoon where this rice dish originated.
• We stayed in Ciutat Vella and enjoyed the Italian food at La Vita e Bella.

Book your game with Don Escape’s Mr. Miyagi’s Tea Shop, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.