The Pokemon Café in Japan: A Unique Experience for Pokémon Fans
If you are a fan of Pokémon, Japan is undoubtedly the ultimate destination. Beyond its incredible culture, breathtaking landscapes, and delicious cuisine, Japan is home to the Pokémon Café, one in Tokyo and one in Osaka. The Pokémon Café is an amazing experience for any Pokémon fan: Pokémon-themed food, a dancing Pikachu and an exclusive gift shop, what more can you ask for?!
A Pokémon-themed food adventure
The Pokémon Café is an immersive experience bringing the world of Pokémon to life. Of course, the entire café is decorated in Pokémon style. There’s a Pikachu chef photo spot and all the food features Pokémon elements. We opted for Pikachu curry rice: Pikachu-shaped rice surrounded by Japanese curry, Snorlax nap plate: a variety of Japanese delicacies arranged around a sleeping Snorlax made of rice and nori, and the Pokéball parfait: a delicious treat layered with fruits, whipped cream and cake. Even the drinks are all Pokémon-themed. We chose a Mew iced latte and a Gengar soda. Everything just looks so cute! The quality of the food wasn’t bad at all either.
Pikachu chef photo spot
Cutest food and drinks at the Pokémon Café
Some of the menu items include a merchandise item too. For instance, the Gengar soda came with a Gengar glass. The only way to get the Gengar glass is to order the Gengar soda as the glass itself is not available in the gift shop. So take this into consideration when ordering food and drink items.
Pokéball parfait for dessert
Once the food has been served on all tables, it’s time for a special guest. We got lucky to have Chef Pickachu himself as the special guest! A giant Pikachu enters the restaurant and does a few dances while the guests cheer him on.
Dancing Chef Pikachu
The Pokémon Café also has its own exclusive merchandise store with items that can’t be found anywhere else. There’s a variety of themed utensils and tableware, plush toys, keychains and bags. We ended up with a Snorlax plate, an Eevee plate, a Pokémon Café glass, a Gengar glass and a Pikachu bag. Make sure to have enough space in your suitcase for these unique items!
Some of the exclusive merchandise items at the Pokémon Café
How to get a reservation at the Pokémon Café
The Pokémon Café is extremely popular and reservations are mandatory. Getting a reservation for the Pokémon Café can be a bit tricky though as slots fill up very quickly. The reservation process for both the Tokyo and Osaka locations work the same. As both locations are equally popular, it isn’t easier to get a reservation in one of the two locations.
Reservations open 31 days before the desired reservation date at 6 p.m. Japanese time. Choose a desired date for your visit to the Pokémon Café and we’d highly recommend to have a few back up dates in mind as well. Pick a date on which you haven’t planned anything else yet as you probably don’t have the luxury to choose a desired time slot or part of the day. When making your reservation, you can also preorder special merchandise items, such as coasters. These items are only available when making a reservation and won’t be sold in the Pokémon Café during your visit, so take this into consideration.
Pokémon Café in Tokyo
As mentioned before, slots fill up very quickly. Treat it like getting concert tickets for a big artist. Be ready with multiple devices before the reservations open. Don’t settle on a reservation on a specific device until you’re at the confirmation page (or even better until you’ve received the confirmation email). It’s common that multiple errors occur and that you’ll be sent back to the starting page without a reservation.
You can make a reservation on the official Pokémon Café website. Make sure you also read the FAQ on the website for the most up-to-date information.
It’s a hectic process to make a reservation but believe us, it’s so worth it!
Mew latte at the Pokémon Café
Pokémon Center
Both in Tokyo and in Osaka, the Pokémon Café is located next to or nearby the Pokémon Center, which is the official Pokémon store in Japan. Make sure to stop by for even more cute and fun merchandise items after your visit to the Pokémon Café. Besides the Pokémon Centers next to the Pokémon Cafés, there are more Pokémon Centers in Japan. Especially in Tokyo there are quite a lot of them. We’ve visited multiple Pokémon Centers during our stay in Japan and we found different items at every store. We love that some Pokémon Centers have specific exclusive items because of their location, such as a Tokyo SkyTree with Pikachu plushie at the Pokémon Center in the Tokyo SkyTree mall or a Pikachu plushie wearing traditional Okinawan clothes at a Pokémon Center in Okinawa.
Entrance of the Pokémon Center
Inside the Pokémon Center
Exclusive Tokyo SkyTree with Pikachu plushie
Pikachu Sweets Café
If you can’t make it to the Pokémon Café or you simply can’t get enough of all the cute food and drink items, we can highly recommend paying a visit to the Pikachu Sweets Café. The Pikachu Sweets Café is a small take-out place that you can’t make a reservation for. They serve the cutest drinks and sweet snacks and they also have a few exclusive merchandise items, such as a cute Pikachu cup holder. You can find the Pikachu Sweets Café in the Sunshine City Mall in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Be aware that it’s a take-out place and you’re not allowed to consume the drinks and snacks in the café or in the mall. There’s a small section in the café with standing tables, but the only purpose of this section is to take photos. Once you’re done taking photos, you’re supposed to leave this section.
Pikachu Sweets Café
We hope this blog post has made you excited about visiting the Pokémon Café in Japan and helps you with making a reservation there. Is the Pokémon Café on your travel bucket list? Let us know in the comments below!
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