Pokémon Cafe in Nihonbashi Tokyo ~ A short guide

Pokémon Cafe in Nihonbashi Tokyo ~ A short guide

Sep 4, 2018 | Travel, Travel Reports | 1 comment

This year a new and permanent Pokémon Cafe opened in Nihonbashi (Tokyo) in the Takashiyama east Building (5th Floor).
Pokémon already hosted several pop up cafes(limited time) in the last years. But due to conflicting time schedules I never had the chance to visit one.

The Pokémon Cafe in Nihonbashi was opened this year with a new Pokémon center, which is directly next to the café.
If you want to get a place in the café, you have to reserve online beforehand or hope to get a free seat of someone who canceled or didn’t showed up last minute.

The reservation can be made online:
You can reserve 31 days in advance. The slots are open at 6 pm (Japanese time).
If you are a bigger group I would recommend you to book early. You can cancel the table for free a day before till 10 pm (by phone!).
They have A-C seats and D seats. D Seats are the seats at the counter (long table in the middle). If you are alone you have to choose a D Seat, if you are a group from 2-4 persons, you can choose any other seat.
For more than 4 people you have to reserve 2 tables.
A Seats are directly at the window and B and C seats are located in the inner seating area.
We booked some A seats to get a better view of the whole café.

D Seats

B and C Seats
Entrance


When you arrive at the entrance of the café, there are 2 lines.
1 for the people who have reserved (you just line up there 10-15 minutes before your reserved slot) and another line for people who try to get a free spot without reservation.

Starting from a certain time you can get a slot for a certain time of the same day. You might line up at 3 pm for a slot at 5 pm.

It is really inconvenient and the café is super popular so I really would recommend to reserve.

We just lined up and a staff member got us to our seats (you just have to tell them your reservation name).


You have 90 min time and can order everything through an iPad.


The iPad provides an English version of the menu, so it is pretty easy even for foreigners to order tasty Pokémon stuff.
You are allowed to run around and take pictures freely, which is pretty uncommon for theme cafes in Japan.
The ordering pad
The Coasters
For a certain amount of orders you can win coasters. The Staff walks from table to table and you just choose you favorite Pikachu. Randomly you will get a certain coaster.


The food is real Instagram material and super cute and beautiful. Nearly a waste to eat it.
They have dessert, main dishes, drinks and you also can order exclusive souvenirs from the Café.
The price range is approximately between 500 to 3.000 yen. Compared to normal restaurant pries the café is a bit above average, the food taste ok but I think we are aware that you are paying for the feeling and the satisfaction of your nerdy needs. J
With the food you can also order the plate or the cup for an extra 1.000 Yen. But no worries, they will get you a new and clean one at the check out.


At every slot Pikachu will come over for a small dance and photo session. The mascot will dance for you and visit every table for a short picture and “meet and greet”. It was super super cute.

After finishing you just go to the cashier and the exit and pay. They also hand you the plates or cups, in case you ordered some.

At the opposite of the cashier you can buy more souvenirs, which are only available at this Pokémon café.


My opinion:



I really loved this experience and if you are a Pokémon fan this is definitely a must go if you might visit Tokyo. The staff is accustomed to foreigners, which makes the visit for English speaking visitors pretty easy.

Unlike to other cafes you are allowed to make pictures, which I really appreciated. I really loved how the food looks and loved Pikachu’s small visit (it was really damn cute…).
The food is a bit pricy and not the tastiest but still the atmosphere and experience was amazing.

If you are tight on budget just go there for a drink (btw 1 order per person is required) and enjoy the atmosphere.

Informations:


Name:
Pokemon Café


Address:
〒103-0027 Tokyo, Chūō, Nihonbashi, 2 Chome−11−2; Takashiyama east bld. 5F
Access:
JR Tokyo Station (Yaesu north exit 5 min walk)/ Nipponbashi Station (Exit B2 4 min walk
Opening hours:
10:30 am – 22:00 pm (last order food 21 pm)
Price range:

Drinks from ~ 800 Yen (cheaper with food)
Food from ~ 1.500 Yen
Dessert from ~ 1.100 Yen

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Penguincafe in Nagoya

Penguincafe in Nagoya

Dec 12, 2016 | Travel, Travel Reports | 0 comments

 

Outside

The Penguincafe:
I really love penguins and of course I visited the Penguin café in Nagoya!

I visited this place during my trip as World Cosplay Summit representative for Germany.
This is why I could enjoy the Penguin experience together with some German friends and my cute students.
The café is located in the Osu shopping district. As an Otaku you would say, near to Mandarake!
It is a very small shop with 2 floors.
But even it is a small cafe, a penguin sign will lead you to the right entrance. In the ground floor are some seats, the kitchen and the toilet.

The main seat area is located in the 2nd floor.

What I really loved about this shop is that you can find penguins in every corner, in every shape and size.

Penguins everywhere!
You are also allowed to take them and to put them on your lap.
They even put some really cute plush penguins on the seats and displayed some penguin books.

Even the menu is full of penguins!


The menue
Kingpenguinplate

I ordered the Kingpenguinplate (1.100 yen) with an extra penguin and the Penguin Café Latte (600 yen)!
It hurt to eat them ToT all the penguins were so super cute! But it was super tasty!

After eating slowly our menus (puh it was a lot!) I went down to pay my food.
In the entrance area they have a small shop with penguin merchandise.

Of course I got some penguins. *o*

I really enjoyed that experience and had a lot of fun.

The penguins there are super cute and you are allowed to take pictures everywhere.

If you like penguins please have a look and visit this awesome café!

Website: http://www.pgcafe.jp (Japanese only)

Operating hours: 12:00～20:00, Closed on Wednesday

Size: 1F-> about 6 People, 2F-> about 22 people

Budget: Lunch: ~1.000 yen, Dinner: ~2.000yen

Adress:


Google Maps Generator by RegioHelden
World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 5: Day 2 Omotenashi Day

World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 5: Day 2 Omotenashi Day

Oct 24, 2016 | Cosplay, Events, International Cosplay Contests, Japan, Travel | 0 comments

With Eriko chan and Yuuka chan our students.
Pokemoncenter
As I mentioned in a prior post. Omotenashi is a student cooperation, consisting out of students, who supports the representatives during their stay in Nagoya in all matters.

Normally you get 1 Student per Team. Due to certain circumstances we got 2, Yuuka chan and Eriko chan.
We already told them before departing to Nagoya, what we would like to do.

Chiko really wanted to go to the Pokemon center and Onsen and I wanted to go to the Penguin cafe.

Before meeting her we practiced in the park and checked our championship stuff again.

Most of the teams went sightseeing at the Nagoya castle or shopping at some Otaku stores in Nagoya.

I guess all teams went to the Pokemon center.

At the Onsen
Onsen seemed to be like the most unusual request. In Nagoya is a very nice and big Onsen spa named “Canal Resort”. They have nice facilities and a really great outdoor area. It is actually the biggest and most famous Onsen resort in Nagoya.

Because we both love Onsen out student took us there and relaxed with us together in the really nice outdoor Onsen.

We also went to the Pokemon center and met Team South Korea.
Chiko only bought Raichus and I bought only Plinfas. <3
We have been at a Pokemon center several times before, so for us it was nothing new.

But when I went there the first time I was so overwhelmed, how many great Pokemon stuff they offer for a very reasonable price. It´s really the heaven of every Pokemon fan!

Making Okonomiyaki

In the evening we went to get some Okonomiyaki and met Team France, and the Alumnis from Denmark and Mexico.

Yuuka chan and Eriko chan also showed us how to make Okonomiyaki by ourselves. It was very interesting and a great experience.

Had fun at Nagoya



Maid Cafes

Maid Cafes

Feb 16, 2016 | Japan, Travel, Travel Reports | 0 comments


Japan is not only famous for beautiful shrines and traditional culture but also for a very modern and unique pop-culture.
While being in Japan I always recommend visiting theme cafes/ restaurants. I guess the most famous ones are cat cafes and Butler or Maid cafes.
I visited different cafes until now and want to report this time about my experiences at a maid cafe.

What is a maid cafe?

A maid cafe is a restaurant where young waitresses are serving food while wearing a European style maid uniform. The original idea was to create a space likely to a rich household in Europe with maids and butlers who are taking care of their “master”. In Japan flats are very small and the daily routine can be very stressful. Maid cafes are supposed to be a space where people can relax and escape the daily routine.
You can find different types in Japan. At some cafes the waitresses are just serving the ordered items politely like at the Cure Café in Akihabara, while other waitresses are also entertaining their guests with games or live music shows.

You are not allowed to touch the maids and to take pictures of her. You can buy a picture afterwards, which is normally taken by another maid. Also calling her if you don’t want to order something is mostly prohibited.
Generally you are paying a certain fee (about 0-1.500 yen) for a certain time frame. Mostly it will be about an hour. At some maid cafes you are also obligated to order a certain amount of drinks or dishes.
 
Dishes and drinks are a bit more expensive than the average Japanese restaurant although the prices can differ a lot between the cafes.
Sometimes you also can buy merchandise or order stuff like a picture with your favorite maid or a live concert.

Which maid café would you recommend?

Maidremin

I always like to visit the Maidreamin maid café. Maidreamin is a Maid café chain and has stores through the whole Japan.

It is very easy to find the cafes because you can check out the locations at their homepage or just look for a maid in their uniform standing around at the street in Den Den Town (Osaka) or Akihabara (Tokyo).

Maidreamin is the only Maid café I could find where pictures, except of the maids, are allowed. Mostly you are not allowed to take pictures at all.
They also provide English menus and have sometimes English speaking staff (although we always needed Japanese, because the English was very basic).

Maidreamin is a maid café where maids are behaving like a “kawaii” (cute) maid. The maid uses magic spells to make your food tastier, talks with you, play games and sometimes sings for you at the stage (I visited 2 times and experienced 2 concerts).

I also like, that every Maidreamin café has another setting. My favorite so far was the Mario Café where you have Mario boxes hanging above you head.

The dishes are tasty and always arranged cutely. You are paying an admission fee about 500 yen (1.000 yen if you want a special seat, so be careful!) for an hour and are obligated to buy a drink and a dish.
Dishes and drinks are starting with 500 yen.
Set menus are starting with about 1.500 yen and are mostly including a picture with a maid, a drink and food.

@home

I have never been at the @home café before but I know it is very famous along foreigners.
They also provide English menus and have cafes especially for foreigners.
They own several stores in Akihabara, located at the Don Quiote with different settings and also have a traditional setting for where the maids are wearing Kimono orientated uniforms.

The follow the same “Kawaii” concept like the Maidreamin café but pictures are prohibited. So you can’t even take pictures of your food or your friends while enjoying the maid café expect paying a certain fee for taking a picture with a maid. The admission fee for an hour is about 600 yen and they have a strict ranking of their maids. You can see at the ribbon they wear which ranking they have.

Food and drinks are starting with 500 yen.

The reason why I never visited this café before was, that you need to line up. Waiting can take until 3 hours. I tried to visit this café 4 times and always needed to wait between 2-3 hours.
So be prepared to wait or visit the café at 10 in the middle of the week to prevent lining up for hours.

Cure Maid Cafe

Café cure is the first Maid café in Akihabara located in a side street in the 6th floor. Everything started with this maid café.
This café is very different compared to the other two maid cafes mentioned before.
The waitresses are wearing traditional Victorian style maid dresses and the setting is based on a typical European café.

The waitresses are extremely polite and very well mannered (it was very embarrassing how they talked to me…).

The food is very good, priced average and if you are looking for a place to enjoy and relax in the busy and bursting city Tokyo, this is the right place!

 

You don’t have an admission fee but you are expected to leave the café after an hour.
The coffee is very good and the drinks are starting with about 300 yen.
Pictures are not allowed, even if you want to pay for it.

My opinion:

I really like visiting theme cafes and it is always a great experience to visit a maidcafe.
It is a unique but still important part of Japanese cultur.
Sometimes it is very difficult to go without any Japanese knowledge. So I would recommend to take at least a Japanese speaking friend.
 
If you have questions don’t hesitate to ask.