Visiting the Pokémon Cafe is on the hit checklist for a lot of dad and mom and Pikachu followers alike, however reserving a spot to get in may be tougher than reserving an ANA First Class flight.
Right here’s how my household was capable of get in and what we considered the expertise.
The Most Widespread Themed Cafe
Japan is host to a wide range of themed cafes for common franchises, however most likely essentially the most well-known of those is the Pokémon Cafe, impressed by the well-known Pokémon online game.
The café is a singular place the place Pokémon followers can get pleasure from a enjoyable and interactive eating expertise that options dishes and drinks impressed by the varied Pokémon characters.
Location
The Pokémon Cafe has two everlasting places in Japan: one in Tokyo and one in Osaka.
On our journey to Japan this previous March, we visited the Osaka location.
The Tokyo location was the primary to open in 2018, within the Nihonbashi district. It’s situated beside the Pokémon Middle of the Takashimaya division retailer, the biggest official Pokémon retailer in Japan (which is value a go to by itself) and is open from 10:30am to 10pm.
The café in Osaka opened a yr later in 2019, within the Shinsaibashi district. It’s situated contained in the Daimaru division retailer and is open from 10am to 9:30pm.
Reserving a Reservation
Like all the things common in Japan, a sophisticated reservation is required to go to both café location (no less than in accordance with their web site). On-line reservations grow to be obtainable on the cafés’ official web site 31 days previous to your deliberate go to, at 6pm Japan time.
By the web reservation pages, you may e-book for as much as a most of 8 friends per reservation, pending availability.
To make a reservation, choose the variety of friends and the date of your go to. After this, the time slots for that day will pop up. Likelihood is that you just’ll see on a regular basis slots greyed out, that means that they’re totally booked and never obtainable for reserving.
Time slots with blue textual content point out availability for reserving.
In relation to reserving the Pokémon Cafe, don’t make your plans anticipating to e-book a most popular time slot. Reasonably, e-book no matter time slot you will get after which work the remainder of your schedule round it.
Take be aware that the café in Osaka can be divided into three seating areas (A, B, C). Whereas seating space A is closest to the brief present that the café places on, as soon as once more, your finest guess is to simply choose no matter seating is accessible on the time of reserving.
If you’re fortunate sufficient to snag a reservation, remember the fact that reservations are for 90 minutes of eating time, no matter your arrival time, so don’t be late.
My Expertise with Reserving
First, the unhealthy information – Getting a reservation on the Pokémon Cafe is like profitable the lottery.
Nonetheless, as a result of the Tokyo location is extra common, your possibilities could also be barely higher when making an attempt to e-book the Osaka location.
That being stated, I attempted to get a reservation three mornings in a row, solely to fail.
I set an alarm for 4:50am to be able to e-book at 5am EST, when reservations opened. At 5am, the reservation web page turned gradual and sometimes timed-out earlier than I might even see the obtainable time slots.
The primary morning I caught a glimpse of an obtainable time slot in blue, however by the point I clicked it, it was unavailable. An entire day of reservations was booked up inside seconds.
Reddit boards and a few blogs prompt ready 15 to twenty minutes after the reservations opened and have been totally booked to attempt once more, as any incomplete bookings get re-released presently. Sadly, this additionally didn’t work for me.
I used to be slightly discouraged by this expertise, however I additionally knew this is able to be the doubtless final result.
How We Snagged a Desk
Now for the excellent news – My dedication received the higher of me and I continued to scan by a number of boards, and got here throughout one success story that gave me hope.
One household was capable of get into the Osaka location with no reservation by merely exhibiting up on the café when it opened.
Primarily based on this, after we arrived in Osaka, I requested my children whether or not they have been keen to provide it a shot. It might be 20 minutes on public transit to get there with a giant probability of being turned away and all this ending in disappointment.
The children have been onboard, so we determined to attempt our luck.
My children will not be normally morning folks, however on that morning, all of them awakened promptly. The Pokémon Cafe in Osaka opens at 10am each day, and we ended up arriving later than I had deliberate, at 10:04am.
There have been two traces at reverse sides of the café entrance. One was for these with booked reservations and the opposite was the café’s cancellation line, for folks keen to attend for cancellations or no exhibits.
After we arrived, we joined this line, with one couple already lined up earlier than us.
On the café entrance, there was a board that displayed the seat availability for the day. A crimson X meant they have been totally booked, whereas an orange triangle meant restricted availability.
The hostess suggested us that “restricted availability” normally meant that there have been two to 4 seats obtainable. Primarily based on this board, you may decide to take one of many later obtainable time slots, or you may proceed to attend in line for a final minute cancellation or no present.
On our explicit day, there have been 4 time slots with restricted availability. I checked on-line whereas ready in line and noticed nothing obtainable, so don’t anticipate the web site to provide you correct info on same-day availability.
5 minutes into the café opening, they seated the couple in entrance of us. After we informed the hostess that we have been a household of 5, she shook her head and suggested us that at the moment, there was nothing obtainable to accommodate us now or later.
Given this, I used to be ready to just accept defeat.
Nonetheless, after one other 10 minutes, we have been suggested {that a} desk for 4 and a desk for 2 had grow to be obtainable and that they might accommodate us if we have been keen to separate up.
We agreed to be break up up, so that they directed us to the reservation line and our Pokémon Cafe expertise started!
In complete, 12 folks from the cancellation line, together with my household, have been seated that morning, in a restaurant that may accommodate 50 to 60 folks.
The Expertise
When getting into the café in Osaka, I observed that the venue wasn’t as large because the one in Tokyo however that it was brightly lit, with tables of two and 4 spaced comfortably. The partitions have been adorned with photos of Pokémon, and there have been Pokémon plushies and statues all through the house.
The tables have been preset with napkins, themed cutlery, placemats, and a pill the place you may view the menu and submit your order. The menu gives a number of dishes priced for ¥1,540–2,750 and drinks for ¥935–1540.
In addition they have featured dishes and meal units that change from time to time.
If you order a drink, you get a free plastic Pokémon coaster as a take-home memento; nevertheless, it’s fairly poor high quality, so I wouldn’t order a drink simply to get one.
The presentation of the dishes was positively the spotlight of the expertise for me. They have been creatively organized within the shapes of varied Pokémon characters with ornamental components that have been additionally Pokémon-themed.
We had a Snorlax hen and rice dish, a Pikachu curry plate, a Pikachu soufflé pancake, and a children Pikachu hamburger meal.
Although the meals presentation was beautiful, the style of the dishes and drinks was mediocre, however I can’t say I used to be anticipating something extra.
Within the final 20–half-hour of the reservation session, there was a brief efficiency led by a employees member alongside a big Pikachu.
The efficiency was completely in Japanese, so we didn’t perceive any of what they have been saying; nevertheless, seeing a cute, taller-than-them Pikachu was sufficient to keep up my children’ full consideration.
Conclusion
The Pokémon Cafe is a well-liked however hard-to-book expertise in Japan that’s on the to-see checklist for a lot of guests.
For those who’re feeling down since you’ve tried and didn’t get a reservation on-line, not all hope is misplaced. Although not brazenly marketed, you may go to the café to attempt your luck at getting a desk in particular person.
Primarily based on my expertise, go as early as attainable if making an attempt this method and go for the Osaka location over the Tokyo one if it’s an choice.
The expertise is a enjoyable and memorable one for anybody who loves the Pokémon franchise. As a father or mother who’s detached in direction of it, I discovered it to be slightly underwhelming and overpriced, however my children actually loved it, and in the long run, that’s what actually issues.
