If you’re a fan of Pokémon or kawaii (cute) things, you’ll want to check out the Pokémon Cafe. But be warned it’s tough getting reservations here.

This visit occurred in April 2024.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: Springing for Sakura
• Review: oneworld Qantas Business Lounge LAX
• Review: Starlux A350-900 Business Class LAX-TPE
• Review: Starlux Galactic Lounge TPE Terminal 1
• Review: Starlux A330neo Business Class TPE-NRT
• The Airport Limousine Bus is Indeed Friendly
• Quite a Grand Stay: The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
• Thoughts on Tokyo Disneyland
• Thoughts on Tokyo DisneySea
• Japan Pro Tip: Luggage Delivery Services
• Review: Park Hyatt Tokyo
• teamLab Planets: I Don’t Understand The Hype
• Cuteness Overload: A Review of the Pokémon Cafe Tokyo (this post)

Booking

Let’s get the hard part out of the way first. Making reservations at the Pokémon Cafe is a near-must. You certainly can try to show up on the day-of to acquire seats, but expect long waits and honestly it’s not the best option if you have younger children in your party. Booking online is theoretically possible, and I attempted to do it myself, but be prepared for frustration.

When I attempted to book it myself, I was met with a virtual brick wall. If you want to try it yourself, you can do so 31 days in advance at 6 PM local time (which translated to 1 AM in California in early March). Right at 1 AM, I was immediately told I couldn’t access the website due to congestion.

One minute later, I was allowed in and of course all spots were gone. Of course. Allegedly, you have 15 minutes to book your spot before it returns to inventory, so you could get lucky, but I never reliably found the space I needed.

I had been practicing this for a couple of days leading up to my preferred dates and knew it would be a challenge. So I opted to pay for someone else to help me get access ($30 for a successful booking for five people). I believe they used bots to help secure the reservation. I do wish there were a different reservation system that minimized the use of bots, as it seems to have created a bit of a black market for getting a reservation here.

Good luck!

Location

There are currently two Pokémon Cafes in Japan: one in Osaka and one in Tokyo. You’ll want to make sure you’re booking the right location. The Tokyo location is near the Nihombashi metro station. If you’re coming in from the metro, I recommend going up to street level first as it’s easier to figure out where you are. There is a dedicated elevator on the street level that will take you all the way up to the Pokémon Cafe and Pokémon Center. You might get lost if you’re trying to figure it out from within the train station (ask me how I know). Plus, elevators will not stop at the correct floor before the store opens, adding to the confusion.

Arrival

Our reservation was for 10:55 AM, and good for 90 minutes. You’re allowed to line up ten minutes early. Yes, they are strict about this. We lined up around 10:35 AM. When we got up to the front of the line, it was about 10:43 AM, or 12 minutes before our time. They checked the time and asked us to go to the back of the line and wait again. Two minutes later, they announced they were ready to accept 10:55 AM reservations. I wasn’t bothered by it, but just wanted to point out the strict adherence to the rules.

If you show up without a reservation, you’ll find a line for stand-by that’s between the cafe and store. I don’t recall seeing it move while we were here.

Decor

There is lots to see here for the Pokémon fanatic. Pretty much everywhere you look, you’ll find an abundance of Pikachu drawings, stuffed animals, and toys. Frankly, it might be easy to forget that there are hundreds of other Pokémon given the heavy emphasis on one of them.

If you come here on your own, the table with individual seating actually seemed the most satisfying, with cute displays on the plastic partitions.

The store inside the restaurant

Naturally, the location has its own merchandise. You won’t find these items available in the nearby Pokémon Center, so if you want some unique dishes or stuffed animals, stock up here. You can purchase most items here even if you don’t have a reservation, but note there are some exclusives you can only purchase while making a reservation online.

Or if you don’t want to buy a toy, you can also bring your own to have them dine with you as our children did.

Food

At each table is an iPad that is used to order your meals. You can also find the menu online. The iPad interface is easy to use and you can order food multiple times during your visit. You’re limited to only 90 minutes here, which is plenty of time. Even though everyone is seated around the same time, and thus orders food around the same time, the food didn’t take too long to come out.

Having been to other themed cafes in Japan before, I hesitated a bit, thinking the food would only be so-so. But I found the food here to be better than the average themed restaurant, both in taste and quality. Plus, the theming of the dishes was on point.

It might not look like we ate much, but honestly the adults were still very full from the breakfast feast we had at the Park Hyatt Tokyo two hours before coming here.

Some items also come with collectible plates or cups that you can take home. As an example, the Gengar glass below is one such item but you don’t take the one with the drink in it. Instead, you are given a receipt at the end where you can go redeem a fresh unused cup when you pay.

The kids had been lukewarm about curry up to this point, but when it’s served with a bed of Pikachu rice, the kids will eat it every day.

Interactions

What really set the restaurant above others was the incredibly welcoming service. Perhaps it’s not surprising to experience it in a place like Japan, but the staff here always had a smile on their face and they all seemed to be motivated by the happiness of others. Between the extra gifts (stickers) given to the kids for picking surprises on their iPads to the song and dance Pikachu performed, it marked a fun experience and one the kids won’t soon forget.

I’ve heard that other Pokémon may make an appearance besides Pikachu (such as Gengar), but given the abundance of Pikachu all over, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pikachu is the most likely one to appear.

Recommendation: Only if you’re a fan of kawaii

As with all themed restaurants, it’s not going to work for everyone. The Pokémon Cafe is ultimately best for those who are into Pokémon, but the food is good enough even for those who might not be as into the characters. As a grown adult, I enjoyed my time here but was happy to leave when we did. The kids had a blast. But if you’re not into cute things, I can imagine you might have a rough time here. It’s definitely worth an attempt at getting a reservation if you happen to come to Japan (either Tokyo or Osaka).

Have you experienced the Pokémon Cafe yet?