“Pika-pika!”
I still remember playing Pokémon Red on my Game Boy underneath the covers, pretending I was asleep long after bedtime. Spending hours playing Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Snap on the Nintendo 64. And ugly crying at the movie theater when the first Pokémon movie came out. So, let's just say I've been a Pokémon fan since the very beginning.
Naturally, when I started planning our trip to Japan and discovered there was an actual Pokémon Café in Tokyo, I knew I had to go. The only problem? Getting a reservation apparently wasn't quite as easy as catching a Pidgey.
After reading about how difficult it was to get a table, I set multiple alarms to make sure I wouldn't miss the reservation window and prepared myself for the virtual queues. Luckily, I managed to get through and secure a booking.
Fast-forward to Tokyo, and there I was, dancing alongside Pikachu, eating from a Snorlax plate, and drinking a Snorlax cappuccino from a Poké Ball-shaped cup. But was the experience worth all the stress of getting a reservation?
I'll tell you.
In this Guide
Planning your trip to Japan? Check out my Tokyo travel guide for more tips on where to stay, what to see, and where to eat.
Ready to save a princess? Here's what I wish I'd known before visiting the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, and what you should know before you go:
What Is the Pokémon Café?
The Pokémon Café is a themed restaurant in Japan, with one location in Tokyo and another in Osaka. Both serve Pokémon-inspired food and drinks, from Pikachu-shaped dishes to Poké Ball desserts. There's also exclusive merchandise you can buy, and if you're lucky, you might even get to meet Pikachu during your visit.
We visited the Tokyo café, which is located right next to the Pokémon Center. And while anyone can visit the store, you'll need a reservation if you want to eat at the café.
How to Get a Pokémon Café Reservation?
Reservations for the Pokémon Café open a month in advance, with the entire month becoming available on the first day of the previous month at 6 PM Japan time. I'd recommend checking the official website beforehand, though, as the reservation dates can change.
We were visiting Tokyo at the end of September, which meant I had to make our reservation on August 1. Luckily, we were also heading to Osaka in early October, so I had a backup plan. If I couldn't get a table in Tokyo, I'd have another chance to book the Osaka café on September 1.
Now, what I found interesting was that when I booked our Tokyo Disney Vacation Package, I hadn't expected a virtual waiting room, but there was one. With Pokémon Café, I was prepared for something similar, except there wasn't a proper virtual queue at all. Instead, the website just kept crashing.
I had several browsers open across my phone and two laptops, and every time I tried to get in, I either received a message saying the website was overloaded or got kicked out halfway through the process. Even when I managed to get past the first page, the CAPTCHA kept sending me back to the beginning.
After about 40 minutes, I finally started getting through more consistently, but the website was still having issues. For some reason, the calendar was showing Japanese characters for the days of the week, with their literal English translations underneath. So instead of Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, I was seeing things like Moon, Fire, and Water. Which, as you can imagine, wasn't particularly helpful. After a few attempts, I basically memorized which position in the calendar I needed to click on and kept trying until it worked.
The strange thing was that once I finally reached the reservation page, there were still plenty of time slots available. I'm not sure whether nobody else had managed to get through either or whether the website simply couldn't handle everyone trying to access it at once. Either way, finding an available table wasn't nearly as difficult as getting the website to work.
Once I'd selected our date and time, I still had to enter an authentication code to verify the booking. After completing that step, I finally received the confirmation email.
All in all, it took about an hour and a half from the moment reservations opened until I had our booking confirmed. So, if you're planning to visit Pokémon Café, I'd definitely set aside some time for the reservation process.
Inside the Pokémon Café Tokyo
We arrived a little early for our reservation, so we decided to visit the Pokémon Center next door first. They have pretty much everything you can imagine, from clothing and accessories to plushies and other Pokémon merchandise. It's quite difficult to choose, but with our limited suitcase space in mind, we bought a sleeping Pikachu plushie, Slowpoke socks, a Psyduck keychain, and Pikachu chopsticks before heading to the café.
Right next to the entrance, there's a standby line for people without a reservation. If someone doesn't show up, people waiting in line might be able to get a table instead. There were around eight people waiting when got there, although personally, I wouldn't take the risk of relying on this if you really want to go.
Once we were seated, it was Pokémon everywhere. From the placemats on the tables to the videos playing on the screens, including a little "Guess the Pokémon?" game.
The Pikachu Show
Shortly after we'd ordered, the Pikachu show started. Before the show begins, the staff ask everyone to stay seated. You can clap along, but you're not allowed to get up and walk around.
Pikachu then comes out and does a little dance, with everyone joining in, from children to adults. The show lasts around 10 minutes, and honestly, it's just really cute seeing everyone dancing and clapping along with Pikachu.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can take photos and videos of the show, but you can't take individual pictures with Pikachu.
The Pokémon Café Menu & Shop
Now, let's get into the food. The Pokémon Café has quite a limited menu, especially when it comes to actual meals. There are plenty of drinks to choose from, including coffees where you can pick from a whole range of Pokémon for the latte art. But there were only three main dishes on the menu, and one of them, the Pikachu curry, was already sold out.
We decided to order the chicken Snorlax's Naptime Teriyaki Burger. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm not a picky eater, and my partner will eat pretty much anything, but this was genuinely the worst meal we both had during our three weeks in Japan. And considering how good the food is in Japan, that's quite an achievement. My partner took a couple of bites and wasn't having it either. So we decided to stick to our drinks and leave the food.
Now, the Snorlax plate we loved, and luckily, you can buy one at the café shop. Unlike the regular Pokémon Center next door, this shop is only accessible if you have a café reservation and sells exclusive merchandise, including mugs, plates, and plushies.
We bought the plate, and it's now our cat's food bowl. Was it heavy and did it take up a ridiculous amount of space in our suitcase? Yes. Was it worth it? Also yes. He loves it.
My Verdict: Is the Pokémon Café Worth It?
I had a really nice time at the Pokémon Café. Being surrounded by Pokémon, having a coffee with your favorite Pokémon on it, and watching Pikachu dance around the café is definitely a fun experience, especially if you've been a fan for as long as I have.
But am I convinced I'd recommend it? Not entirely. Personally, I feel they would've been better off making it an actual café where you could just walk in, order a Pokémon-themed coffee and maybe a Pikachu-shaped pastry, and leave it at that. The drinks are fun, the exclusive merchandise is nice, but the food? I really don't see the point beyond taking a picture of it.
And even if the food had been slightly better, I'm still not sure the stress of getting a reservation would've been worth it. There are so many other things to do in Tokyo, and so much incredible food to try, that I wouldn't necessarily plan my day around visiting the Pokémon Café or miss out on something else just to go.
That said, if it's something you really want to experience, I'd still try to get a reservation. My advice would be to order a couple of Pokémon-themed drinks, watch the Pikachu show, and have a look at the exclusive merchandise. You'll still get to experience the café without having to bother with the food.
So, did I have a good time? Absolutely. Would I go through that entire reservation process again? Probably not.
I hope this was helpful. If you have any more questions, you can always reach out here or on Instagram, and I’m more than happy to answer any of your questions.
Happy Travels!
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