Anime Cafes … in a snapshot (An introductory post)
In this post, I will provide a brief overview on the types of Anime Cafes (character-themed) in Japan.
One of the highlights of my Japan travels in recent years was all the anime/manga related special events/exhibitions and character cafes I had the privilege to visit. ^ ^
I know many of you would love to visit these anime themed cafes when you are travelling in Japan but may not know how to go about doing so.
Yes, it is true that some of the character cafes in Japan aren’t exactly an easy stroll in the park to go to. You need to do some research/preparation work first. It is also mostly true what they say about the tastiness of the food in such cafes (so do moderate your expectations!) but hey, you are not visiting these cafes for the food anyway, right?
It is all about the presentation of the food, the atmosphere, the fangirling/fanboying and all the exclusive merchandises you can get your hands on at the cafe! Not to forget all the photo-taking you would end up doing before eating, during eating and after you have eaten your meal. 🙂
The good news is that it really isn’t that complicated once you get the know-how or have visited your first character and/or anime cafe but for newbies (especially overseas fans), I understand how daunting and complicated it might initially seem. (I should know, I did a ton of research before I could experience my first Anime cafe and other types of character cafes. AND it still wasn’t easy for an overseas fan like me with basic to intermediate grasp of the language).
Nevertheless, the effort was well worth it and I had such a wonderful time at these cafes! Now I’ll make it a point to try to visit some character and/or Anime Cafes whenever I visit Japan.
Page Contents
TYPES OF ANIME CAFES
There are generally four types of anime themed (character) cafes available in Japan:
1) Reservations and Balloting
The first type is strictly reservations only and you are required to pre-register and ballot for the tickets (Animate Cafe generally falls into this category). These cafes tend to have a different theme/event for a limited time period. There is usually also a time limit per dine-in session and there are multiple sessions in a day.
The good news though is that even if you didn’t manage to win the balloted tickets, there is still a way to possibly get a time-slot. Check out my post: Animate Cafes (How-to & Tips) for more information.
2) General Admission tickets
The second type are those housed within other anime-related attractions (e.g. Namja Town, J-World Tokyo and One Piece Tokyo Tower) which you would need to buy a general admission ticket to the venue. These venues usually include a food area selling character-related food items. Please note that J-World has closed.
Do note that sometimes when a new anime event/campaign is introduced in these venues, you would need to obtain a ballot ticket in the early days of the campaign so they can regulate traffic and maintain crowd control. Always check their website/twitter for details!
3) Reservations/Walk-ins
The third type are the general character and anime cafes at fixed locations or pop-up cafes which you do not need to ballot for reservations. For example, Gundam café and Artnia (formerly known as the Square Enix Café) and Ani-On Station. Reservations are generally preferred though.
Do note that some of these cafes may also require you to reserve ahead of time but it doesn’t involve balloting for time-slots/date. Some may require you to do the reservations via the Konbini machines system (e.g. Family Mart) or have an online reservation system or to take queue tickets on the day of visit. Walk-ins to some of these anime themed cafes are allowed but may require long waits. When in doubt, always check with the official website.
The Shirokuma Cafe (Polar Bear Cafe) is one such anime themed cafe that generally accepts walk-ins. For more information, check out my post: Shirokuma Café (Polar Bear Cafe)
The annual pop-up Detective Conan Cafe practices a mix of two systems.
For more tips and information about the Detective Conan Cafe, check out my post: Detective Conan Cafe 2019
4) Just Queue or Walk-in
The fourth type is what I deem as Food kiosks/stalls at a fixed location and pop-up cafes that are anime themed related. (e.g. The mobile drinks truck outside some Animate shops and the Animate Gratte Cafes) There are also special collaborations with Japanese restaurants/food kiosks from time to time (e.g. カレーハウスCoCo壱番屋 or better known overseas as Coco Ichibanya Curry, ばくだん焼本舗 ) that you can go to get exclusive merchandises as well.
Do note that some pop-up cafes do require reservations and even balloting for tickets at times. It really depends on the popularity and who is organizing them.
There are of course the butler and maid cafes, the cosplay cafes, manga cafes and other themed cafes in Japan as well but for simplification, I will not be classifying them into my anime-theme cafes experiences or blog-posts. (I will probably do a separate one on those themed cafes)
So in summary, always do your homework (on these cafes) before you travel to avoid disappointment. I cannot stress the importance of planning before your trip if you really want to geek out and enter into otaku mode during your travels to Japan.
Please also do not let the fact that you are travelling solo or you are the only one interested in anime/manga in your travel party prevent you from experiencing these character cafes! As someone who has been to these cafes both as a solo diner and with friends, the experiences are different but are equally enjoyable. Most of my cafe experiences in this blog are in fact, solo visits, so please be assured that anime cafes are generally very friendly towards solo diners!
I am planning to do an in-depth post about the different types of cafes you can visit and how to go about doing it. So stay tune for updates! I’ll add the links as I post them up. Subscribers to my mailing list will get first dips on it. 🙂
INFORMATION YOU MIGHT FIND USEFUL
Here’s a guide that I did up on how-to make reservations and tips on Animate Cafes in this post: Animate Cafes (How-to & Tips)
You might be interested in reading about some of my Anime Cafe experiences in Japan. Here’s a selection of them! You can find all of my Anime Cafe posts under the tag of Anime Cafes.
- Hunter x Hunter Animate Cafe
- Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) X Animate Cafe
- My Hero Academia X Animate Cafe Shop
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃) x Ufotable Cafe
- Detective Conan Cafe
- Pokemon Cafe
Thanks again for popping by! 🙂
