Animate Cafes (How-to & Tips)

In this post, I’ve included a brief How-To Guide on Animate Cafes reservations, Things to Watch Out for and some Tips to make your cafe experience more fun.

Update November 2022: Animate Cafe has renewed and revamp its cafe booking system, with new rules on dine-in.

Updated August 2021: Added a section on Animate Cafe Online Goods (Post-event sales). Due to the Pandemic, Animate Cafe has started selling some of its exclusive collaboration goods online! ^ ^

So you are all set to travel to Japan and you just found out that your favorite anime/manga is having a collaboration cafe at the time you will be visiting Japan!

OMG! I want to go!!

But then you realize that the cafes don’t do walk-ins and you need a “ticket” reservation.

Oh no!! So how can you go about getting one when you don’t speak Japanese or are not a resident of Japan?

Well, I had to do a lot of prior research online (thanks to all who had shared their experiences ) for my very first anime cafe (which was an Animate Cafe). And not surprisingly, I had a lot of challenges and uncertainties while doing so. Most of the information I could find was simply not answering my questions on HOW to get those reservations!

Having gone to quite a few anime cafes over the years now, I can safely say that I’m somewhat familiar with the various systems. ^ ^

So I’ve decided to gather my experiences and share them here on my blog. Hopefully, it might help you out a little in your own anime cafe experiences!

Do note that the information found in this post is mainly for Animate Cafes in Japan. It may not apply to the overseas branches (e.g. Taipei and Bangkok) as they have their own rules and reward systems.

For information on other types of anime cafes in Japan, you can check out my post: Anime cafes … in a snapshot (An introductory post) In that post, I provide a brief overview on the different types of anime cafes in Japan which may be helpful to you.

Page Contents

ANIMATE CAFES RESERVATION SYSTEM

Honestly? It really isn’t that daunting once you get the gist of it. Especially since Animate has since updated their Animate Cafe website and really gave step-by-step instructions on how to go about doing it.

Google translate to English seems pretty alright for the site, so feel free to use that if you don’t understand Japanese.

Simply put:

Animate Cafes practices what you call an online “Lottery Reservation System” ( 抽選予約制 ) where you have to pre-register for the date(s) you plan to visit the cafe and ballot for tickets on the day/session you’ve selected.
There is another system (which probably isn’t a great translation but you get the idea) called the “Arrival Reservation System” or 空席予約システム that happens AFTER the Lottery Reservation System ballot results are out.
Update: Some Animate Cafes Campaigns now allows you to do walk-ins on certain days/branches which do not require a reservation ticket. Please refer to the official website for more details: https://cafe.animate.co.jp/
No Reservations are needed for the Animate Gratte Cafe and the Animate Cafe Mobile Truck. Animate Gratte Cafes are part of the Animate Cafe Family which serves “printed” character drinks and “printed cookies”. The Mobile Truck is usually found parked outside of the Animate Store in Ikebukuro.

ANIMATE CAFES: HOW TO RESERVE (INSTRUCTIONS)

Check out Animate Cafe’s official website for the different anime collaboration campaigns. They will generally announce the dates in advance. On average, each anime collaboration cafe lasts for 1 to 2 months.
Assess the lottery reservation system via a Club Animate ID, twitter or Facebook ID. (I went the Club Animate route and got an account because you can access other Animate events with that.)
Look out for the corresponding entry/registering period for the date(s) you plan to go for the cafe (Ticket entry period is usually 2 weeks to a month before the date(s) you are interested in attending)
Select the date; time slot (each session @ Animate Cafe usually is about 90 minutes); and the number of people attending via the system after you have logged in. There is an option for a one-time usage double-chance entry which boosts your chances during balloting. (More information can be found in the official guide on Animate Cafe’s website.)
Wait for the ballot results on the scheduled release date (Animate Cafe will announce the ballot results date on the website). Only “winning” entries will receive confirmation emails. You can also check your Animate account to see if you won the slots that you have balloted for.
Once you have gotten your reservation (Congratulations!), get ready to have a great time at the Animate Cafes! Remember to bring along a photo ID for verification on the day.

BUT what happens if you didn’t get the date you wanted? Or you didn’t get any tickets??

Don’t despair!!

Remember how I mentioned there is another system of Animate Cafe called the “Arrival Reservation System“?

ARRIVAL/VACANT RESERVATION SYSTEM

Well as you know, sometimes people cancel their reservations nearer to the dates. Or certain session timings are more off-peak than most, so there are still empty seats available on those sessions/days.

Animate has now come up with a friendly online system 空席予約システム where you can get these available tickets via a first-come-first-serve basis. It’s really easy to use. Previously I had to watch their twitter like a hawk and manually call them up to get these last-minute tickets. It’s tough if you are not fluent in the language.

However, a special online system has now been created for all the available tickets left after balloting. has been done. You can even check in advance the status of these 空席 (empty/available) tickets after the ballot results have been revealed! (Before this was introduced, it was only known the day before via their twitter account!)

Do note that the other anime cafes in Japan may have reservation systems that differs from Animate Cafes. For example, Anime Plaza practices a slightly different format than that of Animate but the concept is generally similar. Ufotable Cafe has their own rules as well.

All I can say is Twitter is a good friend to have if you want to fully indulge in your otaku-ness in Japan. 😊

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN ANIMATE CAFES

Please register using your real name and one that preferably matches a photo id you have. (Animate Cafe is really strict on this and they do conduct checks against a photo ID before you are shown to your seat. Passports are fine.) English names are perfectly fine. (I would assume other languages are fine too.)
Do show up on time. I recommend arriving at the cafe at least 10 minutes before your scheduled session. They reserve the right to refuse you entry if you are over 15 minutes late.
If you can, do try to select weekdays because weekends usually are full. Or select a timing that can be considered off-peak to most Japanese.
Take note of the location of the cafe you are going to!! Animate has 4 cafes in Ikebukuro itself (all within walking distance of course) but it would really mar your experience if you found out you went to the wrong cafe.
I can’t stress this enough but do adjust your expectations on how the food and drink tastes at these cafes. (There are some anime themed cafes that really serves delicious food but that tends to be the exception rather than the norm.)
If it’s the Animate mobile truck, you don’t need any tickets since it’s a food/drink truck and all.
Animate Gratte Cafe does not require reservations as well.
With the 2020 global pandemic , Animate Cafe has introduced new rules in respond to the situation. Read about them here.

SO WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU ARE SEATED?

A staff will generally show you to your seat/table and then asks if you have been to Animate Cafe before (if you answered yes, they will thank you ^ ^). They will then proceed to do the usual introductions on how to order the food/drinks from the menu and inform you when the last order timings will be.

For Animate Cafes, each order of a main/dessert or a drink will usually get you a random character coaster (novelty/bonus item) respectively.

Note: The free novelty (bonus) item differs for different Animate Cafe Campaigns and Anime Cafes. For example, some non-animate cafes give table-mats (place-mats) instead for each main/dessert ordered and coasters for drinks. Please refer to their respective website for details. [ For example: Yu Yu Hakusho x Anime Plaza Cafe 2017 and Ace Attorney X Capcom Cafe 2018 had both place-mats and coasters as novelty items.]

You have typically 90 minutes to enter the cafe, take lots of photos, buy merchandises and eat. A box (or basket) is provided under the table for you to place your bags. It is relatively safe to leave your table if you are a solo diner but I still recommend you pack light for the visit.

There is no time restriction in a sense to buy merchandises (i.e. you can leave your table anytime to select the merchandises you want and pay for it at the counter) but there is a cut-off time, usually 15 to 20 minutes before the end of your session.

A limit to the number of items you can buy for each type of Animate Cafe exclusive merchandise might be introduced by the staff. If so, the staff will give you an order form when you are seated. You will need to take the form with you for payment so they can check off the number of items you bought. Sometimes you can also pre-order some of the Animate Cafes exclusive goods sold out on your day of visit. (Check with the staff for details).

In recent years (2019 to be exact), Animate Cafe has introduced a Stamp Card Campaign service to reward you for your visits and spending at the cafes. Refer to the Tips section and my post: Animate Cafe Stamp Card for more information.

Oh and you generally don’t get to choose which table you will be at so the table-mats (place-mats) designs might or might not feature your favourite characters. Not sure if you can actually request for a change to a specific table but so far, I haven’t seen anyone doing so.

Most fans, I’ve noticed, order more than 1 drink each so to get more coasters. And don’t be surprised if many of them are repeat customers ^ ^ when you see the sheer amount of merchandises and coasters they brought with them during each visit.

You are free to roam around taking photos of the décor and merchandises. There usually will be “autograph books” where you can pen messages or draw some fanart in if you like to commemorate your visits. More often than not, there are also some “props” you can use to take photos of your food/drinks with. (You can check out my Instagram (click!) for some of these “props”).

Sometimes there will be photo booths (Nintama had it) or some game machines (My Hero Academia had it) which you can play during the session itself.

~~Oh and Animate Cafes generally will have the customers play a simple mini game sometime in the middle of the timed session you are in. So do join in! (refer to the Tips for more information)~~ Update: Animate Cafes seems to have discontinued the mini games.

ANIMATE CAFE TIPS

If you didn’t get the character you wanted from the merchandises or the coasters, you can always ask the other fans at other tables if they would like to exchange with you. Usually, they will display the ones they would like to exchange at the side of the table facing outwards. (For example, while I like Midoriya from My Hero Academia, I had like 3 of him for the acrylic stands that I bought! So I mustered up my courage to ask some of the other fans if they would like to exchange with mine. Turns out there was a Deku Superfan who obviously didn’t mind (thank you!), and another nice fan who didn’t mind exchanging it for another and I got Aizawa-sensei and All Might’s acrylic stands. ^ ^ )

Do apply for an Animate card from any Animate stores before you visit the cafes. It’s free so why not? Animate points can either help offset cost of purchases online or to exchange for campaign items. ~~You can accumulate points for the merchandise purchases as well as the food items you’ve ordered at the Animate Cafes.~~ (Update: Animate Cafe has stopped issuing Animate points for purchases made at all Animate Cafes from April 2019. Instead, they have introduced a new “Stamp Card” service. You can read more about it in my post: Animate Cafe Stamp Card (click!). Please note that some Animate Cafes are excluded from the Stamp Card Service.
UPDATE: It seems like that in recent years, they have stopped doing such mini-games in the cafe. Animate Cafes usually will play a mini game with the customers where you would have a chance to win some items. (Usually it’s the coasters). Fun fact: if one of you at the table won, everyone else at the table will usually get the free item as well. They will mention this at the start of the game if this is so. ~~You can check out my future posts on Yowapedal; Boku no Hero Academia and Nintama Animate Cafes respectively for an example of the games played.~~

HOW TO CANCEL ANIMATE CAFE RESERVATIONS?

If you are interested to know how to cancel Animate Cafe Reservations, here is some information that might be of use to you.

Click the link: Animate Cafe (How to cancel reservations)

Animate Cafe Exclusive Goods Online After Sales [Post-Campaign]

Awesome news for us overseas fans! Animate Cafe has started selling some of their exclusive cafe collaborations goods online!

This means that we might be able to get our hands on these exclusive goods even if we are not able to go to the cafe. ^ ^ Nevertheless, if you have a chance to, I highly recommend you to go to the cafe and experience the whole thing. You will definitely enjoy yourself!

In a nutshell, Animate Cafe has decided to do a post-campaign after sales of their cafe goods. What this means is that after the cafe collaboration has ended, selected goods are available for sale online.

The best thing is, if the cafe has a special bonus campaign with the goods, it will also be extended to the sales online! (YAY!)

For more information, please access the sales schedule page here. Happy Shopping! ^ ^

Note: Not all the goods will be sold online. Priority goes to on-site sales. As such, if the items are sold out (it often happens) at the cafe, they will not be selling them online.

MY ANIMATE CAFE ESCAPADES

Here are some of the Animate Cafes I’ve been to so far ^ ^ The list will be updated as it grows.

I’ve written about some of them so do check out the links below if you are interested! For the other type of anime cafes, just click on the anime cafe tags.

Yowamushi Pedal (2015)
Nintama Rantarou (2016)
My Hero Academia (2017)
Hunter x Hunter (2018)
My Hero Academia (2018)
Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card (2018)
Attack on Titan (2018)
Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle (2019)
Bungo Stray Dogs (2019)

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