Poketinerary

No doubt most readers will already know all about the Pokémon Cafe’s in Japan, but for those that don’t, its a Pokémon themed restaurant where you can enjoy Pokémon inspired foods, drinks, entertainment and exclusive merchandise (dinnerware, plushies and so on – at time of writing no tcg cards!).

There’s currently two main Pokémon Cafe locations in Japan:

• Pokémon Center Tokyo DX: Accessed behind the Snorlax statue right next to the Pokémon Center on the 5th floor of the Nihombashi Takashimaya S.C. East Building
• Pokémon Center Osaka DX:  Located right next to the Pokémon Center on the 9th floor of the Daimaru Shinsaibashi Main Building.

Reservations open 31 days in advance and due to their popularity, are booked VERY quickly. No payment is required for booking so fomo and reselling of tickets is common.

To have a chance, you need to be trying to book from 6:00pm JST (Japan time).

Even being ready in time for daily reservation openings does not guarantee a slot. The website crashes, experiences glitches and you are forced to repeat various captcha requests – trust us, its not ideal and can turn into a bit of a hassle if you dont get lucky first time. Of course factors like time of year play a big factor on availability.

Here’s a direct link to the website: https://www.pokemon-cafe.jp/en/cafe/reservation.html

You will need to select which Cafe you are booking a reservation for.

Step 1: Visit the Official Booking Website

Here’s a direct link to the website: https://www.pokemon-cafe.jp/en/cafe/reservation.html

Step 2: Select Your Preferred Location

Either Osaka or Tokyo, as there’s currently only 2.

Step 3: Go to the Reservations Page

Scroll down after selecting the location, agree to the terms, and click ‘go to the reservation page’.

You may be prompted to complete a captcha, do so. Then proceed to reservation.

Step 4: Select the Reservation Criteria

Begin by choosing the number of guests attending (table size).

You will then be shown a calendar to pick your date from. Depending on the time you visited the website, it is highly likely every day will be ‘full’. This is why you need to ensure to be on this page exactly at 6:00pm JST. Whilst it is not impossible for a random day to have a free booking slot at any given time, it is rare.

Step 5: Enter Your Details

If you manage to select a slot, you will need to provide certain details such as your name and email address to complete the booking.

Once completed you will receive a confirmation email. Keep this confirmation handy.

The greatest difficulty you are likely to come across is just how quickly slots get filled every day. But keep trying if at first you do not succeed.

If your itinerary only allows you to visit on one specific day, you still have options:

Check for cancellations

• Check daily as spots do open up sometimes.
• Check a few days before your desired day.
• Check the night before your desired day, especially at 6:00pm JST.
• Check on the day and if you are in the neighbourhood, then you can simply go to the Cafe and inquire. It is not uncommon for staff to give out spots to customers in person due to no shows. It is a complete gamble, so if you intend to do this, we’d recommend getting there early in case other people have the same idea.

Of course if time allows, try for a different time or day. Or itinerary dependant, you can always try the other location, although we wouldn’t recommend travelling JUST to visit the Cafe.

• Ensure you are there on time. Late arrivals may lose their booking. They tend to give a 10 minute allowance and no more.
• Reservations are typically LIMITED to a set dining time. You cannot stay as long as you want. About 2 hours.
• Each guest needs to order at least one time.
• The menu changes seasonally.

It’s certainly a unique experience. We are die hard Pokémon fans and for us it is not a priority. Blunt honesty. That said, that’s OUR opinion. You may feel differently and that is okay. Here’s why we feel this way:

• The food, drinks and the Cafe itself are cool to look at. But the food is average and in our opinion, overprices compared to Japan as a whole. Certainly when compared to restaurants throughout Japan.
• Exclusive merchandise is in our opinion the highlight. But if your not a plushy fan, and have no desire for dinning ware and such, then you are unlikely to see the appeal.
• Entertainment. The vibe and character based entertainment is fun and very typical of Japan.

Japan is a paradise for food lovers. You are spoiled for choice everywhere you look. There’s just so many better options for us to recommend this based on the food. But if you care more for the experience, given its Pokémon theme, then you can’t go wrong!

Here’s some of our top tips to help based on our own experience:

• Be on the page EXACTLY as 6:00pm JST.
• Have multiple hourly slots in mind to avoid dwelling at the time.
• Refresh the page if your slot disappears. But complete the captcha quickly and correctly if prompted!
• Be persistent, if you cant book during your first attempt, try again the next day.
• If all slots become full quickly, keep trying frequently throughout the hour, slots commonly become available during that time due to cancellations or incomplete bookings. We have experienced this ourselves.
• To find out more about the Pokémon Cafe experience and whether it fits into your trip or not, click here!