Our Experience at the Pokémon Café, Tokyo

There are some travel moments that quietly slot into your memory and stay there forever. And then there are moments that sparkle. Our late-night visit to the Pokémon Café in Tokyo was very much the second kind.

If you’ve ever tried to book the Pokémon Café in Tokyo, you’ll know it’s not for the faint-hearted. About a month before our trip, I found myself locked in a very serious battle: me versus the Pokémon Café website refresh button. Laptop ready, PC locked and loaded, even my phone was brought in for the fight. It was a showdown that could possibly end in tears (mine). I think for us here in Scotland, it was around 9 or 10am that the website opened for bookings (sorry, you’ll need to check your own country’s timing as it was in 2023 we visited, so I don’t know if it has changed since).

Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.

Nail-biting doesn’t even begin to cover it. The stress, the anxiety and somehow, miraculously, when I thought the F5 button might fail me, I managed to secure a booking for the three of us. Huzzah! I had never been so pleased over securing a reservation before, even Disneyland Tokyo wasn’t as bad as this. Purely because it was one of the few things W said she wanted to do. Friends who were going to be in Japan at the exact same time? Who was trying to get the website to load at the exact same time? No such luck. It really is that competitive, which already made the booking feel like a small victory before we’d even packed a suitcase or got on a plane! There are other ways I’ve read that people can secure a reservation, but this is just how we did it.

We opted for a late-night time slot of 8:20pm – 9:50pm, it might actually have been the last time slot of the day and honestly? In hindsight, one of the best decisions.

Nara Deer by Day, Pokémon by Night

Because our booking was later in the evening (and we were still in Osaka), we could spend the morning wandering Nara and the deer park; feeding deer, soaking up the calm atmosphere, embracing the sunshine, trying to avoid being nibbled by the deer hunting for crackers… and then hop on the bullet train back to Tokyo without feeling rushed. It gave the day this perfect rhythm of calmness in the morning, bright and buzzing by night.

By the time we arrived at the café, it was nighttime, still a balmy Scottish summer sort of temperature, and Tokyo was glowing. Neon lights, tired feet, excited hearts.

Eevee Section = Instant Joy

We were seated in the Eevee section, which — if you know W — felt like fate. Eevee is one of her absolute favourites, and the second she realised where we were sitting, her face just lit up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile so much, or so brightly. Proper, whole-face, chipmunk cheeks, eyes shining with joy, sort of smile.

Honestly, watching her take everything in, the décor (it was stunning and every Pokémon fan will love it), the music, and the atmosphere was a highlight for me. Pokémon isn’t just a franchise to her, it’s comfort, excitement, childhood magic all rolled into one, and the café absolutely delivers on that feeling. It was special to Paul and me too, as we were around W’s age when Pokémon first graced our screens, and everyone was trading cards in the playground, so much so that it got banned in my school.

Halloween Food That Was Actually… Pretty Decent?

Because we visited in early November, the menu was still Halloween-themed, which meant spooky-cute presentation and Pokémon designs that were almost too nice to eat. Almost.

Theme cafés can sometimes be style over substance, but we thought that the food here was genuinely good. Tasty, thoughtfully done, and not bad portion sizes. Enough to feel satisfied without the dreaded “we need to find real food immediately after” moment. You might need a wee snack, but it just depends. Although it really does come down to personal taste afterall. I mean, you’re not booking the cafe for a 3 star michelin chef meal, but the atmosphere and theme really.

And yes, we absolutely took far too many photos before eating. Mandatory.

Now, remember this was 2023, so things might have changed each year, but I’ll give a rundown on what we ate and drank.

Being Paul’s favourite Pokémon and the obvious choice for his meal, he selected the Gengar set menu. This set meal was presented beautifully with a Gengar themed pot of beef stew, with veggies and cute Pikachu shaped bread as well as being paired with a tiramasu with a Gengar biscuit and a special place mat. He also chose the Gengar’s Confuse Ray Smoothie which was a grape-flavored frozen smoothie. He thought it was decent.

He said he really enjoyed his meal, but could have done with a larger portion of stew. I mean at 6″4 he does have hollow legs.

I chose the Pikachu and Squirtle’s Best Friends Forever Curry Plate. This was made of a few things, a hamburg steak disguised as a Pokéball, a seafood gratin Squirtle (both which had some sort of edible design), cute Pikachu rice and some veggies. I really enjoyed this and found it filling, the curry wasn’t spicy at all but the seafood gratin was perhaps my favourite on the plate.

My drink was the Sprigatito’s Melon Soda Float which is a melon soda float with ice cream, diced melon and cream, topped with a cute Sprigatito biscuit. Delicious!

W opted for the Snorlax Tummy Filling Nap Lunch Plate which consisted of rice with veg in a cute Snorlax bowl, chicken cutlet (might have been pork, I can’t remember), wedges and cut ‘z’ shaped veg laid on salad. Super cute and well designed! Like Paul, she enjoyed this and found it filling.

She did leave space (obviously) for a Pokéball ‘I Choose You’ dessert which was a sponge cake with a Pokémon design inside. And to round it off she had the Eevee royal milk tea with a cute Eevee biscuit, although she said this drink was bitter and didn’t enjoy it.

Again, our visit was in 2023 so their menu may have changed.

Dinner And A Show

Halfway through the meal, we were greeted with Chef Pikachu for a song and dance, which is captured in our video below.

Is the Pokémon Café Worth It?

Short answer: yes — especially if you’re travelling with a Pokémon fan (or are one yourself) and can fit it in your schedule and have the cash for it (as expected, a themed café is not cheap eating). On our visit, there were people of all ages, from families with younger kids to teens, and even adult visitors just embracing their childhood.

Longer answer: It’s worth it if you plan ahead and go in knowing the booking process is competitive, and you still might not secure a booking. Book as early as you can (aim for a month in advance), be prepared to refresh like your life depends on it, and consider late-night slots if your itinerary allows.

More than anything, though, it’s worth it for the feeling. The joy was contagious and the atmosphere electric. The way a place can make someone you love smile so hard that it becomes the moment you remember most from an entire trip to Japan.

For W, it was pure magic.
And for me? One of those travel memories I’ll treasure forever.