Japan Collaboration Cafés: Our Favourite Themed Café Experiences

Japan takes themed cafés to another level. From games like Pokémon and Kirby, anime, Sanrio characters and even K-pop artists, there seems to be a collaboration happening somewhere almost all of the time.

Across our trips to Japan between 2023 and 2026, we've managed to dip our toes into the water. Some needed military-level planning to secure a reservation, while others we simply stumbled across by chance.

We've visited the Pokémon Café and Kirby Café in Tokyo, tried the Sanrio Café in Ikebukuro, attended a limited-time Love and Deepspace collaboration café in Osaka, and even unexpectedly discovered a NEXZ collaboration at Umeda Sky Building.

And if there's one thing we've learned, it's this: you don't necessarily visit a themed café in Japan because you're expecting the best meal of your holiday.

You go for the experience, the décor, the exclusive merchandise, the random collectable coaster you desperately hope features your favourite character and, occasionally, surprisingly good food.

Here's what we've experienced so far, plus some tips for finding and booking collaboration cafés during your own trip to Japan.

What Are Collaboration Cafés in Japan?

Japan has an incredible culture of temporary themed cafés and pop-up collaborations based around everything from anime and manga to video games, characters and music artists.

These can range from established permanent venues like the Pokémon Café and Kirby Café to limited-time collaborations which may only run for a few weeks.

Menus are normally designed around the characters or artists involved and can include themed or seasonal meals, desserts and drinks. Limited merchandise, collectable bonuses, character displays and photo opportunities are also common.

And that last part is important.

Sometimes, the merchandise and experience are really the main attraction rather than the food.

You'll often find exclusive acrylic stands, badges, plushies, stationery and other collectables alongside random bonuses such as coasters or postcards that come with your food or drink. Current collaboration listings show exactly this kind of model, with limited menus, merchandise and collectable order bonuses continuing to be a major part of Japan's café scene.

Love and Deepspace Café, Osaka

As a Love and Deepspace fan, this was one of the collaborations I’d specifically planned into my more recent trip.

The Love and Deepspace Café was being held at GALLERY Namba 2nd Store in Osaka, and although the collaboration was also available in Tokyo, Osaka worked better for my travel dates and, crucially, was easier for my to book since Tokyo is usually over subscribed.

Unlike some cafés where you can simply walk in, this one needed to be pre-booked with a deposit and ID on arrival.

The collaboration had a very cute cat theme, with large displays of the main characters throughout the café and music from the game playing on repeat in the background.

Food and drinks were ordered using a QR code at the table (all in Japanese which tested my language skills). The booking itself was manageable in English (thanks to Google translate in places), but once I arrived at the café there wasn't really any English available, so having your phone ready to translate things definitely helps.

I ordered a chicken dinner and tried some of the themed drinks, which were mainly things like ice cream floats and lattes.

Honestly?

The food was a bit meh.

But let's face it, I wasn’t really there for the chicken.

The themed atmosphere and merchandise were the real attraction. Food and drinks came with collectable bonuses, including coasters, and merchandise could also be ordered through the QR ordering system.

My biggest frustration was discovering that quite a few items I wanted were already out of stock. There were purchasing limits in place (most were either 2 or 4 that could be brought at the time), yet you didn't actually find out what was unavailable until you were inside the café trying to order.

I did manage to come away with my bias Xavier’s cat plushie and sticker roll, though!

For Love and Deepspace fans I'd still recommend the experience, but I'd go for the characters, merchandise and atmosphere rather than expecting an amazing meal. There were a lot of other customers showing off their bias plushies and keychains which made it fun.

 

 

NEXZ at Umeda Sky Building, Osaka

This experience was completely different because I hadn't planned it at all.

I was visiting Osaka's famous Umeda Sky Building to enjoy the views on my first night when I discovered that the building was running a special collaboration with JYP Entertainment group NEXZ.

Cue an unexpected K-pop detour.

Unlike Love and Deepspace, this wasn't a complete themed café takeover. Instead, the existing café had a special NEXZ drinks menu alongside the wider collaboration happening throughout the building.

There were large group displays, promotional artwork and a recorded welcome video messages from NEXZ playing in the café area.

Better still, no reservation was needed.

The special drinks were around £5-£6 each and came with a random member coaster.

I got Yuki!

Exclusive collaboration merchandise was also available, and it ended up being one of those brilliant little discoveries that I hadn't planned into the trip at all.

It's also a great example of why we recommend looking out for temporary collaborations while travelling around Japan. They aren't necessarily confined to dedicated character cafés, and sometimes you'll discover them somewhere completely unexpected.

 

 

Sanrio Café, Ikebukuro, Tokyo

The Sanrio Café at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro was much more relaxed.

A a small group we didn't need to make an advance reservation. Instead, we collected a numbered ticket at the entrance and waited to be called when a table became available. We visited later in the afternoon, after the main rush, and only waited around 15 minutes.

Inside, the décor was lovely, with Sanrio characters represented throughout the café.

Our favourite touch was the plushies placed around the dining area. Having Sanrio characters sitting alongside you at the table made for some very cute photo opportunities.

For food, we all chose versions of the café's pancakes.

Although we're using the term pancakes somewhat generously. They were more like slices of cake surrounded by a looooooot of cream.

There was also a shop attached to the café with plenty of cute merchandise. We didn't feel the selection was particularly exclusive compared with what we'd seen in other Sanrio stores around Japan, but it was still enjoyable to browse.

Would we make a special journey across Tokyo purely for this café? Probably not.

But if you're already exploring Ikebukuro and Sunshine City (for us we wanted to go to the Studio Ghibli store), it's definitely worth stopping by.

 

 

Pokémon Café, Tokyo

And now we come to the serious reservation battles.

The Pokémon Café in Tokyo was one of the cafés I specifically wanted to experience during my trip, and securing our table wasn't easy.

The Pokémon Café remains reservation-based, with official reservation pages provided for its Tokyo and Osaka cafés. [pokemon-cafe.jp], [pokemon-cafe.jp]

When I visited , I had to be ready when reservations became available and securing one felt like a bit of a battle (think battling for concert tickets).

I even purchased specific Pikachu coasters when making my reservation.

Once inside, however, the experience made all that effort worthwhile.

The Pokémon-themed décor was fantastic, and one of the highlights was a special Pikachu appearance accompanied by recorded music and dance.

I tried a selection of the themed menu, including character dishes, drinks, fruity tea and a cream dessert.

As for the food?

This is another one that falls into the "looks better than it tastes" category.

It wasn't terrible by any means, but the presentation and experience were definitely the stars of the show.

The Pokémon Café also has its own merchandise, and the official site continues to promote original café goods alongside its character-themed meals, drinks and entertainment. [pokemon-cafe.jp]

For Pokémon fans, I'd absolutely say it's worth experiencing at least once.

 

 

Kirby Café, Tokyo

Kirby Café was my favourite.

Like Pokémon Café, this one involved a bit of reservation determination.

I initially struggled to secure a table, but because I weren't particularly fussy about the date or time, I kept going back and checking for cancellations.

Eventually, success!

Even today, the official Kirby Café acknowledges that reservations can be difficult to secure, particularly immediately after reservations open because of high demand. [kirbycafe.jp]

And I’m glad I kept trying.

The Tokyo café is located at Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi (which is very easy to get to), and the whole place was beautifully themed. [kirbycafe.jp]

Staff were really friendly and the experience starts before you've even properly sat down, including an opportunity to take a photo on your phone with a giant Kirby themed fork.

Food-wise, we tried an omurice dish and the incredibly cute Kirby car-themed dessert.

And this time, the food actually tasted pretty good!

Obviously you're still paying for the theme and experience, but out of the character cafés we've tried, Kirby did the best job of combining cute presentation, enjoyable food and a genuinely fun atmosphere.

There's also a Kirby Café The Store, so even if you don't manage to secure a café reservation, you can still get your Kirby shopping fix.

If we were choosing just one of our themed café experiences to repeat, Kirby would get the vote.

 

 

Biggest Tip: Plan Ahead, But Look for Cancellations

The biggest lesson from our experiences is that there isn't one universal way to visit a collaboration café in Japan. 

Just make sure if there's a specific café you absolutely don't want to miss, research it before you travel.

Also, don't automatically give up if your preferred date is sold out. My Kirby Café experience only happened because I kept checking until a cancellation became available.

At the same time, leave some room in your itinerary for spontaneous discoveries. I'd never have found the NEXZ collaboration if every minute of my Osaka trip had been planned in advance.

How To Find Collaboration Cafés in Japan

So how do you actually find out what's happening during your trip?

There are a few websites we recommend checking.

Sweets Paradise

Sweets Paradise Collaborations is worth checking before travelling because Sweets Paradise regularly lists its current and upcoming collaborations, including their event periods. [sweets-paradise.jp]

Collabo Cafe

Collabo Cafe is particularly useful because it covers much more than cafés. You can browse information about collaboration cafés, pop-up stores, exhibitions, merchandise, gacha and other limited events, with listings also organised by areas including Ikebukuro, Akihabara and Osaka. [collabo-cafe.com]

This is a great one for going down the rabbit hole before your holiday.

Animate Café

Animate Café is another one to bookmark, particularly for anime and game collaborations. The official site lists collaborations that are currently running and upcoming events, as well as linking to reservation information and shop locations. [cafe.animate.co.jp]

Because collaborations come and go, we'd recommend checking these sites both while planning your trip and again shortly before you travel.

Another Recommendation: Emirichu

If themed cafés are your thing, we'd also recommend checking out YouTuber@Emirichu.

The channel isn't exclusively about collaboration cafés, but themed cafés are something frequently featured and there's even dedicated café content to binge through.

Watching other fans visit themed cafés is also a good way of getting an idea of what the experience is actually like before deciding whether you want to include one in your own Japan itinerary.

Are Japan's Themed Cafés Actually Worth It?

After some trips to Japan, we'd say yes, as long as you go with the right expectations.

Don't necessarily book a character café because you're looking for the best meal of your holiday.

Book it because you love the thing it's celebrating.

For us, that's ranged from Pokémon and Kirby to Love and Deepspace, Sanrio and NEXZ. Each experience was completely different.

Sometimes the food was genuinely enjoyable.

Sometimes the food photographed considerably better than it tasted.

Sometimes the merchandise we desperately wanted was sold out.

And sometimes we weren't even looking for a collaboration and unexpectedly found one.

But that's also what makes Japan's collaboration café culture so much fun.

If you're heading to Japan, we'd definitely recommend leaving space in your itinerary for at least one themed café or collaboration experience. You never know which one might end up becoming one of your favourite memories from the trip.