Check booking
← Back to home

Pokemon Cafe Tokyo: How to Book the Nihonbashi Reservation Window

A practical guide to booking the Tokyo Pokemon Cafe at Takashimaya Shopping Center East Building 5F in Nihonbashi. The cafe reopens 17 June 2026 after a renovation, and the first three weeks of bookings drop together.

Updated 26 May 2026

JUN 17

Tokyo cafe reopens 17 June 2026

After a renovation that began in March 2026, the Tokyo Pokemon Cafe at Nihonbashi reopens on 17 June 2026. The cafe released all 21 days of reservations from 17 June to 7 July in one mass batch at 18:00 JST on 17 May, and continues to release one new day every evening at 18:00 JST from then on, as usual.

The Tokyo Pokemon Cafe is on the 5th floor of the Takashimaya Shopping Center East Building in Nihonbashi, central Tokyo. It is reservation-only, and the booking window opens at 18:00 Japan time exactly 31 days before the visit date, the same as the Osaka cafe at Daimaru Shinsaibashi. With the renovation period ending in mid-June, search demand around the Tokyo cafe is unusually high right now, and seats for the reopening dates are scarce.

How Tokyo Pokemon Cafe reservations work

The Tokyo cafe shares one public booking page with the Osaka cafe. Both cities release seats exactly 31 days ahead at 18:00 Japan time and run the same 8-step reservation form. Choosing Tokyo over Osaka is a single dropdown selection on the booking site; everything else about the reservation flow is identical.

Release time and date window

Reservations open at 18:00 Japan time (10:00 BST in summer, 09:00 GMT in winter, 04:00 New York, 01:00 Los Angeles, 19:00 Sydney). Each day's release covers the visit date 31 days ahead. On busy days the whole batch sells out in under a minute. The cafe site allows one visit per name per release, so a family of four still books a single reservation for the table.

Tokyo reopening on 17 June 2026

The cafe closed for renovation in March 2026 and reopens on 17 June 2026. To handle the demand for the reopening, the cafe ran a mass release on 17 May at 18:00 JST that opened bookings for every day from 17 June to 7 July at once, instead of releasing only one day's worth of seats. From 8 June onward the cafe is back on the normal one-day-ahead rolling release pattern, where the visit date 31 days out opens each evening at 18:00 JST.

Party size policy

The Tokyo cafe accepts parties of 1 to 6 guests on a single reservation. Children of any age count toward the 6-guest cap. Groups larger than 6 are not supported on a single booking; if you are travelling as a group of 7 or more, the practical approach is to book two adjacent reservations and ask the cafe staff to seat you together on the day.

Walk-in and same-day policy

The cafe does not accept walk-ins or same-day reservations. If you arrive at Takashimaya East Building 5F without a confirmed booking, you will not be seated, no matter how empty the dining room looks at the time. Cancellation seats can sometimes appear in the public booking system up to 22:00 Japan time the night before the visit, which is the cancellation cut-off the cafe enforces.

Menu access

The Tokyo Pokemon Cafe operates a themed menu that rotates over time, often differing from the Osaka menu, with the limited-edition drinks, plates, and desserts that the cafe is known for. Menu access is included with any standard reservation, so the only thing you need to land in advance is the seat. You order from the menu on the day; the booking itself is for the table.

How to get to Takashimaya SC East Building 5F

The Tokyo cafe is on the 5th floor of the Takashimaya Shopping Center East Building, which is a short walk from Nihonbashi Station in Chuo-ku, central Tokyo. The simplest route from anywhere in central Tokyo is the Ginza, Tozai, or Asakusa subway line to Nihonbashi Station, or the JR Yamanote Line to Tokyo Station followed by a 10-minute walk.

Pokemon Cafe Tokyo location

5th floor, Takashimaya Shopping Center East Building, 2-5-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.

Nearest station
Nihonbashi Station (Ginza Line, Tozai Line, Asakusa Line)
Walking time
2 to 3 minutes from Nihonbashi Station Exit B2, direct access into Takashimaya
Floor
5F of the Takashimaya Shopping Center East Building (Higashikan)
Access from Tokyo Station
About 10 minutes on foot through the underground passage, or one stop on the Marunouchi Line to Otemachi then walk

From Nihonbashi Station, take Exit B2 and follow the underground passage that leads directly into the Takashimaya complex. The cafe is on the 5th floor of the East Building (Higashikan), reachable by the escalators or elevators inside Takashimaya. The 5F directory inside Takashimaya signposts the cafe in English.

If you are staying near Tokyo Station, the cafe is about a 10-minute walk through the underground passages that connect Tokyo Station to Nihonbashi, or one stop on the Marunouchi Line to Otemachi followed by a short walk. From Asakusa, the Ginza Line direct to Nihonbashi takes around 9 minutes. From Haneda Airport, the Tokyo Monorail plus JR Yamanote Line to Tokyo Station takes about 40 minutes; from Narita, the Narita Express to Tokyo Station takes about an hour.

How CafeSnap helps for the Tokyo cafe

If 18:00 Japan time falls in the middle of your night and your trip dates around the Tokyo reopening are fixed, the practical option is to ask a reservation service to handle the booking for you. CafeSnap is built specifically for the Osaka and Tokyo Pokemon Cafe.

You give us your preferred Tokyo visit dates, your party size, the name on the booking, and your email. We submit the reservation to the cafe in your own name and email at the 18:00 JST release, and continue watching for cancellation seats on your preferred dates until the day before your earliest visit. The cafe's confirmation email lands directly in your inbox. You walk into Takashimaya East Building 5F on the day with the reservation reference and your party name.

If we cannot secure any of your Tokyo dates by the day after your last preferred date, Stripe refunds your card automatically. No email to chase, no support ticket.

Pricing

Two tiers, both flat for the whole party (1 to 6 guests). Prices show in your own currency at Stripe checkout, so the amount on your card matches what you see on the homepage.

Standard
£8
Flat reservation fee for the whole party. We submit for your Tokyo dates at the 18:00 JST release and keep watching for cancellation seats until the day before your earliest visit. Full automatic refund if no Tokyo date lands.
Priority
£18
Recommended for the reopening dates (17 June to 7 July 2026), holidays, and peak weekends, where demand is highest. Same flat fee for the whole party, plus quicker Telegram support if a question comes up before your visit.

Prices update automatically if our base fee changes. Stripe handles the local-currency conversion at checkout, so a USD or EUR card sees the same amount in their own currency.

Book the Tokyo Pokemon Cafe without staying up for the release

Tell us your Tokyo dates and party size. We handle the cafe form at 18:00 JST and watch for cancellation seats until the day before you visit.

Start your reservation

Common questions about the Tokyo cafe

Is the Pokemon Cafe Tokyo the same as the Osaka one?

The cafes share a brand and a reservation system, but the locations and menus are independent. The Tokyo cafe is on the 5th floor of the Takashimaya East Building in Nihonbashi; the Osaka cafe is on the 9th floor of Daimaru Shinsaibashi in central Osaka. Some limited-edition menu items differ between cities, and the dining rooms are themed independently. If your trip only stops in Tokyo, you book the Tokyo cafe specifically; the Osaka cafe is a separate reservation.

When did the Tokyo cafe reopen?

The Tokyo cafe closed in March 2026 for a renovation and reopened on 17 June 2026. To handle the reopening demand, the cafe released bookings for the first 21 days back (17 June to 7 July 2026) in one mass release at 18:00 JST on 17 May, instead of releasing one day at a time. From 8 June onward the cafe returned to the normal one-day-ahead rolling release at 18:00 JST each evening.

How early should I arrive on the day?

The reservation slot is fixed, and the cafe runs a strict seating schedule because tables turn over throughout the day. Arriving 10 to 15 minutes before your slot is comfortable. The 5F entrance to the cafe is inside Takashimaya East Building and is signposted in English. If you are more than 15 minutes late, the cafe may cancel your booking and seat the next party in the queue.

Can I cancel a Tokyo reservation if my plans change?

Yes. The cafe accepts cancellations up to 22:00 Japan time the night before your visit, through the cancellation page on their own reservation site. Because the booking is in your own name and email, you can cancel it directly with the cafe at any time, and the freed seat goes back into the public booking system for the next traveller.

What is special about the reopening dates?

Demand for the Tokyo reopening dates is far higher than a typical Tokyo release because the cafe is the only Pokemon Cafe in eastern Japan and was closed for nearly three months. The 17 May mass release sold out within minutes for the first weekend dates. Cancellation seats for the reopening window appear in the public booking system periodically, which is the most common way to land a reopening date now that the initial release has passed.

Are tickets to the Tokyo cafe transferable?

The reservation is held in the booking party's name and the cafe checks the name on arrival. Reservations are not formally transferable between parties; if your plans change, the safest route is to cancel the booking through the cafe's cancellation page so the seat goes back into the public system. The fee paid to us is for the work of securing the seat and is not refunded after the seat is confirmed, the same way a travel agent's booking fee is not refunded if you change your plans.

Skip the 18:00 JST sprint for the Tokyo cafe

£8 flat for the whole party (1 to 6 guests), shown in your own currency at checkout. Full automatic refund if we cannot land any of your Tokyo dates.

Start your reservation

More reading