Update 26 June 2018: Cafe now permanently closed and has been for quite a while now. Sorry for the slow update
My Tokyo trip is never complete until that moment when I get to visit a new themed cafe. This time round I just googled multiple combinations of (insert anime name)+cafe just to see if any of my favourite anime opened a new cafe. Bam! What do you know, Gintama has one. Like whaaaat?! I have not watched Gintama (yet) but my sister/travelling buddy is a big fan of the series.
This cafe is relatively new during my 2015 visit as it was just opened in August that same year.
The cafe is located in Ikebukuro which is also famous for its ‘Otome Road’.
The interior of the cafe is definitely breathtaking. Definitely worth the visit even for non-fans.
Reservation
Similar to most popular anime/game themed cafe, reservation is possible and seats do get sold-out. Patrons are given a 2-hour slot for each visit and there will be events in the cafe during the time. Once the 2-hours start, they will not allow any one inside and late-comers will have to wait for the next slot.
Reservation can be done online via this link: Characro Gintama
(Reservations are open up to 2 weeks before the visit date, refer to this link to navigate the reservation page: Step-by-step Guide for Gintama Cafe)
There is no reservation charge or ticket pick-up. Just show up at the cafe with your email confirmation. However, there is a 500Yen table charge per head when you dine in the cafe.
Location
Station : Ikebukuro Station (Tokyo Metro/JR) – West Exit
600 m walk from station to Cafe
(Input this name into Google Map: カフェ&バー CHARACRO(キャラクロ) 池袋店)
Pictures
Enjoy your visit!
Thank you for the detailed guide!! I was going crazy trying to figure out how to make a reservation, this was a life saver! 🙂
One question though, is it required to order a certain amount of food when you visit? My plan is to order only dessert and drinks, but I’m not sure if this would be ok.
Thanks!
Hi, glad this has been useful. They didn’t seem to have a rule over that. Probably cause they charged 500yen table fee per person anyway. There were people ordering only drinks actually.
Thank you !!! 🙂
Thank you so much for this! I feel like I can go to this now after reading your guide and I’m adding it to my Japan trip agenda in a few weeks. Even though I’ve been attempting to learn Japanese for a few years, I am still very much a beginner. Would you say that it’s difficult to order things or participate with limited Japanese language ability?
My second question is do they take credit cards? I want to know how much money to allot since I’ll probably be spending quite a bit of money here.
Glad this helps. 😁 The menu have more pictures rather than words so shouldn’t be a problem. And the waitress there are very nice and helpful. I’m also a super beginner in Japanese and I can barely read anything without google translate.
Based on the website, They don’t accept credit cards though. This was written on their ‘guide’ page;
大変恐れ入りますがクレジットカード、各種電子マネーはご利用いただけません
Thank you for your reply!!! I feel so much better about visiting now. I will be sure to save up my cash for this adventure. And a million thanks for your reservation guide! I will definitely be using it.