Didn’t get a reservation at the Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo? Want to visit an adorable take out cafe themed around Pikachu? Either way, you are definitely going to want to head to Pikachu Sweets.
This cafe is as colourful as it is cute and is run by the same people as the main cafe. Here you’ll find items such as hot and cold drinks, baumkuchen and waffles, mainly themed to Pikachu, but other Pokemon and trainers feature too. You can also pick up exclusive merchandise, like plush cup sleeves, plush keychains, straw charms and more.
I knew I wanted to try their famous Pokeffle (Pokemon waffle) so I ordered the Pikachu one and while I could have had a drink set featuring their latte art, I wanted to try the Pikachu float. This comes as a fruity soda with a little whip of ice cream on the top, finished with a random Pikachu biscuit.
The drink was delicious and disappeared in a matter of moments, but I was a little sad that the Pokeffle wasn’t completely covered in the yellow chocolatey coating. Only the part that shows is covered while the rest is plain. The waffle was perfectly nice, but you’re definitely paying for the theming with that one as it’s thin, so there isn’t much to it.
I didn’t pick up any merchandise, as nothing majorly caught my attention, but I did take advantage of the photo area, where you can take photos of your food and drink. The design in here is as cute as in the Pokémon Cafe, just on a much smaller scale. The artwork of Pikachu taking on jobs as a chef or patissier and a worker in the cafe is adorable and I also loved the Pokéball lights.
One of the things I loved, was how some of the more obscure Pokemon appear here, like Alcremie with a perfectly themed ice cream cup. Polteageist pours a couple of the tea drinks and you can even buy the teapot and the matching Sinistea cup here too. But my favourite feature has to be the Garbodor rubbish bin! The perfect place to dispose of your waste at the end of a visit and I’m sure he’d be thrilled to receive it.
The cafe is take out only, but there is an area to take photos of your purchased items, which is fun to do and I’m pretty sure everyone utilises it! However, if the mall is busy, you might struggle to find somewhere close by to sit and eat and drink. I went for opening, and while there was a little queue, the rest of the shopping centre was fairly quiet, so I easily found a bench outside the cafe to enjoy my treats. Definitely go early, as items on the menu sell out throughout the day and by the evening you’ll probably struggle to get what you want.
Once you’ve finished, the Pokémon Center is there to be browsed and there’s a lot of other Pokémon decor around the area, including big mural-esque artwork, pokeball lights in the escalator and lots of statues dotted around too.
Visiting information
Pikachu Sweets is open from 10am-8pm every day and it’s takeout only so no reservations are required. It’s a permanent location in Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City mall, which is close to Ikebukuro station, a major hub for both JR & Metro lines.
Would you visit if you went to Tokyo?
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