Limited Time Offer！A Pilgrimage to the Hugely Popular Detective Conan Café

Text and photos byMazzy Bunny

Haha, sorry everyone, I only thought of sharing about the Conan Café after the limited period had already ended. I really did want to write this post earlier, but I was just too busy, and the limited period was so short. Now that I’m sharing, I can only ask you all to take a quick look at the photos. But if you’re a Conan fan, you’ll probably still be happy—just make some time soon to check out the Conan Museum in Tottori as well. I’ve been there for years and still haven’t written about it… XD.

Tokyo’s TOWER RECORDS CAFE SHIBUYA nValley store often collaborates with anime themes to launch limited-time themed exhibitions and themed cafés. The exhibition is on the 8th floor, and the café is on the 2nd floor.

Usually, you have to go up to the 8th floor first to get a ticket (numbered voucher) for the 2nd-floor café, then enter for your meal according to the ticket’s designated time slot. For extremely popular themes like Conan, it’s best to line up before the store opens to get a ticket, or you might not get a chance to enter.
For example, when I went to the 8th floor around 10 a.m., the ticket I got was for a 4 p.m. entry. The dining time slot is one hour, and apparently, there’s always a huge line before opening every day—just shows how awesome Conan is！

This time, in promotion of the new Conan movie, they specially transformed into the 【Detective CONAN CAFE Conan Detective Café】, operating from March 28 to May 10, 2015 (Osaka was from April 6 to May 31). Before Conan, the previous theme was Doraemon. At the time of writing this article, the current theme is 【JOJO’s Bizarre Adventure ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 from June 3 to June 21】. Younger folks may not know JOJO’s Bizarre Adventure, and while I don’t want to admit my age, it’s a super classic, high-energy manga—otakus should definitely check it out.

Whenever TOWER RECORDS CAFE SHIBUYA Valley store transforms into a themed café, the entire café is decorated accordingly, and even the food and drinks are designed with related imagery. This time, there were Conan coffee, Conan burgers, Conan pasta, Conan desserts… As a Conan fan, I went completely wild taking tons of photos.
(Kaitou Kid also made an appearance—these past two years Japan has been seriously promoting Kaitou Kid, who’s gaining popularity close to Conan’s and even got his own anime.)

Although you can’t see the Conan Café in Tokyo right now, you can still check the TOWER RECORDS CAFE SHIBUYA website to see what new themes they have. Anime fans, don’t miss out on updates. (Looks like I’d better just hurry up and write about the Conan Museum.)

%Although it’s just a temporary theme, the café is surprisingly good—even if you don’t drink coffee, the meals are still very satisfying, though the prices are a bit on the high side.

%After leaving the ticket counter, please line up properly at the entrance to the second floor. I want to say this: where exactly did you guys put your number tickets?

%It’s not just a themed café during the limited period—they also do regular events.

%If you’re visiting other places nearby, you might as well kill two birds with one stone. If you live nearby, you might want to… XD

%The themed café’s designed meal plates and cups have cute Conan designs. Customers can take photos with their favorite dishes. However, the staff doesn’t have any Cosplayers.

%Walk along the streets of Shibuya Valley toward the direction of Ichiran Ramen.

%And TOWER RECORDS CAFE SHIBUYA is also an old-school shop. There probably aren’t many record stores left in Japan besides them, which is why they need to transform.

%Originally it’s just a café, but when major events or themed exhibitions are held, they also do a great job with those. However, they didn’t add anything extra this time.

%I first went to the exhibition area to splurge and get the café’s ticket.

%You can take a photo with the shadowy figure and Conan here—it was actually my dream to get the shadowy figure’s autograph！！！

%I arrived at 10:30 a.m. and got a ticket for 4 p.m. Being a bit late isn’t a big deal because you still have to wait for the previous guests to leave. But once you arrive, just give your ticket to the staff and they’ll let people in according to number order. When we got there, the person ahead of us hadn’t gone in yet, but we only waited about ten minutes before it was our turn.

%I was lucky enough to get a window seat where I could clearly see the stairs (laughs).

%The theme of this visit was “what would happen if you came here.”

%Once you leave, you can come back again during the same day.

%It’s a theme café, so it changes pretty often.

%The time slot is limited to one hour, but it’s hard to find a time when it’s not crowded.

%I still need to introduce it.

%The café space itself is quite small, and it gets crowded easily, but it’s worth visiting even if it’s not a special theme.

% The desserts here are incredibly photogenic and truly scrumptious.

% The tiramisu is really delicious, and you can take it away. I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it, but today’s portion was... forget it.

% The menu isn’t very cheap, but everything tastes great, with no duds.

% I thought the pork curry rice looked good, but I couldn’t see the portion size, so I didn’t get it today. Today’s grilled chicken is... never mind.

% The most eye-catching thing at the cafe was the seasonal strawberry dessert.

% The grilled cheese sandwich was also amazing.

% The interior design is not bad, and I liked it.

% They have an automated coffee machine that dispenses drinks on the second floor, so you can order from downstairs and pick them up upstairs without waiting in line. (I heard they might change this system though)

% I’d recommend trying the grilled cheese sandwich; it’s really simple but super delicious. Also, the strawberry shortcake and the soft serve ice cream are highly recommended.

% The lunch set I had today was a new seasonal pasta. It came with salad, so it was quite filling, but the portion could be a bit bigger. Still, the flavors were all well-balanced, and nothing was disappointing.

% You can hang out here for a while; there aren’t any strict time limits or anything, but it does get pretty crowded.

% The prices here aren’t extremely high, but the portions are a bit small, especially the drinks. The drinks are good though—coffee, tea, juice, and soda are all okay.

% I hope they add more seasonal items; the strawberry shortcake is really tasty.

% The exit also has a Conan goods section now, with a merchandise area selling Conan-related items.

% I’ll come again.

% There are also snacks; I wonder how they are... XDDD

% There are also plush toys.

% I bought some Conan goods.

% I got a large Conan plush.

% Since there’s no line, you can take your time looking around.

Official site:TOWER RECORDS CAFE SHIBUYA
Business hours: 0:00 – 23:00 (TOWER RECORDS CAFE until 23:30)
Closed: Irregular holidays
Phone: 03-3496-3661 (TOWER RECORDS CAFE: 03-3496-3672)
Address: 0150-0041 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Kamihatchobori 1-22-14

※ Business days/hours may be subject to change. Please contact the store for details.
Access:
Exit from JR Shibuya Station’s Hachiko Exit, cross the intersection
Head toward Marui JAM, just before the traffic light, a 3-minute walk

Maji Bunny’s flying map
Eat, walk, take photos, and have fun... Welcome to join me in enjoying life.