Right in the heart of Akihabara, we’re able to find the out-of-the-world venue, Princess cafe. This place is known for the numerous otaku (nerd) collaborations they have, no matter the time of year you go, there will be some type of event going on!

This time, however, what Princess had prepared was a BanG Dream themed cafe which was available between August and September, and of course, as BanG Dream fans ourselves, we couldn’t resist the temptation of a super cute music-centered cafe.

The cafe could also be found in other locations such as Ikebukuro (Tokyo), Akihabara (Tokyo), Osaka, Nagoya, and Sapporo. Each location with its own set period.

BanG Dream! Cafe Akihabara Date: August 2 – September 8

Location: Princess Cafe, Akihabara

Reservation: 650 yen. Making a reservation is recommended, do it at least three days before the appointed date via the official website. Maximum four people per reservation.

Rather than promoting the cafe with photos of the actual food, you would mainly find this illustration with each of the members holding a food tray.

At its building, Princess takes up two floors, and getting here by foot from the Akihabara station is a simple task. We walked from the station to the Ogiso building and straight up to the third floor, there was the BanG Dream collaboration cafe. The elevator ride was nice enough with the warm bodies of fellow otaku lightly pressing against each other. Cramped Japan, never changes.

As we arrived on the third floor and the door opened, it was like coming home. Just in front of the elevator was a medley of wonderful 2D girls waiting to greet us.

“Welcome home”. If they were real, that’s what they would have said, but they aren’t real and that’s why it’s so great. Remember 2D beats 3D.

Immediately to our right was a curtain separating us, the otaku filths, from the pristine cafe. Peering just beyond the curtain you could see the wonderfully decorated room. Saya, Maya, Kanon, and the Udagawa sisters were plastered all about the cafe giving it a warm and inviting feeling.

The kind staff shuffled over and stamped our ticket in what I could only describe as in interestingly fascinating method. You see, the ticket was digital, displayed on our phone screens. The staff member took what looked like a stamp and pressed it against the screen—while the phone was displaying the webpage—and like magic, a stamp appeared on the screen. This place sure is magical.

As we were brought to our table we were treated to more of the cafe’s decor. The selected members of the bands were the stars of the cafe.

Of course, the experience wouldn’t be complete without some non-stop BanG Dream music and visual accompaniment.

The tables were decorated with one of a few randomly selected placemats. Additionally, since we had reserved our table we were awarded some freebies such as stickers, also randomly selected.

Of course, the real reason we are all here is for the food, so let’s take a look at the menu.

An assortment of themed entrees, signature Yamabuki bread that included a Choco Cornet, and some interesting desserts to choose from. So what did we order?

Of course, some of Ako’s blueberry goodness, and…

Some of Maya’s delicious melon juice. Overall the drinks were simple enough and were great when it came to the flavor. To be fair, it would have been quite hard to mess up. As for the food, let’s have look at our orders.

The Roselia seafood medley, and Tomoe’s favorite, Ramen.

The attention to detail was honestly a pleasant surprise. The Roselia plate came with an edible wafer that had a portrait of the band stamped onto it. Even the chopsticks for the ramen had a special sleeve with a comic printed on it.

The meal would not have been completed, however, without the addition of a fine dessert.

Dear God, we’re eating her head and loving every minute of it! Yes, the food was actually quite interesting. Was it Gordon Ramsay pleasing? Probably not. But, it was good for what it was, neither of us had any complaints and ate every last bit. If it was a year-round cafe multiple visits could be justified by the food alone.

No limited edition collaboration cafe is complete without limited edition merch. The BanG Dream cafe had plenty of that too. From limited-edition posters and wall scrolls, to magnets and collectible clear files. The cafe had it all. True to the gacha game (randomized prize), there were also blind collector’s pins so you could test your luck.

It was a decent offering of merchandise that had also been very clearly popular with the hordes of fans that came through the cafe through its limited stay. If you ever have a chance to visit a limited time cafe for something you are into in Akihabara, definitely go to it. It’s not something you will regret!

More info:

BanG Dream! Cafe Official Website

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