Tokyo Amato

Pop-up cafe's can be hard to attend. Of course pop-up cafes are temporary, which automatically creates a race against time, as well as the chance that you may need to compete with others just for table. Some pop-up cafes are first come first serve (where you may need to wait in line for hours), while others are advanced bookings only. There was a pop-up cafe I tried to attend in February that was completely booked all the way though to the cafe's last operating day. For that reason, I was more that relieved that I got a chance to visit the Chibiusa cafe in Roppongi Hills before it closed earlier this month. Patrons can enjoy a great view of Tokyo and Tokyo Tower, which is actually the backdrop of the original series.

Mini Moon herself, from the cafe's website

Chibiusa (Also known as Rini or Mini Moon in the English adaptation) is a fictional character from the insanely popular Sailor Moon franchise. The series follows the adventures of a young magical girl named Usagi, (Serena in the English adaption) and her sailor scouts, who fight crime and various forces if evil. Chibiusa is a sailor scout, as well as Sailor Moon's daughter from the future (it gets a little more complicated from there, of course). Despite being a character that many found to be too bratty, Chibiusa earned her own cafe this past April, and was packed each day accordingly.

Sailor Moon related cafes certainly aren't uncommon. One pops up at least every few months in some part of Japan. Osaka had its own cafe a few months back, while a Sailor Scout themed bar popped up for a bit during the later half of 2015. This particular cafe was in conjunction with the Roppongi Hills Exhibition that featured art work and merchandise from the original manga and TV series, as the revamp which is currently in its third season. Patrons had to first pat admission to the exhibition, and then could attend the cafe at the end of the gallery if they chose (and of course pay for their lunch on top of the admission fee).

Replica wand from the series featured in the exhibition

The menu wasn't huge, but I still had a hard time choosing something, even after weeks of previewing the treats online. Each were of course modeled after a character in the series. The most creative one in my opinion had to be the Tuxedo Mask pasta. Not pictured are sodas which were modeled after each of main sailor scouts.

Three Talisman Curry

Sky Miracle Romance Parfait

Tuxedo Mask Pasta

Sailor Moon Special Burger

Luna P Ball Berry Mousse

I settled for the burger for two reasons. One because its pink and that's how I make several of my life choices. Two, because it reminded me of that episode of Spongebob where Spongebob gets the idea to sell pretty patties, and we all know how well that turned out for Spongebob in the end.

Without bacon of course. The jewels on top are actually jelly beans.

I am actually huge burger snob, and really picky about where I get burgers from in Japan, but this burger really didn't disappoint. It was cooked medium well, and had the right about of grease without feeling like it came straight from McDonald's. The only thing that wasn't really worth it on the plate was probably the star shaped tater tots. I mean to be fair, I don't think anyone has ever paid for tater tots and actually been like Man, these tots are absolutely divine. Please give my regards to the chef. They're more like that thing a lot of people tend to drown in ketchup (because they need it) and keep on moving. The moon on top of the tots was basically a tortilla chip with no salt. Basically there just to be cute.

I finished up with the Sailor Moon Parfait, which was basically a sweetness overload.

Ice cream, strawberries, cream, corn flakes and jello topped with a fondant crescent moon and gram crackers. Notice the cute little bow that was also edible.

This ended up being a little bit different than the picture. Whoever made mine decided to put the bits of waffle up so that it actually resembled Chibiusa's hair, or at least that was what I took from it. I honestly only ate about half, one because this parfait was huge, and two because jello-y part towards the bottom just became too much. I think pretty much everyone else had this same feeling since I saw a ton of half eaten parfait dishes being left behind as other customers came and went.

As to be expected, this cafe wasn't a cheap experience, but totally worth the hour and a half wait I endured before getting seated. However service once inside the cafe was pretty fast, minus at the end of my meal where I had to ask three different waiters for my check. This cafe was slammed however, and I totally understand how a lot of the staff felt. As I said before, Sailor Moon related cafes aren't uncommon in Japan, so don't worry if you missed this one and are planning on traveling to Japan in the future. However keep in mind that cafes like these are almost always temporary, so be prepared to have to fight the crowds. Regardless, I definitely enjoyed the cafe, and will likely be going to whatever the next related cafe is when another pops again.