Pokémon Card Cocktail Bar in Tokyo: Is It Worth It?

On social media, the Pokémon card cocktail bar in Tokyo looks like the perfect night out for a fan. You hand the bartender a card. They make a drink to match it. Then it comes out with your card standing next to it, ready for a photo.

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In this guide 9 sections

We're Pokémon people. We play Pokémon GO, we went to Pokémon GO Fest in Tokyo in May, we've done GO Tour in Los Angeles twice, and we run a whole second channel about it. So during our month in Tokyo, Cream and I had to try it.

The best part of the night happened before we ever sat down. The bar itself was a letdown. Here's how it works, what it costs, where to buy your card, and what we'd do instead.

Is the Pokémon Card Cocktail Bar in Tokyo Worth It? My Quick Answer

No, not for us. We gave TCG/BOARD GAME Cafe & Bar FUN a 4 out of 10. The idea is great, but our drinks were small for ¥2,550 (about $16) each, they tasted like Sprite with color in it, and the room felt dark and stiff. We felt a bit scammed. Shopping for the cards at a card shop around the corner was more fun than the drinks.

How the Pokémon Card Cocktail Works

The card cocktail is FUN's signature drink. You show the bartender a card you love, and they make an original cocktail to match it on the spot.¹ This is how it went for us:

• Bring a card. Any trading card works, not only Pokémon.
• Order from the menu. They hand you a menu, and the card cocktail is one of the options.
• Hand over your card. The bartender makes a drink based on it.
• Get it back on a stand. The drink comes out with your card standing beside it.
• Keep the card. It goes home with you.

The card cocktail is ¥2,000, tax included, and the last order for it is 10 PM. The bar doesn't make it without alcohol, and it can't adjust it for allergies. On top of that, everyone pays a ¥550 entry fee.² So your first card drink costs ¥2,550, about $16.

First, Buy Your Card at Cherumo (the Best Part)

We wanted to pick fun cards to turn into drinks, so we went card shopping near the bar first. That turned out to be the best part of the whole night.

We went to Akihabara Cherumo, a trading card shop on the third floor of a building by the north exit of JR Okachimachi Station. It was so busy. Cards were everywhere: shelves of single cards, boxes, and bundles in every direction. We spent about 30 minutes picking.

Card shopping in Japan is a whole different world. The cards, the culture around them, and the range of prices are nothing like home.

We came out with four cards for about $16: Pikachu and Mewtwo for the first round, and Charizard and Rayquaza for the next.

Cherumo sells cards for more than 20 games and runs a space for playing on the same floor. It's open from 11 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 10:30 AM to 9 PM on weekends and holidays, with irregular days off.⁵ Even if you skip the bar, it's worth a look.

Our Pokémon Card Cocktails

I had Pikachu and Cream had Mewtwo, but we share everything, so really we both had both.

When they bring the drinks over, they shine a light on them so you can see the sparkles. That part is cool. But once the light is gone, so are the sparkles, which is kind of weird.

Pikachu // Yellow, but No Shock

It was yellow. That's where the Pikachu ended. It wasn't lemony or sour at all. For an Electric-type, I wanted something sharp and a little shocking. Even a magazine write-up about the bar uses Pikachu as its example of a yellow, citrusy drink. Ours tasted like sweet soda.

Mewtwo // Purple Soda

Mewtwo came out a pretty purple, and it looked the part in photos. It tasted exactly the same as the Pikachu: sugary Sprite with color and no real flavor. There's alcohol in them, but we couldn't taste it in either one, and both were small for what they cost. We'd seen much cooler drinks made for similar cards online.

What We Didn't Love: The Room

It's a basement bar, and it was dark. The waiter wore a suit. It felt stuffy and a little snooty, which is a strange mood for a bar built around Pokémon cards.

You can play card games and board games there, but it doesn't feel inviting. It isn't a place to sit and chill. We didn't play anything, and we left after about 20 minutes.

We'd planned two more rounds, and we'd already bought the Charizard and Rayquaza cards for them. We both decided it wasn't worth another ¥4,000. We even started filming, then stopped, because we didn't like the experience. It just wasn't as fun as social media made it look.

Who Will Like FUN, and Who Should Skip It

Go if you want one photo of your favorite card next to a matching drink and ¥2,550 feels fine for that. Card game players may like it more than we did. The bar lets you bring your own deck, play its board games, and sit at the counter if you're alone.⁴

Skip it if you want a good cocktail, a lively bar, or good value. Skip it if you don't drink, since the card drinks always have alcohol. And you have to be 18 or over to get in.

FUN Pokémon Card Cocktail Bar: Location, Hours, and Booking

• Address: B1F Yaegaki Building, 5-23-8 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo.³
• Getting there: about a minute from the south exit of JR Okachimachi Station, or seconds from exit 5 of Naka-Okachimachi Station on the Hibiya Line. Okachimachi is one stop north of Akihabara on the JR Yamanote Line, so it's easy with a Suica card. Here's how to get around Tokyo by train if it's your first time.
• Hours: 5 PM to 11:30 PM on weekdays and 2 PM to 11:30 PM on weekends and holidays, as of October 2026.²
• Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays, unless it's a holiday.
• Last orders: 10 PM for food and card cocktails, 11 PM for regular drinks.
• Booking: online through TableCheck only. Cancel a card cocktail booking within 24 hours and you pay the full ¥2,550 per person.

TCG/BOARD GAME Cafe & Bar FUN, 5-23-8 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo

This map comes from Google Maps.

Open in Google Maps

The bar sits between Ueno and Akihabara, where we went for anime and game shopping. If you want to stay close, this map shows hotels around Ueno and today's prices. We lived in Shinjuku, and where to stay in Tokyo compares Ueno with the other areas we'd pick.

Map of places to stay in Ueno, Tokyo

This map comes from Stay22, a booking partner.

Better Pokémon Stops in Tokyo

If you're in Tokyo for Pokémon, these are where we'd point you instead. We played Pokémon GO in Tokyo all month, and the city has more for fans, from Akihabara to PokéPark, in our best things to do in Tokyo.

Ueno Park's Pokémon Manhole Covers

Ueno Park has two Pokémon manhole covers, called Poké Lids. Baltoy and Bronzor sit near the main gate of the Tokyo National Museum. Tyrunt and Wynaut are by the National Museum of Nature and Science.⁷ They're out in the open, free to see, and an easy walk from Okachimachi. Pair them with the rest of things to do in Ueno, like the Ameyoko market street.

POKÉMON CARD LOUNGE in Shibuya

The official Pokémon Card Lounge is on the fifth floor of SHIBUYA TSUTAYA, across Shibuya's Scramble Crossing. You pay to enter, then the drinks and snacks are free, and you can borrow decks to play.⁸ We haven't been, but if you want a Pokémon night with drinks, it sounds like the better deal. Check the lounge's own site for current prices before you go.

Our Verdict

The Pokémon card cocktail bar is one of those Tokyo things that photographs better than it feels. Go card shopping at Cherumo, take your cards to Ueno Park, and catch Pokémon on the walk. Have your drinks somewhere you actually want to sit.

Next Steps for Your Tokyo Trip

• The best things to do in Tokyo, including where else to go Pokémon hunting
• Things to do in Tokyo in May, with our Pokémon GO Fest story
• Where to stay in Tokyo