Pop-Up Otaku Hot Spot - Durarara!! Drink Stand at Amusement Ichiban CAFE, Ikebukuro

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Welcome to summer in one of Tokyo’s most prominent anime neighbourhoods, Ikebukuro. Like everywhere in Japan, summer here is hot and humid, and it’s easy to get overheated or dehydrated. That’s why drinking regularly and taking breaks in the air conditioning is so important, even when you’re on an important otaku mission to buy limited goods or win big in the game centre. Ikebukuro is home to many otaku hotspots and it’s also the setting of a very famous anime - Durarara!!. Even though Durarara!! is a decade old now, it’s still beloved by many and its legacy can be spotted all over Ikebukuro. And this summer, a new collaboration has opened up in Ikebukuro to help otaku beat the heat and enjoy Durarara!! too at a casual drink bar at Amusement Ichiban CAFE! We stopped by and are here to tell you all about it.

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Durarara!! Drink Stand at Amusement Ichiban CAFE, Ikebukuro

Location	Address SEGA Ikebukuro GIGO 6F, 1-21-1 Higashiikebukuro, Tokyo, Toshima City, 170-0013 Nearest train line(s) “Ikebukuro Station” - JR Yamanote Line, JR Saikyo Line, JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line, Fukutoshin Line, Marunouchi Line, Yurakucho Line, Tobu Tojo Line, Seibu Ikebukuro Line “Higashi-Ikebukuro Station” - Yurakucho Line
Cost of Admission	Cost of Drink
Hours of Operation	Time and days Starting from June 20th, 2020 10am-12am, every day Official Website https://bpnavi.jp/s/cafe/pc/durarara/prizes (Japanese only)

The Experience

The Durarara!! drink bar is on the sixth floor of the SEGA game centre on Sunshine Street in Ikebukuro, just a few minutes’ walk from many other otaku hotspots in the neighbourhood (like the biggest Animate in Japan and one of the largest Pokemon Centres!). SEGA is full of anime prizes to be won, so it’s already a great place to stop at during your otaku day out. So why not drop by the Durarara!! drink bar, too? Head on up the escalator and you’re greeted with the welcome feeling of cool air conditioning - and some brand new art of all the lead Durarara! cast with animal features!

For ¥700 (around $7USD) you can order your choice of soft drink or coffee, and it comes with an exclusive pin that looks like a name badge for one of the Durarara!! characters, along with their new, cute animal art. The pin is random, so there’s no choosing your favourite, but half the fun is opening the box and seeing the surprise result! For another ¥500 (around $5USD), you can also pick up a can badge with a screengrab of one of the characters and their name. Of course, which one you get will also be a random surprise. Both of these items are exclusive to the Durarara!! drink bar and are brand new merchandise for the anime.

Additional info

The Durarara!! drink bar was not very busy, even when we dropped by on a Saturday. That’s good news because they don’t accept reservations and there are only a few tables anyway to promote social distancing! Luckily for you, it probably won’t be hard to get a spot with little to no wait. It’s good to note that the tables are meant for standing and don’t have any chairs, so don’t plan on spending a long time hanging out there. It’s a great place to refresh and have a drink, open up your prize, cool off, and then head back out on your otaku adventures. Fifteen minutes is all you need! Plus, all the drinks are at a self-service fountain, so don’t worry if you don’t speak much Japanese. All you have to do is point, pay, and the rest is in your hands.

Final Thoughts

If you’re going to be in Ikebukuro this summer, be sure to take a break and beat the best with the cast of Durarara!!. There’s no better place to do it than right in their home neighbourhood of Ikebukuro, and it’s a great chance to get new merchandise for an anime that rarely gets anything new these days. The drinks may not be something super special, but they are guaranteed to rehydrate and refresh you. And for Durarara!! fans, it’s all worth it for the experience! And even if you can’t make it yourself, we hope you have enjoyed having a virtual look at this special otaku pop-up. Are you as excited as us to see a new Durarara!! pop-up showing up? What character would you be hoping to win if you went? What do you think of the new animal-inspired art? Leave us your comments or questions below!

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