Anime bar Otarabo serves up drinks, passionate discussion about anime with fellow otaku

Are traditional bars a little too bland for you? Do you try to strike up conversations about anime with your fellow drink enthusiasts, only to get weird looks and asked to leave?

Well then you should check out Otarabo the anime bar! Not only does it have a large assortment of alcoholic beverages to enjoy, but it’s packed to the rafters with anime posters, figures, and toys. And best of all if you want to argue about Goku vs. Vegeta, or which Love Live! girl is the cutest, you’ll have plenty of inebriated otaku friends to discuss with.

Surprisingly, Otarabo isn’t located in Akihabara or even Tokyo; it’s in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu. If you want to know how to find it, just look for the place that looks like this:

▼ It’s kind of hard to miss.

Despite being advertised as an anime bar, Otarabo is much more than just that. It’s separated into three sections: Otarabo the anime bar, Wotameshi the anime diner, and Otakara the anime karaoke parlor.

▼ Here’s the entrance to Wotameshi, with about a hundred hostesses guiding you.

▼ But we were in the mood for a drink, so up the stairs to the bar we went.

▼ The entrance to the bar. Not as many posters as before…is this really an anime bar?

▼ Oh, yes. We’re in the right place.

We arrived just as the place opened at 7 p.m., so it was a bit of a surprise to see several people already there, drinking and happily chatting with the bartenders about everything going on in the anime world. Apparently one of the draws of the place is the knowledgeable staff, and lots of people show up alone just to chat with them.

▼ The bartenders here are not just eye-candy; they know their stuff. You know that obscure anime you saw that you thought no one else knows about? Yeah, they’ve already cosplayed as every character from it. Twice.

And of course, the whole time you’re ordering, waiting, sipping, and gossiping about the 2-D world, you’re surrounded by a nearly endless amount of anime figures and posters:

▼ There’s so much going on it’s easy to miss the flying Laboon whale in the upper-right, but now it’s all you can see.

▼ The proprietors claim that almost all of the figures are gifts they’ve received over the years from friends and customers. It’s sad that they’re still in denial at such a late stage.

▼ I think we’re going to have to card this one; she looks a little young.

▼ Yoko, come on. We’re trying to not be a seedy bar here.

▼ These poster-covered walls look familiar. They’re just like my room in high school. Okay, college. All right, fine, right now in my adult room as I write this.

▼ No surface is safe from Magical Girl Madoka figures.

▼ Just in case you thought turning around might give your anime-buzzed brain a break – nope! You’re surrounded, and you love it.

▼ Captain Levi inspects our alcoholic beverage. He stares silently in disapproval.

▼ Captain Levi inspects our Oolong Tea. He stares silently in disapproval.

▼ The bar also serves up some food which, well, we’ll let you figure out what Captain Levi thinks of it.

▼ And there are giant shelves filled with manga, mostly to be used as a reference to settle arguments between people claiming that Zoro owns a Saijo O Wazamono sword, when clearly he has only ever owned up to an O Wazamono-level sword. Pfft, amateurs.

▼ And the bathroom, which of course leaves no surface un-anime-ified.

▼ A real senpai doesn’t forget to spray when he’s finished!

▼ “See you next time! And if you’re hearing us talk, then you should probably get a taxi to take you home!”

So if you’re a fan of anime and drinking things, and you happen to find yourself in Oita Prefecture, you should definitely give Otarabo a visit. Your inner otaku will be quenched in more ways than one.

Bar Information
Otarabo / おたらぼ
Address: Oita-ken, Oita-shi, Chuomachi 2-9-12 Fujiya Bldg. 202
大分県大分市中央町2−9−12 不二家ビル202
Open 7:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. (Fri, Sat, days before holidays open until 5:00 a.m.)

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