Shibuya Scramble-adjacent Tsutaya building set to become newest Pokémon destination.
It’s been a couple months now since the QFront/Shibuya Tsutaya building in downtown Tokyo’s Shibuya district closed. Located right across the iconic Shibuya Scramble intersection from Shibuya Station, the building is a symbol of the neighborhood, and the area just doesn’t feel the same with the place boarded up, as can be seen in the photo above.
So it’s good to know that the building is reopening soon, and it’s even better to know that when it does, one of the new occupants will be a swanky new lounge for Pokémon card game players!
The preview images have the feel of a cool, contemporary cafe, and yes, food and drinks are available. However, this isn’t any ordinary coffee shop, it’s the Pokémon Card Lounge, a space where fans of the Pokémon Trading Card Game can gather and, more importantly, battle.
The lounge looks to accommodate all levels of players, from the hardcore to the casually curious. Guests are allowed, and encouraged, to bring in their own sets of Pokémon cards, but the lounge also has a stock of free-to-use loaner decks and other “necessary items” (presumably things such as explanation booklets for how to play). So even if you’ve never bought a single pack of Pokémon cards in your life, or if you’ve bought many of them but just don’t have them on you at the time, you can roll in with no preparation beyond a desire to play and still enjoy a match against other aspiring Pokémon Masters.
▼ Note the Basic Energy marks decorating the walls.
There will be a fee to sit at the battle area tables, but you get some pretty nice perks too: unlimited free drinks and snacks from the self-service counter. The management says that these are so that players “can relax comfortably between battles,” implying that the staff isn’t going to be shooing you to the exit the second your match is finished. There’s also going to be an attached merch shop and “gallery” from which to view the card battles, both of which are free to enter.
Pricing details are yet to be announced, but the Pokémon Card Lounge, which will be on the fifth floor of the Shibuya Tsutaya building, is scheduled to open on April 25. If you’re stopping by, don’t forget that the Pokémon Center Shibuya megastore is just a short walk away too.
Source: PR Times via Shibuya Keizai Shimbun
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: PR Times
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!