An upsetting news update for every Gundam fan: more than twenty years after the first Gundam Cafe opened its doors in the otaku hotspot Akihabara, Japan’s four permanent Gundam cafes will close permanently in January 2022.
The first one to shut its doors will be the Gundam Square café in Osaka, which is on January 10. The first Gundam Café started in Akihabara; the outlet in Odaiba is just next to the vast Unicorn Gundam statue, and the Fukuoka branch will shut its doors forever on January 30. However, there’s no any mention of the Unicorn Gundam statue itself, which is there’s a high chance that it will remain as it is.
But, on top of these four outlets, there’s also an interim Gundam Café located at the Gundam Factory Yokohama. The good news is that you’ll continue to taste a variety of items from the Gundam franchise and the 18-meter tall mech moving there – up to the close in March 2022. You’ll require tickets to enter the Gundam Factory to access the café.
【閉店のお知らせ】
— ガンダムカフェ総合アカウント (@gundamcafe2010) November 1, 2021
誠に勝手ながら、GUNDAM Café TOKYO BRAND CORE、お台場店、福岡店は2022年1月30日(日)、GUNDAM SQUAREは1月10日(月)をもちまして閉店させていただくことになりました。
長い間、本当にありがとうございました。
最後までGUNDAM Caféをお楽しみください。https://t.co/kkXeBxSov0
Although the cafes might have gone, Gundam’s formal announcement said that fans should be looking forward to the company’s next venture. Keep your fingers crossed for the possibility of a Gundam return in the near future.
The café in Gundam Factory Yokohama will be the last one to close – it will remain open until the closing date of March 20, 2022.
Also read about Fukuoka is getting the biggest Life-Size Gundam statue in Japan