[Tokyo, Japan] - Artnia

One of the many places I was excited to visit was Artnia. I view Japan as one of the top food destinations, and probably the most innovative country in the world. While they didn't invent the theme restaurant itself, I believe they perfected it. They have the best themed restaurants that I have been to, and I think is at the top of the list for any nerd. I am happy to say I was finally able to go two years ago when I visited Japan.

I played my first Final Fantasy game in 2000. Yes, I was late to the show. My first Final Fantasy game was IX. I named them all so oddly that I didn't know the character's real names until years later. Either way, I was hooked. RPGs are fun! It was hard, but I eventually overlooked the poor dialogue and just enjoyed the games. 

There is another cafe that I considered. The Eorzea Cafe is FFXIV based and needs reservations. It was hard to decide how to plan for reservations like that because we didn't want to be constrained by time. What if we were sightseeing somewhere else and didn't want to leave yet? Would a FFXIV cafe be worth it? Which brings me to my other reason for going to Artnia instead - I'm not a fan of any of the games after FFX and FFX-2. Take away my mogs and you take away my interest!  

Artnia is pretty cool looking, even before you step inside. It's shaped like an egg. From far away, I could imagine Mork popping out with his "Nanu, nanu!" greeting. If only! Inside, it's pretty simple looking. Lots of white. To the right is the cafe/bar and gift shop. To the left is a really cool looking area with model figures and a materia display. It was really relaxing in that room and the music. If you like FFVII, this room will be worth checking out. 

My friend and I both wandered around a while just taking everything in before finally sitting down to order some food and drinks. The menu has a lot to choose from, like drinks named after potions, materia, elixers, and summons. They have lots of food options from the pancakes that we had to parfaits, salads, spaghetti, soups, and sandwiches. They also have brunch on the weekends. We got there around 8:30pm, so there weren't many people in there. We both ordered a cappuccino and pancakes. As we waited, we wandered around some more. Having looked at the model figures and materia already, I took my sweet time in the gift shop. There were so many things to choose from. My luggage was already pretty full, but I knew I had to get something to commemorate my visit. Would it be a smiling slime? I do like my DragonQuest games. Or would I stick to Final Fantasy and get a chocobo or mog? 

 When the food arrived, we were both excited. The best part? The pancakes were really good! Like I've mentioned before, you can't go to a themed cafe/restaurant and expect the food to be amazing. Apparently, you can! The coffee was pretty bitter and acidic (probably didn't pull a long enough shot), but the pancakes were fluffy. Plus, the toppings didn't overpower it and make it too sweet. It was just right. This is one of the few themed cafes I would like to make another trip back to. Next time I want to try the drink Shiva and maybe the spaghetti. And of course, pick up more cool merchandise!

Materia and other displays. You can almost picture that scene with Aerith in it. 
Yuffie! She has a price tag. She is expensive and apparently for sale.
I haven't played this one, but this is Kain Highwind, a Dragon Knight from FFIV.
Potions.
Mog Cappuccino ￥600
Honey Cappuccino ￥620
Chocolate banana pancake with a cactuar on it. We didn't get to choose, but we also didn't ask if we could pick our design. ￥930
Strawberry mog pancakes! He was the reason I even knew Final Fantasy existed when I was young. I had my EGM  subscription for other games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. ￥980

Address:
新宿6-27-30 (新宿イーストサイドスクエア 1F)
Shinjuku, Tōkyō
160-0022
Japan

Hours: 
Every day 11:00am-10:00pm

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