I find themed cafes in Japan to be a pretty interesting phenomenon; not only do you get to enjoy some delicious cakes and other assortments of desserts, but you also get a fantasy themed atmosphere to go along with it all. Some cafes even have menus with main dishes, so patrons can stay longer to enjoy the whole mood. Now personally, the themed cafes I enjoy the most are the ones with ninjas, Alice in Wonderland, underwater exploration- the kind that takes you to a whole other world. Maid cafes and butler cafes on the other hand are definitely not my thing.

With a yearning to visit a themed cafe for the first time, I started looking online for some suggestions. While Tokyo has some interesting ones ranging from vampires to prisons, I wanted to keep my first cafe visit simple and not creepy\scary. If I were to visit a hospital-themed place filled with fake blood and organs mixed into my food, I just might lose my appetite. As I was browsing through articles and blog entries, one had a picture of an apparently Japanese Jack Sparrow (the character from the film Pirates of the Caribbean). He resembled the Disney pirate quite well judging by the photo, yet I had no idea what this had to do with a cafe. Reading into the article with his photo, I found out that he was the manager of a pirate-themed cake cafe called Pirates of Ryouma in Nakano. First of all, props to him for at least taking the time to dress up and second, knowing that the manager was putting in this much effort to relate to his cafe, I knew I had to pay a visit. Who could pass up a Jack Sparrow look-a-like, colorful decorations, and cake?

Since I did not want to experience my first "pirate" cafe alone, I took my friend along for the adventure. Good thing she was as excited as me to check the place out, given that this was her first time going to a themed cafe as well. Once we got off at Nakano station, we went down a long shopping arcade/tunnel until we reached the end, then turned right on a smaller street and saw the cafe in all its bright glory. The top of the building is painted with One Piece characters and that infamous Sunny ship; at the door of the cafe stands the menu, advertisements for music concerts, and dessert displays. Inside of the cafe is even more bizarre (but in a good way, kind of) than the outside: a random Alice in Wonderland-looking candyland painting covers the cashier`s side of the wall, the opposite side where the tables are has Pirates of the Caribbean posters/figurines, and the counters are lined with an unusual mix of snacks...plus more One Piece. This "pirates" cafe was beginning to look more like a weird mix of only movie and comic pirates rather than the regular swashbuckling vagabonds I knew...

To add to our already confused faces, the server then told us that the manager only came around sometimes at night, which meant we could not see him dressed as Jack Sparrow during our afternoon visit. Although I felt kind of let down, I was still interested in trying out their delicious-looking desserts displayed near the counter. My friend and I proceeded to gaze around a bit more after we settled on a cake and tea or coffee set. Once our sets were served, we continued to gaze around the room looking for details we missed (there was just so much to take in at once!). The fruit tart slice I ordered had a good custard creaminess inside the tart, yet my tart lacked the generous amount of fruit that the whole tart displayed in the counter window had. Also, I peeled off the clear, edible jelly used to preserve the fruit at the top of the tart to make it look "fresh" because I was put off by the rubbery texture.

Would I come back again? Yes for the wacky mix of decorations, no for the food. Although the place was good experience all in itself, the cakes were standard and nothing special to rave about. This could probably be said for many themed cafes though since most people go for the atmosphere and the experience, not particularly for the food. If you have kids or friends who have kids, I think an afternoon trip to Pirates of Ryouma would really make their day.

Website not available, but reviews can be found online. *Extra side note: Only the cramped up first floor is open to customers in the afternoon. If you want to sit on the second floor, you have to come at night when the upstairs bar is open and ready to serve alcohol (do not take your kids here at night, obviously).

Eat Well,
T.W.