With just a couple weeks of closure time, the new Square Enix Cafe in Akihabara has opened on February 1, relocating the cafe to a much larger and more convenient location within a mere 4-5 minute walk from the JR Central or Electric Town Gates. The new store has a total of 60 seats and is somewhat isolated away from the shopping area to offer a much more relaxed feel for cafe goers.

As far as collaborations go, the SQEX Cafes feature a new theme every month or so, but since this is a special occasion, the first week of service at the Akihabara location had a general SQEX theme to celebrate the opening of the new store. From February 8th until April 24, the cafe will be celebrating an extended collaboration with Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is due for release on April 10th (my birthday!! Happy birthday to me, I guess!).

What is super nice about the new cafe is that it is at least two or three times larger than the previous location, which makes it much less likely for reservations to be sold out. There are many regular tables as with any other cafe or restaurant but there are also several counter style areas that are perfect for a party of one.

Each party is given an iPad to order items from the menu. During the FFVII Remake collaboration, there are all sorts of drinks and dishes that were designed to represent a particular character from the game. With each collaboration drink you order, you are given a random coaster with the illustration of one of the characters from the game. With every dish you order, you’re given a random placemat upon check out. Since each reservation time is strictly set for an hour and a half, the call for last orders comes around the final 30 minutes.

Also, please note that the FFVII Remake collaboration cafe will be going on at all three of the SQEX Cafe locations: SQEX Cafe Akihabara, SQEX Cafe Osaka, and ARTNIA in East Shinjuku. All locations also offer a take-out option as well, so even if you’re unable to make reservations, that may be your last bet to try out some of the collaboration food and drinks!

How to Reserve Tickets

The way to reserve tickets has changed slightly from before, where you were able to make reservations through the main website, then go to a nearby convenience store to purchase the admission ticket (all reservations cost 1,000yen). Now, from what I can tell at this point, you need to have a Japan based credit card in order to make reservations through the SQEX Cafe website or through the specific Square Enix app. Whether you make your reservation through the website or via the app, you are still required to access the app in order to check in. I am not sure if they make any other exceptions for overseas patrons or for those who do not own a smartphone.

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You can see more of the cafe from the official Twitter account:

Also check out these official links:

Square Enix Cafe