During my recent long summer vacation in Tokyo, I visited the Rilakkuma (Kiiroitori Diary) themed cafe hosted by Tower Records Cafe at Omotesando. This pop-up cafe was a little unique as it revolved around Rilakkuma’s friend – Kiiroitori (the yellow chick)!
Some fun facts about Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori:
- Rilakkuma is produced by San-X, a Japanese Stationary company.
- Rilakkuma was launched in 2003 and till now, remains as one of the most popular characters in Japan.
- Rilakkuma’s name means “Relax Bear” in Japanese.
- Rilakkuma is a brown bear and has a friend named Korilakkuma. Korilakkuma is a white bear with a red button on his chest.
- Both of them appeared in office lady, Kaoru’s apartment one day and decided to stay there.
- Kaoru has a pet chick named Kiiroitori. (Kiiroitori means “yellow bird” in Japanese).
- Kiiroitori is a hardworking and thrifty chick who loves cleaning.
- He also plays the “big brother” role in the house and often chides Rilakkuma for being lazy and Korilakkuma for being naughty.
Due to the popularity of the Rilakkuma (Kiiroitori Diary) themed cafe, seats in the cafe were reserved based on allotment tickets, distributed when the cafe opens at 11am. There were several seatings within the day and each seating was limited to 90 minutes. During weekends, there would already be a long queue outside the cafe and all tickets for the day were completely distributed within minutes. I only managed to obtain a seating on my third visit on a weekday.
Konnichiwa~~~Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma and Kiiroitori! Finally, we meet!
A very considerate gesture to place different sets of soft toys on every table so there is no competition for a better seat or table. It’s literally fine to sit anywhere!
The theme was Kiiroitori Diary, and this cute place-mat signifed the night time of Kiiroitori’s day. By the way, the place-mat can be brought home.
The BFFS.
Food Menu. The set came with a complimentary porcelain soup bowl souvenir! Of course, I took a set. ☺
Latte Menu. So cute!
Tah dah! I have gotten a “Mayuge” art latte!
Ordered the sandwich set as my tea-break.
The full set-up. Happy!
They were excited to see themselves.
A beaming me! This was such a challenging shot. My arms ached from supporting the selfie stick! Haha.
The rest of the patrons. Quite a few pairs of couples.
It was a little dim and crowded but still relatively comfortable for us and the character leads.
Loved the interior furnishings and these wall drawings!
Let’s peek into Kiiroitori’s diary.
Kiiroitori’s fun-filled schedule for the week.
Indeed, Kiiroitori is a very hardworking chick!
However, Kiiroitori still finds time to enjoy the summer!
What a lovely piece!
An overview of the cafe while everyone was still dining:
Most of us have finished our meals and were moving around taking photos or shopping for merchandise.
A huge standee which patrons took turn for a shot. A kind couple helped me with this shot.
90 minutes passed in a whizz and I spent the last 5-10 minutes grooving around with them!
Tower Records Cafe Omotesando
Address: 6-3-9 Jingumae, Imon Harajuku Bldg. 2F, Shibuya 150-0001, Tokyo Prefecture
Telephone: +81 3-5778-9491
Opening hours: 11:00 – 23:00
Website: http://tower.jp/restaurants/cafe/omotesando
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/towercafe.omotesando
My sweet summer memories at Tower Records Cafe Omotesando.
Love, Miwa