By Khushi Mundhwa
With a smile on her face and a manga book in her hand, Mizu was thinking of the last time she had visited a café in Tokyo which had such books stocked up to the roof. It was the 28th day of last year when she stepped into a Mangakissa for the first time. The huge collection of manga comics and adventurous console games had overwhelmed her, but as she read, she adored the endearing, little cartoons which fit into a variety of genres. Mizu thought to share this delightful experience with her blog readers, which were growing by the day. She opened her battered laptop and started typing away.
Here we go!
Manga is a Japanese art form which originated in Japan in the late 19th century. These Japanese comic books are traditionally read from right to left and the last page of a regular comic book is usually the first page in a Manga book. Although manga is an entertaining comic, it is slightly different from the quintessential European as well as American comic books that I have read.
I recall that the first manga café was built in the form of a small coffee shop in Nagoya city in 1979. But when I visited the manga cafes a few days ago, I saw that they are packed with Manga comics, personal booths, gaming areas and were different from the cafes of the past decades.
This blog will take you to some of the best Manga cafes in Tokyo.
Let’s roll!
1. Manga Art Hotel, Chiyoda City
Located in the heart of Tokyo, Manga Art Hotel engulfs you in the vast world of Manga. Started by co-founder Masayoshi Mikoshiba, the hotel provides you with an overnight manga experience to reel you into the world of manga.
Manga Art Hotel bestows you with a very good selection of manga in English, French and Spanish. It is also furnished with spacious single bed dormitories with key card access, separate for men and women. It has shower rooms for every dorm. The hotel also has spacious balconies where one can sit and enjoy a beverage, along with a comic book of course!
For convenience, the hotel has free, secured WIFI, lifts and an open terrace. Also, the staff speaks fluent English, making it easier for their non-Japanese customers to navigate their way around this mega-complex.
The city tax ranges from JPY 100-200 per person, per night based on the nightly room rate
2. Customa Café Ueno, Taito City
Customa café is a cozy dimly-lit manga-internet café where you can relax in a nice and peaceful ambience. They have a wide range of contents such as manga, weekly magazines, latest publications, games, and popular works like as “One Piece” and “Advance Giant” . The café has a special private room for relaxation. All rooms are soundproof and keyed, so you can enjoy your private space without any worries
Customa Cafe can customize your time, facilitating you with shower rooms and laundry for long-term stays, beauty appliances such as Nanoe for women, and co-working space for those who want to concentrate on work and study in a quiet space.
While lying down in a quiet private room, you can read your favorite manga, and at intervals, play online games and movies on a high-performance PCs. All private rooms in the customer café are completely private spaces with keys. It is also equipped with a shower and coin laundry, so it is recommended for long-term visitors and as a base for job hunting and travel.
For a private booth, a new customer is charged 100 yen per hour. The cost for a booth for 2 people is 200 yen.
3. Book And Bed Tokyo, Shinjuku
Bed and Book Tokyo is a tranquil urban retreat for Manga lovers! This spacious café has a wall to wall library with 1,700 Manga books for their readers. The café also has single rooms, comfort single rooms, double rooms and superior rooms as their renting options.
Along with the provision of free WIFI, the café also facilitates its customers with luggage storage rooms and showering rooms. Book and Bed Tokyo also has its own souvenir shop which sells BNBT Hotel Key Tags, BNBT Coin Cases, BNBT Day Long Pajamas and many more attractive items.
The café serves delicious wraps, burgers, and a specialty that they like calling SAND. They offer mouth watering beverages such as fresh juices, coffee, ginger ale, earl grey tea and many more such savoury items.
A single room costs 5000 yen per person per night. A “comfort” single room will cost 5500 yen/ person per night and so on.
4. GeraGera Manga Cafe, Taito City
With about 40,000 comics and about 150 magazines, GeraGera Manga Café is one of the most famous Manga cafes in Tokyo. Its popularity is also linked to an all-you-can-drink café with a wide variety of drink bars such as coffee and juice.
More than 20,000 books are arranged in order on the bookshelf by the author’s name. You can use TV, PC and Internet freely in their spacious indoors. They have WiFi and provide power outlets and mobile chargers. Semi-new to new class movies are distributed on PC. Lots of video content such as anime, dramas, Western movies, Japanese movies, comedy, professional wrestling, and pachinko are available.
At the café, they employ an hourly rate system with charges according to the time used. Manga café Geragera has a reasonable price compared to other internet cafes and manga cafes. It charges 100 yen for the first 15 minutes and 200 yen for the first 30 minutes.
5. Aprecio Shinjuku Haijia, Shinjuku-ku
Aprecio Shinjuku Haijia is a great place for an enjoyable time in Tokyo. Manga lovers keep dropping in to take a look at approximately 40,000 volumes of manga in the region. A large number of newspapers and magazines are available, and new publications arrive one after another every month!
You can enjoy darts and billiards at the all-you-can-drink at the drink bar. Shinjuku Hijia has a wide range of booths including a theatre room as well. The café provides you with palatial open seats, snug little cubicles for personal use and small showering areas.
The welcoming staff and their warm bearing attracts more customers. They are confident in meeting unique individual needs.
Aprecio Shinjuku Haijia charges 210 yen for open booths and 320 yen for open seats.
Wishing you all a Happy Manga Reading!
In Japan, people of all ages read manga. Since the 1950s, manga has become an increasingly major part of the Japanese publishing industry. Tokyo is frequently the setting for manga.
At a manga kissa, people drink coffee, read manga and sometimes stay overnight. Most manga cafés also offer internet access like internet cafés and vice versa, making the two terms mostly interchangeable in Japan. Additional services include video games, television, snacks/beverages vending machines, and more. Like Japanese cafés in general, smoking is usually permitted.
The Japanese manga industry grants a large number of awards, mostly sponsored by publishers, with the winning prize usually including publication of the winning stories in magazines released by the sponsoring publisher. Examples of these awards include:
- The Akatsuka Award for humorous manga
- The Dengeki Comic Grand Prix for one-shot manga
- The Japan Cartoonists Association Award various categories
Information about these cafes will boost your savoir faire. I hope this blog helps you find a spot-on Manga Café which suits your taste!
Until next time, Ja ne!
Mizu looked up and was surprised to see that the sky had turned a shade darker. She didn’t realize that several hours flew by while she was busy typing away.
Mizu locked her fingers together and wished that her blog garnered attention. She wanted her readers to get a taste of informative writing with a personal touch. She bids her readers farewell and wishes them a Happy Reading!
Mizu City 