In the Name of the Moon: Sailor Moon Cafe

I found out about Cafe Talisman in Osaka from this post in the very entertaining blog kansai gyaru salarymen & co. Discovering this post was among the most enlightening experiences of my life. There was a Sailor Moon Cafe. In Osaka. And I was going to go. Immediately, if possible.

It ended up being closed every Wednesday and the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month, so I had to wait a couple of days before I could go. Today, after oohing and ahhing over pictures of Cafe Talisman on tumblr and the official Cafe Talisman website, it was finally time to pay tribute to the soldier of love and justice herself. I debated about wearing my hair in pigtails with meatball-like buns for the occasion, but, well, decided not to. We took the Hankyu line to Umeda Station, went out the Chayamachi East exit, walked past Loft, went under the highway overpass, and followed the JR tracks for about 15 minutes, until we saw a sign for 'Honjonishi 3 chome'. We then kept walking straight, past a conbini and a park, and... konnichiwa. There it was.

Understated, yet magical. Cafe Talisman.

When we went in, the Sailor Moon theme song was playing, and I must admit I giggled like a giddy school girl. The waitresses welcomed us in, cool as anything, and handed us menus like this was just a normal cafe and not the most amazing cafe in the world. The menu caused me to have more heart palpitations. It was cute and sparkly and had a little picture of Luna on it!

Sparkly and moony menu.

Hello Kitty! I mean, Luna.

There were bits and pieces of Sailor Moon merchandise placed around the shop, and some pictures on the walls, but most of the really cool looking stuff was behind the counter, which was a shame. I wanted to take a closer look but felt a bit awkward asking... maybe next time? Still, it had a lovely atmosphere. There were also lots of roses, stars and jewels around the place, in addition to the character goods!

Sailor Moon pictures on the walls!

We decided to eat lunch there. From what I can remember prices ranged from about 400-500 yen for sweets, and maybe from around 700 yen for pasta and donburi meals. Drinks started from about 400 yen, so it's reasonably priced, I think. The same sort of prices as most cafes. And presentation is top notch - adorably Sailor Moon themed! I chose Chocolate Banana pancakes and a Sailor Neptune float. The pancakes were star shaped, and the float was bright green melon soda. Ryan ordered a hambuger donburi, and one of the famous lattes, with a little picture of Luna traced into the milk!

Star shaped pancakes!

Sailor Neptune float. Check out the cute little spoon, too!

Adorable Luna cafe latte.

After we'd paid up and got given a special Sailor Moon loyalty card, we walked back to Umeda, having had our day made a little more magical by Cafe Talisman. Perfect escapism... I think Usagi Tsukino herself would approve. Before going home, we stopped off at Umeda Mandarake, and I bought the first three Sailor Moon manga. Which I intend to to bring with me to Cafe Talisman next time... Cafe Talisman, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

My latest purchases.

Share this post