Japan’s Gundam Cafes will soon close down permanently, the official website announced on Monday. There are currently five locations across Japan, four permanent and one temporary.
The first Gundam Cafe opened in April 2010 and is located within the bustling Akihabara district. The flagship store was renovated in July 2020 but will cease operations on January 30th alongside the Fukuoka location and the Odaiba store, which is notable for its life-sized Gundam statue. The Gundam Square cafe will end its run a little earlier and is set to close its doors on January 10th.
A temporary location at the Gundam factory Yokohama will run until March, giving fans some more time to enjoy the Gundam-themed menu before it’s gone for good.
Mobile Suit Gundam debuted in 1979, and the popularity of the series helped spawn a massive multimedia franchise. The franchise has gained an enormous global fan base alongside its loyal Japanese following and stands as one of the most iconic anime properties in existence.
The Gundam franchise has inspired a myriad of different anime adaptations, manga, novels, games, and model kits. Given its longstanding popularity, the announcement of these closings comes as a surprise to many. Gundam media and merchandise are still being produced, and so the closure of these locations seems to be an isolated occurrence.
Last year, the iconic Sega Akihabara Building 2 was closed down, followed by the equally well-known Sega Ikebukuro Gigo earlier this year. The travel limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic potentially played a role in the closures of the Sega arcades and Gundam Cafes, though this was not directly attributed to the decisions made in both cases.
The Gundam Cafe site’s official announcement left room for optimism, asking fans to look forward to upcoming projects. While there’s no guarantee that this means any new locations will be opening in the near future, there may still be some room for optimism going forward.
Source: Gundam Cafe Website via Crunchyroll