• Uchu Visits the Square Enix Artnia Cafe

    This week, one of our new members took a trip to the Square Enix Artnia cafe in Japan. In his post that has made pretty much all of us at Eyes on Final Fantasy very jealous, he describes his fun experience....




    So I went to the SQUARE ENIX cafe, ARTNIA, over the weekend. It was my first time going there and it was pretty cool.

    Some of you may know that SE used to have a store in a different (even more remote) part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. But they closed it and opened the cafe last year.

    I thought I would share some of the pictures I took of the place. The cafe is situated next to the SE HQ in Shinjuku.



    The building itself is an interesting shape, nice and curved. Kinda stands out among the other rectangular buildings surrounding it.





    As you probably know, it's Halloween at the end of October(!) and so SE is getting into the spirit early by decorating the place with spooky stuff. And by spooky stuff I mean steamers that look like cobwebs and witch and black cat prints on the walls (which you may see in some of the pictures).



    The main entrance way.



    Below are some picture of the cafe/shop area. The shop floor is split into 2 main areas, one selling merchandise like figures and jewellery, while the other acts as both the cafe and shop, which sells things like plushies and stationary etc.









    Now the main reason we went was to try some of the food. At first I was a little concerned that it would just be overpriced, but was pleasantly surprised to find to that it actually tasted pretty damn good. Still a little expensive, but not too bad. It all tasted great, even the orange juice.

    Below you can see the menu and things with FF characters and memorabilia on them. Also, SE music is playing in the background. Now I am not sure if it was deliberate due to the Halloween theme, but the whole time we were there (at least 2 hours) the theme of FFVIII's Ultimacia's castle kept playing over and over again!






    This is what I ordered. The main dish was rice and shrimp, while the desert was pancakes and ice cream (YUMMY!!). As I already said, the food tasted really good. There wasn't too much in the way of choice, but I think what we had was worth it. Next time we intend to try some FF cocktails.




    As i mentioned, the place is split into 2 main sections. The darker and more mysterious areas sells various jewellery, figures, apparel, etc. (I did take more pictures but due to all the mirrors I am in a lot of them and it was difficult to get a good shot so here are a few.)








    The first image is water falling from the ceiling around a crystal which landed on a pile of various materia.

    The below pictures are the SE HQ building right next to the cafe. Was difficult to get a good shot as (naturally) it's a really tall building.


    This article was originally published in forum thread: SQUARE ENIX ARTNIA Cafe started by Uchu View original post
    Comments 26 Comments
    1. Uchu's Avatar
      Uchu -
      Here are a few more pictures that I couldn't fit into the original post. (Please forgive the white borders of some of them, it's late and i need to sleep).

      You can see the water fountain/wall, plus some more merchandise. As you can see, mirrors were all over the place!


      Attachment 59587 Attachment 59588 Attachment 59589 Attachment 59590 Attachment 59591 Attachment 59592 Attachment 59593 Attachment 59594 Attachment 59596 Attachment 59595 Attachment 59597

      The other of the two images i took of the SE building but couldn't fit into the original post.

      Attachment 59598

      Anyway, hope you liked the pictures. It's a shame as I took more but they either didn't come out all that great or weren't really ones i felt comfortable putting online. But, yeah, if you get a chance to visit Japan I recommend checking out the cafe. The layout is a bit bizarre and when it gets busy it really gets busy, which is a bit of a pain, but it was fun, the atmosphere nice, and the food delicious. Next time will check out the cocktails, I summon an Ifrit cocktail!
    1. Bolivar's Avatar
      Bolivar -
      That's awesome!

      If I ever went there I would have to buy all the merch.
    1. Night Fury's Avatar
      Night Fury -
      Hey! Can I promote this to the Frontsite? This is AWESOME! . Don't worry I'll keep the post as it is, but just add a few of my own thoughts for the frontsite version! This is fabulous! I'm jealous!
    1. Sephiroth's Avatar
      Sephiroth -
      Well, what are you watiting for, Uchu? Send us some of this stuff! Or take photos from inside the ShinRa HQ - eh, Square HQ! or was the complete second post the HQ?
    1. Loony BoB's Avatar
      Loony BoB -
      *claws at his screen* GIMME
    1. Rostum's Avatar
      Rostum -
      Awesome stuff! I'm going to Japan next month, will definitely check this place out. Thanks for sharing.
    1. Aulayna's Avatar
      Aulayna -
      I really want one of those FFXIV Meteor Survivor Polo shirts
    1. Shauna's Avatar
      Shauna -
      So awesome. So uh, gonna be starting a new business venture? Funnelling all this nerdy goodness to loyal EoFFers? x}
    1. Uchu's Avatar
      Uchu -
      Quote Originally Posted by Lockharted View Post
      Hey! Can I promote this to the Frontsite? This is AWESOME! . Don't worry I'll keep the post as it is, but just add a few of my own thoughts for the frontsite version! This is fabulous! I'm jealous!
      Yeah sure, i don't mind. I'm glad you liked them.

      Quote Originally Posted by Sephiroth View Post
      Well, what are you watiting for, Uchu? Send us some of this stuff! Or take photos from inside the ShinRa HQ - eh, Square HQ! or was the complete second post the HQ?

      Unfortunately I can't just wander into the building and start taking pictures, haha . So just a couple of 'bonus' pics of the new HQ building. I did visit the old place a few years ago, though. Was really hesitant at first thinking security would take me away, but nope, said I liked FF and got to look around reception. Even got a free DQ Slime keyring out of it.

      Attachment 59607 Attachment 59608 Attachment 59609 Attachment 59610

      Quote Originally Posted by Shauna View Post
      So awesome. So uh, gonna be starting a new business venture? Funnelling all this nerdy goodness to loyal EoFFers? x}
      Haha, that sounds like an idea!
    1. Sephiroth's Avatar
      Sephiroth -
      Quote Originally Posted by Uchu View Post
      Unfortunately I can't just wander into the building and start taking pictures, haha .
      You have my permission. Print it out and show it to them if there are problems.

      Ha, ha, ha.
    1. Uchu's Avatar
      Uchu -
      , will be sure to do that. I was unaware you had such authority, Sephiroth!
    1. Sephiroth's Avatar
      Sephiroth -
      I am sure if you walk right into the Square Enix building and they say "Stop!" and you say "Sephiroth allowed me" they will understand.
    1. Uchu's Avatar
      Uchu -
      You know, i'm inclined to think that might have already happened. Some guy has probably already done just that. I don't think that guy is allowed to walk around freely anymore.
    1. Depression Moon's Avatar
      Depression Moon -
      Gotdamn, you're making me real jealous right now.
    1. Mirage's Avatar
      Mirage -
      I need to remember this place for next time I visit Tokyo.
    1. Taiga's Avatar
      Taiga -
      Awesome. Thanks for sharing your pics!
      All that merch, holy sh...!
    1. Loony BoB's Avatar
      Loony BoB -
      Honestly, if I do go to Japan (and I intend to someday), I will probably be making this the #1 priority of Things To Do. I'll probably book a couple of days to release all the inner fanboy I have in me. I rarely get excited about things but I think I would be going nuts for this. xD
    1. Uchu's Avatar
      Uchu -
      I'm glad you guys enjoyed them. It's a small place but oozes with character and charm. It's also much more lively than the shop they used to have. Looking forward to going back myself!
    1. Old Manus's Avatar
      Old Manus -
      It looks like a giant tampon.
    1. Rostum's Avatar
      Rostum -
      I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I just came back from visiting Japan (for a wedding, but managed to pack in a LOT of sight seeing).I have too many photos, so you can view a PhotoBucket album I created for Artnia:

      Square Enix Artnia Cafe by Rostum

      Enjoy!
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