A fun place to check out, unless you’re feeling lazy…
For the uninitiated, Gudetama (ぐでたま) is an egg-based Sanrio character that made its (his? her?) debut in 2013 and is known for having a totally pessimistic outlook on life and an extremely unmotivated, low-energy disposition. Gudetama’s name perfectly encapsulates all these character traits due to it being derived from a combination of the Japanese words gude gude, which roughly means “without energy” or “lazy,” and tamago, which means “egg.”
Despite the somewhat peculiar concept behind this character, Gudetama has managed to resonate with people both in Japan and abroad and has become one of the most popular characters to come out of Sanrio in the past few years. Go to just about any souvenir shop or store that sells toys or cute items and you’re likely to find at least one Gudetama related prodcuct. Aside from all the typical cute merchandise though, Sanrio has also been able to make money off of Gudetama by capitalizing on the character’s food-based nature and opening up a Gudetama Cafe and this is what we’re going to be taking a look at in this article.
Located on the seventh floor of the HEP FIVE building in Osaka’s Umeda district the Gudetama Cafe serves up all sorts of cute Gudetama themed dishes and drinks, all within a space completely covered in Gudetama pictures and goods.
As you can see in the pictures below, Gudetama is plastered all over the cafe, starting with the exterior of the cafe.
And once you go inside you’re met with even more Gudetama, like for example this interesting Gudtama piece of… art? which people often take pictures in front of and is one of the first things you see when you walk into the cafe.
As you walk in you’ll also notice a wall (conveniently located right next to the register) of Gudetama themed items, which you can buy to commemorate your visit.
The rest of the interior is also covered in Gudetama pictures, banners and there’s even a TV playing some animated Gudetama shorts.
At each table, you’ll find a Gudetama place mat.
Some tables even have stuffed Gudetamas for you to touch and take pictures with.
And, here’s a shot of the menu, which features quite a selection of Gudetama themed dishes and drinks.
So how does the food actually look? Obviously, every dish looks a tiny bit different depending on who prepared it but for the most part the dishes are pretty amusing and in some way or another bear a resemblance to the low-energy egg. For example here is the Gudetama White Curry dish.
Here is the Gudetama Cafe’s take on a beef and egg over rice bowl.
And here is the limited time only roast beef and rice bowl.
Aside from the entrees, the cafe also offers some interesting drink and dessert options, such as the Gudetama Matcha Latte, pictured below.
And for dessert, there’s a few different options, inlcuding the Matcha Tiramisu pictured below.
Of course, this is just a quick look at some of the items on the menu. There’s also other items like tenpura udon, doughnuts and several other items, such as the matcha ones pictured above that are available only for a limited time.
But is it worth it?
If you’re either a Gudetama fan or a just into cute character themed foods and you happen to be in Osaka, then yes, the Gudetama Cafe is worth checking out. However, be warned, you’ll want to get there early because the place gets crowded pretty quickly. It is not uncommon to have to wait for at least 30 minutes to get in.
As for all of you that have no particular interest in ‘cute food, then you may want to sit this one out. The food, while not bad, isn’t particularly remarkable in terms of its taste. The entrees, which tend to cost around 1,000 JPY or a little more, are somewhat small and may leave ‘big eaters’ wishing for more.
Just in case you do decide to pay the Gudetama Cafe a visit, you can find the address below.
HEP FIVE (Building with red ferris wheel)
5-15, Kakuda-chou , Kita-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka, Japan 530-0017
Seventh Floor
You can visit the official Gedetama Cafe website here. And if you’d like even more Gudetama related content, make sure to check out the article below.
Low Energy Gudetama Gets New High Energy Song And Dance (Video)
Images: Japankyo
