Enjoy a Drink or Two at New [email protected] Bar

If there are two things I love more than anything in this world, it’s absolutely idols and alcohol. Now there’s a new [email protected] bar that might allow me the perfect opportunity to combine the two.

Located in Osaka, Chuo Ward, ‘[email protected] 768Production’ (or ‘768Pro’ for short) recently celebrated its grand opening on April 16. Otaku bars are no new phenomenon in Japan, with an Ashita no Joe bar in Shinjuku; a kaiju and tokusatsu bar in Kawasaki; and a Gundam bar in Nagoya, to name but a few. Even with that being said, 768Pro is the first [email protected] themed bar in the country – no doubt [email protected] merchandise features in other otaku bars, but you won’t find anything but [email protected] in 768Pro. That sounds pretty damn good to me.

That should become obvious once you take a look at the shop. Covering the walls you’ll find tapestries, towels and posters have been hung; countless figures adorn the shelves, and even the surface of the bar is covered with idols looking up at you as you have a drink. If that wasn’t enough for you, then even the glass you get your drink in will be [email protected] – they have an entire shelf full of them, and I didn’t even know such merchandise existed before this.

Speaking of drinks, to accompany a normal drinks menu, the bar also offers special idol-themed cocktails on a time-limited basis. Depending on the character or unit, the cocktail will have a wholly unique theme and flavor. Three cocktails have been revealed so far, with the first themed around Koume Shirasaka, with eyeballs suspended in a red cocktail to match her horror aesthetic. The second was a purple cocktail themed after the unit ‘individuals’ to celebrate the release of their debut single, ‘∀NSWER,’ on CD earlier this month. The latest was a refreshing, green beverage themed after Kaede Takagaki, queen of puns and alcohol herself. The bar also serves some food to go with those fantastic-sounding drinks, although it’s simple dishes.

With the widening of the [email protected] franchise in recent years, it’s clear now that the franchise has many more fans from increasingly different backgrounds. SideM in particular, the franchise’s all-male series, has brought in many female fans, to accompany the injection of new fans when the Cinderella Girls anime aired a few years ago. But fans of all series can gather here, as the bar is making a special effort to celebrate characters from all of the series equally, including SideM content alongside Cinderella Girls, Million Live! and the original 765 Production. Furthermore, the three principal staff members all come from different sides of the franchise, meaning that no matter what particular series you’re into, you’re bound to find a kindred spirit.

I, for one, cannot wait to go check out this new bar, and I’m sure that it’ll be a huge success going forward given that it’s the only [email protected] bar in the country. I also hope that its success starts a trend of other [email protected] bars opening, preferably in Tokyo so I don’t have to travel. But, I’ll take what I can get.

You can check out the bar’s official Twitter here, which is the main source of news as well as contact with the bar. On weekdays and Sunday, they are open from 6 pm until 12 am, with the exception of Wednesday when they are closed. On Friday and Saturday, they are open a little later, until 2 am, starting from the same opening time of 6 pm. They are also available for reservations via telephone or Twitter direct messages.