Assassin's Creed Shadows launched on March 20th, 2025, and to celebrate, Ubisoft has set up a themed cafe in Harajuku. Game8 was invited to preview the event, so read on for our impressions of the venue, the food, and the exhibitions.
Hidden Away from the Public
Something of a Secret
The weather was much milder today, a surprising change from the heavy snow just two days prior. While it wasn't quite warm spring weather, hints of it were starting to peek through, making it a good day to be outside. The hustle and bustle at Harajuku Station was as usual, with tourists and young people crowding in line to explore the cute, fashionable stalls and stores. But sneaking through the crowds, just around the corner from Takeshita Street, the buzz of the public quickly faded into silence.
In this quiet area, fittingly away from peering eyes, lies a themed cafe refitted to celebrate the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Ubisoft partnered with a major fan of the series, Dante Carver, to create this themed cafe within the chic dotcom space Tokyo venue. Game8 received an invitation to experience the cafe at a media event ahead of the public opening tonight, so a big thank you to Ubisoft. This article isn’t sponsored, and Ubisoft will be seeing this at the same time as everyone else.
The Venue
dotcom space Tokyo
While the location was a bit of a secret, once you find the entrance, with the title “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” boldly displayed in bright neon lights, there’s no mistaking what this place is for. The finely crafted lights display the two protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, fused with the iconic Assassin’s Brotherhood emblem.
I’d never been to dotcom space Tokyo before, but it hadn’t transformed so much that I couldn’t tell what it normally looked like. It was clearly a hip, modern, minimalist style cafe area: barren white walls, exposed ceilings, cracked floors (I actually stumbled on one of the cracks), outfitted with attractive drink machines, angular beige furniture, with two long tables and several seating areas against the left-most wall. By a rough estimate, there’s probably enough room for 40-50 people to be comfortably seated at a time.
The things that made the place Assassin’s Creed themed were fairly surface level: posters of all the different games in the series lined up on the walls, artwork displayed here and there, pillows with Ubisoft’s logo, encyclopedias and artbooks from previous entries, and a projector playing some show they had done for Shadows in Kyoto back in February. It didn’t have any sound playing, so I barely noticed it. Instead of the sound from the projector, the venue had several classic BGM from the games to give it some ambiance.
There were also several exhibits towards the back, but I’ll get to those in a bit. First, it’s a cafe, so let’s talk about the food.
The Menu
Pleasantly Affordable
For a themed cafe, the prices were very reasonable. Drinks were anywhere between 650 to 750 yen (roughly $4 to $5 USD), and 800 yen for food (roughly $5.30 USD). Admittedly more expensive than the 100 yen drinks you can get from vending machines, but very reasonable considering the specialty drinks being offered and the branding that comes with these places. Add the fact that you’ll get a free goodie bag (while supplies last) and something extra for ordering either food or drinks, and it’s definitely a great deal for even casual fans of the series.
For drinks, there were 5 options:
⚫︎ Cafe Latte for the Assassin who Serves the Light - 650円
⚫︎ Cafe Mocha for the Assassin who Works in the Dark - 750円
⚫︎ Shadows 檸檬水 (Lemonade in Japanese) - 700円
⚫︎ Valhalla Sitronbrus (Lemonade in Norwegian) - 700円
⚫︎ Odyssey λεμονάδα (Lemonade in Greek) - 700円
For food, there were just 2 options:
⚫︎ Assassin’s Creed Dolce Set - 800円
⚫︎ Assassin’s Creed Crest Toast - 800円
As part of the media event, we were given both food options, but we had to choose just one of the drinks. Desperately in need of caffeine, but in solidarity with the launch, I chose the Shadows Lemonade. After waiting a while for my number to be called, everything came on a tray, along with a tote bag of goodies, and I quickly found a spot to sit and do the influencer thing of snapping photos of my food.
The Food
The Toast Tasted Terrific
The amazing smell of melted cheese permeated throughout the area, noticeable as soon as I walked in, but it was even more tempting laid out on a thick piece of buttered toast right in front of me. The cheese-covered toast was decorated with an Assassin Brotherhood logo, using what I think might be paprika, but my palate wasn’t discerning enough to be sure. It comes with a side of syrup for you to pour all over it and eat it together.
I’m sure I just heard a bunch of Americans gasp in horror, but in Japan, it’s not that unusual. And it’s quite good, as the saltiness of the cheese pairs well with the sweetness of the syrup. It was just a bit unfortunate that I had spent a bit too much time taking pictures, and so it ended up being lukewarm by the time I bit into it. The crust of the bread was a bit tough at that point, but the crumb of the bread (which I just learned is what the inside part of the bread is called) was incredibly soft while having some bite from being toasted. Even lukewarm, it was quite the bite. If you’ve ever had Japanese bread, you know its fluffiness is on another level.
I sipped my red lemonade drink, which might have just been lemonade soda with red food coloring, but I’m convinced I could taste a hint of cranberry’s signature tartness in there. Again, my palate isn’t discerning enough to tell, so if anyone who can, tell me in the comments.
Dolce Disappoints
The Dolce Set, on the other hand, came with two pastries: a madeleine and a cookie with, again, the AC logo plastered on in sugar. The madeleine was moist, with a pleasant, almond-y aftertaste. It was good, but quite dense, which made me reach for my definitely-cranberry-lemonade lemonade after a few bites. It definitely would’ve paired better with coffee options, but I had already made my bed, so I needed to lay in it.
The cookie, on the other hand, wasn’t as good. It definitely looked very nice; another luck of the draw as to which of the three colors you’d get, but the teal color of my cookie was quite pleasant to look at. But to get it to look that nice required a lot of frosting, and boy was it hard. I attempted it with just my front teeth at first, but I felt like it was a battle my front teeth were going to lose, so I resorted to my molars instead.
Once I had broken through the royal icing, the cookie wasn’t much gentler on the teeth. The taste wasn’t bad, having a slight hint of cocoa flavors that could be tasted through the sugary icing, but it was nothing to write home about. The madeleine was definitely the silent winner of the two.
The Exhibitions
Artwork and Replicas
After finishing up my plate, I went around to take a closer look at the exhibitions. There were replicas of the in-game items on display, particularly Yasuke’s mask and Naoe’s Hidden Blade. There were also two mannequins dressed up in a faithful recreation of the protagonists’ outfits. I had secretly hoped there would be cosplayers wearing the outfits for some nice photo opportunities, but seeing them on mannequins is fine too. There were origami and figurines with great detail on display. And on one wall, a powerful painting of the two protagonists using broad strokes.
There were quite a lot of things on display that would be killer as collector’s items, and in fact, you can order quite a bit of them from PureArts, like the Hidden Blade and Yasuke’s helmet that were on display. But for those a bit tight on money, appreciating the intricacies of the items through the display might be good enough.
Is It Worth It?
If You Temper Your Expectations
It’s hard to gauge whether the venue will be packed or not—opinions on the game are quite divisive, the venue itself is fairly hidden, but these kinds of themed cafes tend to attract both casual and diehard fans, and the event is only available for a limited time. Oh, did I forget to mention? The event will only be available for two days: March 22nd to the 23rd, from 11am to 6:30pm.
I think if you’re an Assassin’s Creed fan and you go into it knowing what to expect, it would definitely be worth checking out. Don't come expecting some sort of immersive experience that brings you into the world of Assassin’s Creed; you’ll just be disappointed. Come with the understanding that it’s just a place with food, drinks, and products with the AC logo slapped on, and you’ll get what you expect.
The prices are reasonable, the cheese toast is good, you’ll get gifts for going (while supplies last), and you get to take a look at the art and exhibitions without having to pay any kind of entrance fee. I still think that with it being only two days, it would’ve been nice if they had hired cosplayers. But I suppose these kinds of pop-up themed cafes don’t necessarily promise something like that.
So if you’re a fan living or visiting Japan, and you happen to be exploring Harajuku this weekend, I definitely recommend stopping by for 30 minutes or so before continuing on back to your civilian life. If you're not a fan, well, then the cheese toast is still good and the drinks are still colorful, but the bulk of the experience would be lost on you.
If you are a fan but just not in Japan and won’t be in the next two days… well, hopefully, you were able to live vicariously through this article.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Harajuku Event Information
⚫︎ Location: dotcom space Tokyo (1-19-19 Erindale Jingumae B1F, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001)
⚫︎ Date and time: March 22, 2025 (Sat) to March 23, 2025 (Sun), 11:00am to 6:30pm (Last Order: 6:00pm)
