Renewed Shibuya Tsutaya to Open Thurs. with Pokemon Card Lounge

   Tokyo, April 24 (Jiji Press)--Shibuya Tsutaya, known as a landmark of the popular area in Tokyo, will reopen Thursday after renovation, with a lounge where people can enjoy trading card games featuring Pocket Monsters, or Pokemon.
   Pokemon Card Lounge, unveiled to the press on Wednesday, is the first of its kind in Japan. Visitors can use the lounge from 1,650 yen per hour after making reservations. Items needed for the game can be borrowed for free, with related goods on sale.
   The third and fourth floors are collectively called Share Lounge with some 240 seats, which can be rented basically between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. for big figure exhibitions, among others.
   A coffee shop named Collaboration Cafe on the seventh floor will offer time-limited menu items inspired by such intellectual properties as anime, comics, art works and luxury brands.
   Shibuya Tsutaya opened in December 1999 as the flagship Tsutaya store to rent and sell books, comics, games, CDs and DVDs. But the outlet, which had been under renovation since last autumn, will pull the plug on the rental business to focus on event space management and time-limited projects targeting anime and game fans.

(2024/04/24-22:53)