Pop ups in Ginza

Several months ago, my son and I went to lunch at the Hungry Caterpillar Café in Ginza.  We had so much fun, we wanted to go again.  The themed café is actually a "pop up" restaurant.  It is normally a café called "Sunday Brunch", but has transformed itself into a themed restaurant for a couple months.

The special menu and decorations will be gone on September 1.  We were running out of time!  This morning we decided we needed to go or it would never happen.  So, we hopped on the train and went to Ginza. 

We made it to the café in less than an hour.  We had to wait to be seated since we didn't have a reservation.  I guess everyone was feeling the pressure to dine at the fun restaurant before it closed. 

After looking at the menu, my son and I decided to share the sample plate, which depicts the caterpillar's big eating day (Saturday).  It came with an assortment of savory items.  The sunshine was actually buttered toast with a face drawn on it.  The salad was simply a salad that complimented the meal nicely.  The "chocolate cake" was actually a rice pilaf topped with a cherry tomato.  The "ice cream cone" was steamed vegetables and colored mashed potatoes inside a real ice cream cone.  The caterpillar was a cookie.  The "lollypop" was actually a hamburger patty covered in cheese and topped with a swirl of colored mashed potatoes.  And the cupcake was... a cupcake.

We also enjoyed the good morning jelly tea, which was a hibiscus tea with raspberries and gelatin. 

The café was so much fun.  My son and I discussed our favorite parts of the book and what we would eat if we were caterpillars.  We even made up a short story about what kind of adventure we would have as caterpillars.

We didn't eat any of the cakes, but they sure were cute!

After the café, I wanted to wander around a bit.  Just 2 blocks away from the café, we came across a huge aquarium tank in a small plaza.  After investigating a bit, it turns out it was a pop up display sponsored by Sony and several other organizations.  They are trying to create awareness about the destruction of coral reefs and are supporting efforts to preserve them. 

My son wanted to do their stamp-rally, where you collect stamps at various stations and collect a prize for going to all the stops.  This would include visiting three locations in Ginza, all within a short walking distance of each other.  We didn't have anything else planned for the day, so it was fine with me. 

Each stop had amazing aquariums to view.  I couldn't believe we were looking at these fish in Ginza.  It was so neat to see not just the fish, but also the beautiful coral in each of the tanks.

Pop ups are very popular in Japan.  We have enjoyed pop up cafes, pie shops, and restaurants, as well as checked out many cute pop up shops.  There is a culture of urgency that seems to thrive here.  Limited edition everything is the name of the game.  Do it now or miss out forever.