Okami gets a 20th anniversary menu at the Monster Hunter Tavern

Capcom is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Okami with a limited-time menu at the Monster Hunter Tavern in Japan. The event runs from April 20 to June 1, 2026, at both the Akihabara location in Tokyo and the Namba location in Osaka.

The menu includes four specific items based on the game. You can order Amaterasu's fluffy strawberry milk, Mr. Orange's special orange juice, Princess Sakuya's peach buns, and a tomato cream pasta dish with meatballs styled after the Cherry Bomb brush technique. Buying these items gets you an original coaster. Spending over 3,000 yen gets you a commemorative postcard.

I am always fascinated by how Japanese publishers handle these cafe collaborations. They manage to turn abstract gameplay mechanics into edible items with surprising accuracy. The Cherry Bomb meatball is a genuinely clever piece of food design.

From PS2 flop to multiplatform staple

Okami originally launched on the PlayStation 2 on April 20, 2006. Hideki Kamiya directed the project at Clover Studio, an internal Capcom development team that also created the Viewtiful Joe series. The game combined a gorgeous sumi-e ink wash art style with exploration and dungeon design heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda. Players controlled Amaterasu, the sun goddess in the form of a white wolf, using a celestial brush to paint miracles directly onto the screen.

Sales were initially poor. Clover Studio closed down just months after the game hit store shelves, and many key staff members left to form PlatinumGames. The title refused to fade away. Capcom eventually ported it to the Wii to take advantage of motion controls for the brush mechanics. High-definition remasters followed on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It went from a commercial disappointment to one of the most respected catalog titles in the publisher's library.

Meatballs at the gathering hub

The Monster Hunter Tavern is a permanent restaurant operated by Pasela Resorts. It recreates the look of a gathering hub from the games, complete with wooden barrels and weapon replicas. The tavern usually serves massive slabs of meat and drinks in giant steins.

Monster Hunter itself has a massive history. The franchise started on the PS2 in 2004 before exploding in popularity on the PlayStation Portable with games like Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. It eventually became a global phenomenon with the release of Monster Hunter: World in 2018. The series is built around cooperative multiplayer and grinding for materials to craft better gear.

Okami and Monster Hunter have crossed paths before. Monster Hunter Rise included an event quest that let players dress their Palamute companion up as Amaterasu. Both games draw heavily from Japanese mythology and folklore. The Kamura Village setting in Rise shares the exact same aesthetic DNA as the world of Nippon in Okami.

I would love to see a brand new Okami game someday. We did get the Nintendo DS sequel Okamiden in 2010, but a full console follow-up remains a dream. Until Capcom decides to greenlight another adventure for the white wolf, a themed plate of pasta and some strawberry milk will have to do.