A Star Wars themed cafe-museum is definitely the kind of place I would travel far and wide to see but unbelievablly this all happened without any planning or knowledge beforehand. My force powers just weren’t sensitive to this place which has been open for 4-5 years now.

When I left my in-law’s apartment, I was just heading to Ono-ura station to see a nearby waterfall. It wasn’t something I was desperate to see but it was just something to do and a new place to explore. Only on the short train journey along the San-yo Line did I notice a place called bb-geek on Google Maps. I didn’t think too much of it at the time but as I began to look into it I soon realised that I had come across a must-see place by pure chance. After about ten minutes on foot I finally saw the first sign for what I had come to see.

A few minutes later I entered a basic-looking brown-coloured cube building and was immediately greeted on my left with the sight of about a dozen life-size model helmets of Darth Vader, Boba Fett and various troopers. The shelves beneath all of that hold a library of movie-related literature.

There are a couple of tables at the far end of the helmet collection with “windows” to the galaxy far, far away behind. One of the showpiece displays in the centre of the room features a few more helmets as well as life-size R-2D2 and C-3P0 models with seating on three sides of this island centrepiece which was garnished with some festive decor as it was between Christmas and New Year when I went.

There is a counter bar to the right of this which was full of local patrons. I had actually just had an early lunch before leaving home so wasn’t exactly starving on arrival. There is no menu as such but just a set lunch for about 1500 yen but I was kindly offered the curry only for 1000 yen. It was butter chicken curry with rice, and it was very nice indeed not that I could see it too clearly in the fairly dark place.

The second floor is mostly dedicated to Predator which is a franchise I only really got aquainted with last year when the release of ‘Prey‘ (2022) made me watch the first two films from the 80s and 90s in preparation. This collection is all the more impressive as they aren’t just purchases but have actually been made by the youthful-looking owner herself.

The third floor was pretty much all Star Wars-related with a hugely impressive gallery of busts, masks and figurines as well as lightsabers, spaceship models, cuddly toys and life-size 2D cardboard cutouts of of Luke, Leia and Vader.

Yoda’s unknown species is well represented on this relaxing floor with a load of Grogu (a.k.a. The Child from ‘The Mandalorian‘) dolls and Master Yoda himself in both movie and Clone Wars-era form. It really is an amazing collection and one could easily spend a lot of time cloesly looking at everything on display.

Please be aware that bb-geek does describe itself as an adult hide-out and so there is no entry for people under 15. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t touch any of the exhibits which is maybe why there is an age restriction at this hidden gem!

Whilst Star Wars and Predator dominate the exhibits there are still a few other things relating to other film franchises such as ‘Back To The Future‘, ‘Alien‘ and ‘Batman‘ among others. Motor vehicles are another passion of the owner and also feature both inside and outside the building.

The toilet doesn’t get left alone and is also decorated with some ornaments, posters, figures and so on with the most dominant part being the Pepsi bottle cap series which came out during the prequel era.

It was actually by pure chance that I was wearing my Droids t-shirt (from the mid-1980s cartoon series) on the day I went because I really wasn’t expecting such a Star Wars adventure. It proved to be an apt choice given the number of droid-related busts and figurines on display.

Even if you’re not such a fan of any of the aorementioned movie franchises this cosy little pop culture cafe is a great place to go. The owner (@bb_geek_jabba_mama on Instagram) is a delightful, friendly and very welcoming lady offering great hospitality and escapism from the real world.

• bb-geek is located at 2-11-25 Onohara, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima-ken. It is open between 11:00 and 15:00 from Tuesday to Saturday and is closed on Sunday and Monday. It is also open on Friday and Saturday evenings between 18:00 and 21:30.

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