The international social media account for the Japanese retailer Animate, otherwise known as Animate Ltd, have recently confirmed that the Pop-Up Store in London, which was located in The Sidings, located underneath Platforms 20 – 24 of Waterloo Station, will be returning on the 6th February 2026.
Originally the pop-up store opened on the 31st October 2025 at London Waterloo Station as a time-limited store and eventually closed on the 7th January 2026. Since then it was reported that JP BOOKS took over the space, and now Animate Ltd have confirmed that the Animate store will be returning on the 6th February 2026.
For those unfamiliar Animate is a range of stores in Japan that sell anime entertainment and merchandise, such as figures, badges, plushies, and T-Shirts, with the Animate store in Ikebukuro being awarded the world’s largest anime store in 2024 by the Guinness World Record. This particular store featured Posters, Acrylic Standees, Keychains, Clear Files and other sorts of merchandise from franchise such as Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia and BLUE LOCK as well as special activity and time limited promotions with SEGA and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Animate also has other stores in China, America, and South Korea, but this pop-up store in Waterloo (London) is the first one to be available in the UK. I also explored the Animate Store back in December 2025 and uploaded a video onto both YouTube and TikTok. Those interested in learning more about Animate, can visit the official website.
