finding interesting maid/theme cafes in tokyo/akihabara
November 9, 2023 1:48 AM Subscribe
I've never been to a maid cafe. I'm curious to go to one. Many people recommend maidreaming and @home, but I have some snowflake questions
I've wondered if there was a subredding to ask this, but the japan subreddits generally aren't otaku types, and the otaku types generally don't have this more niche knowledge. alas! I'm fine with japanese language resources. I can read japanese, but I'm bad at navigating the japanese web for information like this
so the big cafes are maidreaming and @home, which is fine, but what I'm curious about is the endless number of smaller cafes. are they all just mediocre cash grabs? I was walking around akihabara yesterday and there are just so, so many! with lots of different theme, etc etc.
I wonder if the reason that madreaming and @home are recommended is because they are very predictable, and they generally are welcoming of non-japanese speakers?
of course, I mean, I could always try out a few...but they can be sort of expensive for pretty mediocre food, I am told, and walking around akihabara yesterday piqued my interest (also I mean I think there are potential themes I'd find much more interesting than maids!). because I suppose the capitalist wretch in me finds it hard to believe that with so much competition, there wouldn't be other cafes with particular strengths etc, actually good food, and so on.
(I live in tokyo fwiw so time is not a factor, this is more driven by curiosity about the maid/theme cafe situation in tokyo and whatnot)
I've wondered if there was a subredding to ask this, but the japan subreddits generally aren't otaku types, and the otaku types generally don't have this more niche knowledge. alas! I'm fine with japanese language resources. I can read japanese, but I'm bad at navigating the japanese web for information like this
so the big cafes are maidreaming and @home, which is fine, but what I'm curious about is the endless number of smaller cafes. are they all just mediocre cash grabs? I was walking around akihabara yesterday and there are just so, so many! with lots of different theme, etc etc.
I wonder if the reason that madreaming and @home are recommended is because they are very predictable, and they generally are welcoming of non-japanese speakers?
of course, I mean, I could always try out a few...but they can be sort of expensive for pretty mediocre food, I am told, and walking around akihabara yesterday piqued my interest (also I mean I think there are potential themes I'd find much more interesting than maids!). because I suppose the capitalist wretch in me finds it hard to believe that with so much competition, there wouldn't be other cafes with particular strengths etc, actually good food, and so on.
(I live in tokyo fwiw so time is not a factor, this is more driven by curiosity about the maid/theme cafe situation in tokyo and whatnot)
Response by poster: woah, do you have any links about the maid cafe/yakuza connection? that is wild
posted by damedeshou at 5:23 AM on November 9, 2023
posted by damedeshou at 5:23 AM on November 9, 2023
I went to an @Home cafe and it was a bizarre experience. I think it's the most popular because it's gamified for regulars where you can buy or earn points that you can use to "upgrade" your experience like getting to a higher tier of maids. It definitely felt like a cash grab place, but I found it kind of entertaining from a psychology perspective. Apparently Maidreamin is simpler and closer to a normal restaurant.
Apparently the quirky cafe I went to is no longer open. A lot of them closed during COVID but I'm sure there are new and interesting smaller cafes if you can find them. But I would ignore any recommendations made before 2020 as the smaller cafes change often.
posted by JZig at 7:54 AM on November 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
Apparently the quirky cafe I went to is no longer open. A lot of them closed during COVID but I'm sure there are new and interesting smaller cafes if you can find them. But I would ignore any recommendations made before 2020 as the smaller cafes change often.
posted by JZig at 7:54 AM on November 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
CDawgVA often goes to themed cafes in Japan and documents the experience.
Emirichu has been going through an adventure of exploring cafes based on anime and manga.
posted by creatrixtiara at 8:04 PM on November 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
Emirichu has been going through an adventure of exploring cafes based on anime and manga.
posted by creatrixtiara at 8:04 PM on November 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Moff Rell is my favorite theme cafe in Akihabara - it's filled with cute bunny rabbits that you can play with and feed. Very wholesome.
There used to be a different rabbit cafe in Akihabara where the staff all dressed as maids (and it didn't seem to be run by gangsters), but sadly they closed down awhile ago.
posted by Umami Dearest at 4:33 AM on November 9, 2023