Beyond Maid Cafes

Maid cafes have become one of the more famous images of modern Japan, and when foreigners visit Akihabara they’ll often make a point of visiting one of these establishments and ordering omurice with a heart drawn on top in ketchup. But no industry can survive without evolving, and the basic maid cafe concept often shows up with interesting variations, such as Imouto Cafe Nagomi (the girls all pretend to be your younger sister, calling you oniichan as they serve you coffee and cake); a “role playing cafe” where customers and staff all pretend to be attending a school in a fantasy kingdom; St. Gracecourt, a “sister cafe” where the waitresses pretend to be nuns; at least one “trap” cafe based on this game; and various “butler’s cafes” for girls, including one staffed by handsome gaijin men who say “yes, my princess” to female patrons. There are other fun “concept cafes” to explore, such as the now-famous cat cafes where you can play with friendly cats while enjoying some slow time for yourself, a “planetarium cafe” at Haneda Airport where you can drink coffee while looking at the stars, and Capcom Bar, an official bar celebrating the company’s contributions to pop culture. The place I want to go to is the Thunderbirds Cafe, which is filled with classic memorabilia from the 1960s British sci-fi series by Gerry Anderson.
Some interesting “concept cafes” in Tokyo.