NEWS: Show & Tell: Maid cafes

CULTURE: Show & Tell: Maid Cafes

If domestic-style servitude is your cup of tea, you might enjoy the new craze of Maid Cafes. They started in 2000 and have literally mushroomed all over Tokyo, particularly in the Akihabara district.

Basically they are standard and rather innocuous cafes with cutesy, frilled up interiors, where girls dressed as French maids serve tea, cake and biscuits, address the customer as "Master" and pander to their desires...at least in terms of what they want to order off the crappy menu.

Venturing into one, the customer can expect to be greeted at the door by a girl dressed in a French maid outfit, who will say something to the effect of, "Welcome home master," and basically act in the most submissive way possible. However, the experience is very much voyeruristic, as opposed to participatory, and isn't much more than a theme restaurant.

Not only are Maid Cafes spreading in Tokyo, they are now making appearances in other countries in Asia. And, strangely enough, they are also popular, not only with scary otaku types, but with school girls and young couples on dates.

An extreme spawn of the cafes is the maid delivery services that have sprung up, like Fairy Belle, where a maid can be of service in the comfort of your home, with "courses" that range from 12,800 yen an hour for cooking and cleaning to a rather ambiguous "make your own course" at an unfixed price.









MAQI is a freelance writer who covers topics usually relating to the arts, culture and travel. She has contributed to about 20 publications, from fashion, travel and inflight magazines to Japanese newspapers. She also does Tokyo correspondence for UK's Bizarre magazine and
Skin Deep Tattoo magazine. She likes sushi and cake.

Jonathon Ross delved into the world of these Maid cafes on his Japanorama series, in the Otaku episode, and they seem totally bizarre, offering services where you can have a maid play video games next to you on a sofa. I think I'd only go to one of them if I was high, I think it'd be a laugh... If they spread to Amsterdam then book me a ticket...

Fra-gi-le

those girls are so cute ! ^__^

-1 for not ending the sentence with "-la."

Er, you mean that isn't how you are usually greeted when you come home?

Why haven't they made you a featured writer yet?

Do I sense set #2???

I've been to Mailish cafè, claimed to be one of the most famous but I didn't like it at all..not speaking japanese definetly cut you out and the girls was not so pretty...we take a drink, bought some present and go away...

Kawaii!!

I've seen a documentary on Japanese bars which have female hostesses, who dress as men. It seemed to be aimed exclusively at a female clientele, but you never know. A bit more to my tastes than french maids.

The Japanese are just great. But what is it with all the brown hair?!