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Maid for Dummies Part 1 (version 1.0)

Never been to a maid cafe before? Unsure of what to expect or how to behave? Study this guide to maid cafes thoroughly and you'll be an expert in no time!

note: This guide applies to maid-related establishments in Akihabara/Japan only.

★What is a maid cafe?
A maid cafe is a theme cafe or restaurant where waitresses are dressed in maid costumes and they typically greet their customers as "master" or "lady" creating a fantasy "home" atmosphere. Note that a maid cafe should not be confused with a cosplay cafe.

★History of the maid
The first maid cafe appeared in Akiba in 2001 at the 6th floor of GEE! Store Akihabara. It is a classic European style maid cafe called "Cure Maid Cafe", run by parent company COSPA. Prior to that, Gamers occupied the 6th floor and ran a cosplay cafe called Pia Carrot. When COSPA took over, they did market research on what was in demand and found out that PC games with characters as maids and waitresses were highly popular. They decided to combine the two and that was how Cure Maid Cafe came about.

The peak of the maid cafe boom was in 2005 where there were about 70 maid cafes. It has now simmered down to about 50. Today there are maid cafes all over Japan and even in other countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, China, and America.

Maid cafes are not the only places where you can find maids. There are also maid massage or foot reflexology, maid salons, maid laundry services, maid guides and so on. The trend of maids is said to be gradually dropping with some even closing shop. However, new ones still appear and other types of themed establishments such as a miko-san cafe, train izakaya Little TGV, idol-based cafe and bar, Dear Stage, have all appeared recently in the past one year.

While the image of the maid is somewhat erotic and risque overseas, it is less so in Japan. Although maids are often mistaken as hostesses, a maid is simply a waitress dressed in maid costume and playing a fantasy role. Customers of a maid cafe are not expecting erotic services; if anything, maids are idealized to represent purity and innocence, like that of a real maid.


★Maid cafe etiquette
1. Please wait in line patiently when there is a queue.

2. Please wait for the waitress to bring you to your table.

3. Do not take photos of the maids or the maid cafe without permission.

4. Do not touch the maids.

Staples of Maid Cafes

Omelette Rice / Omu rice
A maid cafe typically serves Omelette rice (Omu Rice) with ketchup drawing services by a maid. The customer can request the maid to draw their favorite word or motif on the omelette rice. The brief moment when the maid quietly draws on the omelette rice next to the customer is a moment of moe! It is also not uncommon to find cutesy decorations on your coffee or your dessert plate although it is not a standard.

Cheki
Photographs of maids are not allowed in maid cafes because there is a "Cheki" system in all maid cafes. "Cheki" refers to a polaroid picture either of the maid herself or with a maid. When you are taking a picture with a maid, it is called "two shot" since there are two people in the shoot. The market price for a Cheki is 1000 yen and usually you can choose which maid you want to have a picture with. The polaroid picture would be hand-decorated by the maids before passing it to you.

Bells
Popularized by Royal Milk, you can find bells at some maid cafes which are used to summon the maids to come. Don't try to get a maid's attention by saying "sumimasen", they only respond to the bell.

Maidols
Comes from a combining the word "Maids" and "Idols". Some maid cafes hire idols to work in their maid cafes. You can appoint a maid to sing for you on stage at a market price of 500yen and of course everyone gets to enjoy it and they'll thank you for it. You can also buy the maid's bromide pictures or CDs at the maid cafe. @home cafe has a shop specializing in their maidol goods on the 5th floor of Don quijote, next to their cafe.

Queues
Queues are common at maid cafes with @home cafe having the longest one. It is not uncommon to wait up to an hour during peak hours or on weekends. The average waiting time for a maid cafe is 20 - 30 minutes while tea time during weekdays is the shortest if there is any queue at all.

Events
Maid cafe typically hold events during festive seasons or as a promo tie-up for a release of a new anime or game. The maids may have a change of clothes and the menu as well as the interior would be redesigned for a limited time only.

Games
Most games you can find at maid cafes are simple games that kids play, like Jenga. It's a good way to get close to a maid without any verbal communication.

Souvenirs of a maid cafe 
Gachapon, bromides, badges or mobile phone straps are some typical souvenirs you can find in a maid cafe. Bigger ones like Pinafore have their own brand of omelette rice in a can while @home cafe has their own bread in a can. Maid cafes usually have interestingly designed coasters which you can take back for free as a souvenir too.

Extra charges at Maid Cafes
At some places, there is a "counter charge" where seats at the counter cost extra (about 500 yen) because they are highly popular among those who want to get closer to the maids. Most maid cafe regulars would go for the counter seats. Whereas first-timers tend to choose quieter private spots. Sometimes there is a "entry charge" where you have to pay an extra 500 yen or so to enter a maid cafe. Normally an entry charge and an order of one drink is compulsory and so the minimum charge at such maid cafes would be 1000 yen. The entry charge also has a time limit - ranging from one or two hours. If you want to stay longer, simply pay extra!

Famous Maid Cafes
The more well-known maid cafes in Akiba are as follows:

@home cafe
Cos-cha cafe and kitchen
Cure Maid Cafe
Mailish
Nagomi
Pinafore

note: arranged in alphabetical order

To learn much more about each cafe, visit our Maid Cafe Report Page!


Types of Maid-related Establishments

Generally, maid cafes are differentiated into two big categories - moe or relaxation types (iyashi-kei). To narrow it down further, you can group them according to various functions such as entertainment, communication, food and so on. We listed up the themed cafes in Akiba, including non-maid cafes or non-cafes and grouped them according to various purposes:

To see Maidols or Idols perform and do otagei:
@home Cafe Hana
@home Cafe Honten
@Home Cafe Honten-Shitaten
Akiba Ichome Gekijo
AKB48
Dear Stage
MaiDreamin
Miko-san cafe
Misty Heaven

To relax:
Cafe Mai:lish
Cure Maid Cafe
Heidi Club (Heidi-themed cafe and goods shop)
MIA Cafe
NekoJalala (a cafe with real cats)
Schatzkiste
Tiara
Yamamoto Mimikaki (lie on a maid's lap and get your ears cleaned)

For communication:
@home Cafe
@home Cafe DonQuixote 
Akiba Girl's Dorm 1
Akiba Girl's Dorm 2
Filles
MaiDreamin

For Tsundere and playful maids:
Cafe Doll Tokyo
Candy Fruits Strawberry
Cos-cha
Nagomi

For food:
Cos-cha
Cure Maid
Dear Stage
Maid Station Cafe
Poisson Rouge
Royal Milk Cafe

To feel like a king or princess:
Poisson Rouge
Royal Milk Cafe

To escape into other worlds:
Akiba Girl's Dorm 1
Akiba Girl's Dorm 2
Miko-san cafe
Pinafore
Pinafore 2
Schatzkiste
St Grace's Court

For foot reflexology & massage:
Anny
Cutie Relax
M@ifoot
Maicure
Melty Cure
Piarna Refle
Royal Milk Cafe
Your Maiden

After Hours & Cocktails:
Bar Federation
Bar Zeon
Dear Stage
Delusion
JAM Akihabara
Little BSD (cosplay bar)
Little TGV (darts bar)
Merry Heart 
Queen Heart
Queen Dolce (cross-dressing girls)

To gamble:
Akiba Guild (Maid Casino)
Tempane (Mahjong Salon)

To look better:
Candy Fruits
Candy Fruits Optical
Maid Club (Maid costume rental)
Maid Hair Salon Obu
Moesham (cosplay salon)
Maid Salon Obu

note: accurate as of September 2008.

Up next in part 2, we find out more about the maids - Who are they? How old are they? Why do they become maids? How to become a maid? What about male maids?? and last but not least -  How to score with a maid!

If you have any questions or suggestions, post it here and we will try to cover it in Part 2~

Kougeru's picture

Great article, can't wait

Great article, can't wait for Part 2. Or rather..can't wait for "How to score with a maid!" XD

A great guide for many

A great guide for many curious & new visitors to the cafes. Good job. Kougeru are you that desperate lol

KイKイ's picture

Thanks guys, I'm thinking

Thanks guys, I'm thinking it may be better to do a video format for part 2...... ^^ がんばりま〜す 

Lux's picture

That was really helpful,

That was really helpful, I'm going to show it to some friends of mine who are coming over in October and this will give them an idea of what to expect... A whole damn cafe of fun by the sounds of it :) Veni Vidi Vici

KイKイ's picture

tell them to put up at Remm

tell them to put up at Remm hotel! http://akibanana.com/?q=node/385











this was how Akiba used to be like on Sundays~ We call that the "hokoten"

Soul Eater...akatsuki09/21/2008 - 14:52
tell them to put up at RemmKイKイ09/21/2008 - 13:25
That was really helpful,Lux09/21/2008 - 11:03
I have an Outlaw StarKougeru09/21/2008 - 02:10
Thanks guys, I'm thinkingKイKイ09/20/2008 - 10:22
A great guide for manyMandala434 (not verified)09/20/2008 - 00:40
those are awesomeKougeru09/19/2008 - 19:21

KイKイ痛いKイKイ09/20/2008 - 11:25
KイKイRaw Raw Fight the Power!09/19/2008 - 12:17
KイKイThe Business behind Art09/17/2008 - 19:09
KイKイBiorhythm Wrong09/16/2008 - 12:37
don777Book Review: "PuchiKuri " by OKADA Toshio09/06/2008 - 15:28
KイKイGirls Dorm & Maid Station09/06/2008 - 13:37
don777[Teatime] Comiket 74: Cosplayers' photo galore08/28/2008 - 16:00

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