Hello peeps!

I just got back from Japan, the land of ramen and anime, and I had a wonderful time! But you’re not here to see my stale slideshow of food pictures–you’re here for the maid cafe.

What is a maid cafe, some of you might ask?

It’s a small dining venue where all the women are young, and dressed like maids. They serve you, act cute & innocent, and put adorable pictures on all the food you order. They also call you “master” if you’re a man.

So, why did I go to a maid cafe?

Why not??

Obviously, the United States doesn’t have any of this! And it does sound intriguing. I was in Japan, so I had to see one of these mysterious maid cafes for myself. I had to!

In order for you to get the “full experience,” I’m going to list out ALL THE EVENTS of the cafe without my commentary FIRST. Why? Because I think your gut reaction to some of these details will tell you a lot.

Here is the sequence of events:

1. First, I took a tiny (2 person) elevator to the 4th floor of the business building. The door opens up into the maid cafe, where I was greeted by a maid dressed in a Christmas outfit.
2. I took out my camera to take a picture.
3. I was told NO – you CANNOT take pictures of the maids.
4. I was then told I was “entering a new country” and I needed to pay the “passport fee” in order to enter (800 yen).
5. Once I paid, I was given a maid cafe passport and then shown to my table.

6. They wrote my name as “Shami-ojousama” which is basically calling me a pretty rich girl, or “princess” just without the implied royalty behind it.
7. The interior of the passport had pictures of all the previous maid outfits used at this maid cafe.
8. I was then told this “new nation” has it’s own language, and if I wanted the attention of the servers, I couldn’t use Japanese or English, I had to use a series of meows.
9. I was told to say “mew-mew” if I wanted a drink, and “meeeoow” if I wanted food.
10. I ordered a drink.
11. Once it was brought to me, I was told this “new nation” preforms “charms” on the food to make sure it brings you good luck.
12. I was told to mimic the maids in order to perform the charm. I had to repeat their series of meows, make my hand into a heart, and circle the drink with my hand-hearts as we all meowed.

13. I then sat at my table while I watched the 7+ maids walk around the cafe, helping other guests. Lots of meowing ensured.
14. There were 3 Americans at another table, 2 middle-aged Japanese men, and 4 Japanese high schoolers all sitting around at different tables, or at the counters.
15. There were 2 counters that faced a heart-shaped stage.
16. I was told I COULD NOT take a picture of the heart-shaped stage, especially once the dancing happened.
17. Then dancing happened.
18. All the lights dimmed, and 4 hyper-energy songs played.
19. 2 maids danced on the stage, singing along with the Japanese pop, both in-sync, and both of them obviously had dance training to pull this off.
20. For 4 full songs, they danced.
21. Yes, 4 WHOLE songs, because one of the middle-aged men paid for it.

22. After the song was over, the main Christmas maid (who was the “top maid”) said we could all pay 880 yen to participate in a “lottery.” She addressed the room with, “attention ladies and masters.”
23. If we paid, we could put our hand in a box and pull out a number. If we pulled a “1,” we got to take a picture with ALL the maids. If we pulled a “2,” we got to take a picture with our favorite maid. And if you pulled a “3-5,” you got a various gift or treat.
24. Everyone in the maid cafe pulled from the box except for me.
25. I then finished my drink and left, and I was told to come back to this “new nation” soon, because it was my new home.

So, there you have it. That was my time in a maid cafe.

My feelings on the matter? I think I died of cringe. Perhaps more than once.

A lot of people were having a good time, but I disliked being forced to say “mew-mew” and I wasn’t into the near-childish farce of pretending I was in a new nation. I also didn’t care for making the charm, and was definitely super awkward the entire time I was there.

Additionally, the place seemed… old. Like it was build or renovated in the 70s, and it had never been touched since. The garish pink, mixed with the many marks and tears of continual use, was not a good look.

LASTLY, if maids weren’t your thing, the “new nation” was also a Hooters in the evening. With the same girls. So, ya know–there’s always that.

Hopefully you all learned something interesting! Until next time, lol