My first ever visit to a maid cafe was probably one of my most memorable experiences in Tokyo. While wandering the streets of Akihabara, we found a maid cafe that I had found online. I honestly had no idea what to expect from the maid cafe. We went up a few flights of stairs, passing several maid cafes, until we reached one with some available space. Immediately, a maid rushed over to us to greet us and tell us how the rules work in the cafe. We weren’t allowed to touch the maids, but we were allowed to request for small games with them as well chat with them. Once we were led to our table, all the maids yelled out in unison. “Welcome back Master and Princess,” in Japanese. To my surprise, there were actually quite a few single women who attended the cafe, and I definitely saw many foreigners who were checking it out for the first time too.
I ended up ordering a coffee and an ice cream sundae. The maids spoke some basic English and combined with my basic speaking ability of Japanese, we were able to understand each other and hold a mild conversation. The maid who brought over my coffee asked me to select something for her to draw on it in chocolate. I quickly chose to have a cat drawn and she did it flawlessly, before spinning on her heel and quickly running away in a large and puffy maid costume.
The lights turned off and we were handed glowsticks, a maid performance was about to start apparently. Most of the batteries in the lightsticks had begun to die, but it was okay. The maids got on stage to sing and dance to cheery Japanese pop music. It was entertaining and fun as I was served a delicious sundae. After I finished eating, I paid to have a photo taken with the maid who had been serving us. Overall, the food wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t terrible. The performances and entertainment level was high and enjoyable for the most part. I don’t think I would attend a maid cafe again, but it was definitely worth taking the time to explore it for myself.