Cafés and teahouses - The Rough Guide to Tokyo - page 159

MAIDS, BUTLERS AND CATS: TOKYO'S QUIRKY CAFÉS
Japan is famed for appropriating Western cultural standards, and Tokyo's various quirky takes
on the humble café are all worth sampling. The weird and wonderful maid cafés range in
style from seedy to sci-fi via the unashamedly kitsch. Some visitors assume a link exists with
the sex industry, but the majority of venues are actually rather tame, with nothing bar the
weirdness to worry about. Most maid cafés are clustered amongst the electronics outlets to
the west of Akihabara station; head there after sunset and you'll see lines of girls clamouring
for custom. The deal is usually the same: costumed girls (and sometimes guys) serve up food
and drink in an excruciatingly “cute” manner, their voices screeching a full two octaves above
their natural pitch. There's usually an hourly fee, and you're also expected to order some food
or drink from the menu. Keep an eye on the other customers, too: the mix of of ce groups,
courting couples, old sleazebags and lonely young men can be a fascinating window onto
contemporary Japanese culture, though remember that you're not usually allowed to take
pictures. Recommended places to try include Mai:lish (see p.161), and the Maidreamin
branches in Akihabara (see p.160) and Shibuya (see opposite).
The success of maid cafés spawned a male equivalent: the equally interesting butler cafés ,
where handsome, dressed-up young chaps (often Westerners) serve coffee, cake and wine to
an exclusively female clientele. Though the format is essentially the same as that for the maid
café, butler cafés tend to be fancier and are often rather more expensive. A good one to try is
Swallowtail Café in Ikebukuro (see opposite).
The latest hit formula in Tokyo's polymorphous kissaten culture is the cat café . Offering
quality time with pedigree cats, these are particularly popular among young women and
dating couples, and it's easy to understand the appeal: they are relaxing places, offering the
pleasures of pet ownership without the commitment. Ranging from tiny converted
apartments to spacious multi-level facilities, cat cafés all have similar rules. There's a cover
charge based on the amount of time you spend in the café and perhaps a small amount extra
for your drinks. You have to take your shoes off on entering and sanitize your hands and note
that feeding and taking photos of the cats is OK, but you're not allowed to manhandle or
disturb them if they're sleeping. Two recommended options are Calico in Shinjuku (see
opposite), and Nekorobi in Ikebukuro (see opposite).

15

Andersen Ξϯσϧηϯ 5-1-26 Aoyama, Minato-ku
T 03 3407 3333, W www.andersen.co.jp; Omotesandō
station; map p.113. The Tokyo outpost of Hiroshima's
famed Swedish bakery has an excellent range of pastries
and sandwiches (from ¥700) and a reasonably priced
sit-down café - a good option for breakfast and lunch.
Daily 7am-10pm.
Ì Bog Love Ϙοάϥοϰ 3F Houei Bldg, 2-31-3
Jingūmae, Shibuya-ku T 03 5775 1315; Harajuku or
Meiji-Jingūmae stations; map pp.108-109. The perfect
Tokyo café-bar offers home-baked goods, light meals and
a craft beer selection as well as an attached record store
selling a fab collection of indie LPs, CDs and cassette tapes
(remember them?) from around the world. Mon-Fri
noon-10pm, Sat & Sun 1pm-7pm.
Bunbōgu ϒϯϘʔά B1 4-8-1 Jingūmae, Shibuya-ku
T 03 3470 6420; Omotesandō station; map p.113. This
quirky space is part-café, part-library and part-stationery
store. Those who like to doodle while they sup should note
that for a one-off membership fee of ¥700, you'll be given
a key that opens the stationery drawers tucked under the
tables. Daily 10am-11.30am.
Café 246 ΧϑΣʔ̎̐̒ 1F Lattice Aoyama, 1-2-6

Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, T 03 5771 6886,
W 246cafe-book.com; Aoyama-Itchōme station; map
pp.108-109. Named after Route 246 (which heads from
Tokyo to Shizuoka prefecture), the retro look of this relaxed
café/bar is pure mid-century Americana. They also serve
good organic meals (usually around ¥1380), while next
door is an a liated bookshop that specializes in travel
tomes and gadgets. Mon-Fri 11am-2am, Sat & Sun
11.30am-11.30am.
Ì Hideaway ϋΠμ΢ΣʔΟ 202 3-20-1 Jingūmae,
Shibuya-ku T 03 5410 2343, W treehouse.jp/hideaway;
Harajuku or Meiji-Jingūmae stations; map p.113. A cool
travellers' vibe pervades this café-bar tucked away in a
quiet corner of Harajuku near Design Festa. There's a tree
growing through it and you can climb up to their tree
house to enjoy drinks or their tasty curries; during lunch
hours (noon-4pm), you can get curry and a drink for
¥1000. Daily except Wed 11am-10pm.
Lion ϥΠΦϯ 2-19-13 Dōgenzaka, Shibuya-ku T 03
3461 6858; Shibuya station; map p.115. Not the place
for animated conversations, this Addams Family -style
institution set amid the love hotels of Dōgenzaka is where
businessmen bunking off work come to appreciate classical