Maid and Butler Restaurants In Japan

[ashfire]

I seen on CBS Sunday Morning about restaurants in Japan where the servers dress as maids or butlers. They will if asked to stir your drink or say when they place your food on the table Served With The Magic Of Love.
I understand that the servers have to go through a half a day of training before they start working.
They dress like you would see maids or butlers in manga or anime.
They greet all costumers as a group.
A lot of this is done in the geek or Otaku areas of Tokyo.

[AsianBlossom]

That's interesting...there's no "hidden agendas" involved, are there? I remember seeing cosplay cafes in shows like Comic Party and Lucky Star, and I think that might be a fun job if there's nothing...ugly...hidden beneath the surface of this job. Basically, you dress up in a costume and waite tables...right?

Or is there something I'm missing? If there is, I take it back...it wouldn't be a fun job then.

[ashfire]

Nothing I seen except maybe telling someone to pour and stir your tea, unless someone gets spoon feed.

[yukoxholic]

Unlike other "clubs" in Japan such as Host/Hostess "Maid/Butler Cafes" cater to the ideas driven by the Otaku, mostly "moe" french-maid fashion-style. I'm unsure if anything "under the table" goes on there. It's supposed to make the customer feel as if he or she is catered to their every whim. These kinds of cafes are actually becoming popular though outside of Japan. I believe a Maid Cafe opened in Canada last year.

I think the idea is interesting but I doubt it'd ever fly here in the States but I don't know! ^__^

[AsianBlossom]

Yeah...that would be kind of interesting if it was tried here.

Frankly, I just think the dressing-up-and-serving-food (the normal way) is the cool part. Everything else? I ain't spoonfeedin' customers! XD

[minakichan]

There are some maid cafes that do have some under-the-table business, and some have gotten shut down for it, but MOST are happy and moe and innocent.

There are also lesbian butler cafes-- girls crossdressing (VERY POORLY I MIGHT ADD) as men, catering to women. Are there gay maid cafes catering to men? I don't know, although I guess okama bars already exist +_+.

I personally would love to go to a butler OR a maid cosplay cafe (a normal kind), at least once in my life. I think it sounds like fun-- and I hear that the desserts at some of these places are amazing.
(Butler cafe + nekomimi PLZ. only partially kidding~)

[Roy Mustang]

I seen on CBS Sunday Morning about restaurants in Japan where the servers dress as maids or butlers. They will if asked to stir your drink or say when they place your food on the table Served With The Magic Of Love.
I understand that the servers have to go through a half a day of training before they start working.
They dress like you would see maids or butlers in manga or anime.
They greet all costumers as a group.
A lot of this is done in the geek or Otaku areas of Tokyo.

They are mostly in the area called Akihabara, which is the Otaku, Japan.

I have read some news about these places on ANN and not all of them are cute and just stir your drink and stuff like that. Some of them are speedy

There was one in Thai that got busted for having obscene manga and it was force to shut down. Also, there is one japanese style maid-cafe in Canada as well.

I wouldn't step one foot in one of them. After some of the things that I read on ANN and other Japan news sites.

I would say that CBS reported, was a better one out there.

[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]

[ashfire]

I found some info on this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSSqJZmn3AE

I found other info on the net that tells more about the cafes.

[minakichan]

The maid cafe in Canada actually closed down, but not for anything sexually shady. o.o

And the sketchy joints are the minority, actually. Maid cafes also don't ONLY CATER TO OTAKU. Plenty of normal people go there too. There are women who go to maid cafes, so they aren't all there to satisfy sketchy fetishes.

As amazing as maid cafes are, though, Japan is utter fail compared to China though, when it comes to cosplay cafes. China has these 1960s commune retro cafes, complete with Mao Zedong decorations and young waitresses in Red Guard uniforms. XDDD

[Roy Mustang]

The maid cafe in Canada actually closed down, but not for anything sexually shady. o.o

The iMaid Café has closed down? That thing wasn't even a two years old.

Oh well, doesn't bug me that much really. I don't see myself going to one, even if I ever go to Japan.

[color="Red"]
[font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]

[Doubleshadow]

There was a an article on this is a magazine I read, Shojo Beat or Anime Insider. What shocked me is the maids are required to speak at least Japanese and English, and I think Chinese was also a prerequisite to hiring. That is a feat all by itself for a seemingly simple job. I, for my part, would like to visit a Kitty Cafe.

Cat Cafe

[KeybladeWarrior]

I would love to go to a maid cafe at least once in my life.

[RidleyofZebes]

This is an interesting concept. I probably wouldn't mind visiting one at least once.

[blkmage]

The iMaid Café has closed down? That thing wasn't even a two years old.

Well, every restaurant that's occupied that spot hasn't lasted very long. Every time I passed by it, it was something different or closed down. There just isn't a lot around the area.

[AsianBlossom]

Well, every restaurant that's occupied that spot hasn't lasted very long. Every time I passed by it, it was something different or closed down. There just isn't a lot around the area.

We have a couple of restaurants in our area that are like that...we'll drive by and be like, "Hey, wasn't that a...?" XD

[minakichan]

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2008-04-23#gallery_top

THERE'S A NEW MAID CAFE IN THE US.

It's kind of different, in a cool way; it also serves as a sort of gallery for Japanese pop art. Also, they say the food is good.

It sounds a little pretentious, but in a way I like. I want to go~

[AsianBlossom]

...

Is it considered discrimination if they only hire Asian girls as waitresses?

Just wondering. Actually, I've been wondering the same thing about Japanese restaurants in the US in general. I was thinking about trying to work at a Japanese restaurant sometime as a part-time job, but it seems that most--if not all--of the employees I've seen at these restaurants are Asian. It makes me wonder if it's even possible for a gal of Euro descent like me to work in a Japanese restaurant.

[yukoxholic]

...

Is it considered discrimination if they only hire Asian girls as waitresses?

Just wondering. Actually, I've been wondering the same thing about Japanese restaurants in the US in general. I was thinking about trying to work at a Japanese restaurant sometime as a part-time job, but it seems that most--if not all--of the employees I've seen at these restaurants are Asian. It makes me wonder if it's even possible for a gal of Euro descent like me to work in a Japanese restaurant.

Wow, you're right. I never realized it before but most Asian Restaurants only have Asian employees. A few places have one or two none Asian employees working there but the majority is Asian.

I wouldn't say it's discrimination because it could be a family-owned restaurant or quite possibly only Asians have interviewed for the place. I'd say the best thing to do is go ahead and try out for it. What's the worst that could happen?

[Raiden no Kishi]

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with wanting to hire an Asian staff for an Asian restaurant. After all, all restaurants have some sort of image or atmosphere that they seek to portray. It makes sense for, say, a Japanese steakhouse or sushi bar to have an all-Asian cooking and waiting staff. I think it's what most people expect, and it sets them apart from other restaurants.

Whether that freedom has been taken away from restauranteurs, however, is another story.

That said, I would definitely go and apply. The worst they can do is say no.

.rai//

[minakichan]

(Just FYI, I'm Asian, I have friends whose parents own restaurants, and my mom always talks about opening a Chinese snack shop one day. It'll never happen.)

Hahaha, the waitstaff at Asian restaurants are often Asian, but janitors, busboys, and even cooks are often Hispanic, especially for bigger mainstream <s>read: whitewashOH DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD</s> chains and stuff. They're cheaper =/

But you know, there's the issue of uh, customers ordering in said Asian language. Bilingualism, and even trilingualism+, is a must in lots of Asian restaurants. It's not that customers can all only speak their native tongue (though it happens), but it IS an expectation. It's just more comfortable for people. That said, if you're white, customers might expect that you wouldn't be bilingual.

But to totally stereotype my own race, if you were white and you went up to middle-aged Japanese customers (who you overheard speaking in Japanese) and asked them what they wanted... in JAPANESE... older Asians think white people who speak their language are the most amazing thing in the world.

[mechana2015]

The only bad experience I've had with asian restaurants is the waiter handing all the white people at the table forks... and then turning to the one asian with us, and telling her "and you won't need this right?" and walking away.

I used chopsticks the whole night... that fork was totally clean. (I can eat practically anything with chopsticks, and it seems to surprise a lot of asians, despite living in a highly asian area...)

[CreatureArt]

I'm with you, Mechana - I'm more comfortable using chopsticks than a fork with most dishes.

Ha, although you often get people from Asia hired for Chinese, Japanese restaurants etc. its doesn't mean the people are from the same area as the food style (if that makes sense).

There's a Japanese restaurant just down from my classes that is entirely staffed by Koreans. I made the mistake of saying 'Ohayoo' to them before actually listening to what language they spoke in. ^^"

[AsianBlossom]

Yeah, I once practiced my Japanese on the waiter at our restaurant, and he apparently isn't Japanese, nor does he speak it. -///-

Now, the OTHER restaurant we went to had a Japanese waitress, and I got to practice a little Japanese after we finished eating ("gochisousama desh'ta") . She then gave me a little bit of Japan travel advice (like, Kyoto is more traditional, Tokyo more modern, stuff like that), which was cool.

[minakichan]

Haha, in my hometown, ALL of the Japanese restaurants are run by Chinese people. You go into a place with a Japanese name that serves sushi and other "Japanese-y" foods (whatever THAT means), and you always expect to be speaking Chinese. I've never seen it the other way around.