what the cafe?

There’s a lot of bizarre cafés in Japan. You would never see or even hear of a Ninja café or Maid cafe a Sweets café, or a Cat café in America, yet alone anywhere else in the world except Japan.  I can say that I’ve had the chance to experience a ninja café.  I and two of my roommates went to a ninja café in Kyoto. There is a ninja restaurant and a ninja café, the café is called “Sweets of Ninja”. The restaurant was a bit too pricy, but you could tell that it was way more fun from the sounds of playful screams coming from it. From what I’ve heard, the ninjas come out from shadows and scare you or do ninja like things. The “Sweets of Ninja” is a like “Sweets Paradise”( http://www.sweets-paradise.jp/). It’s a buffet of mostly sweets and a bit of food options.  When you first sit down, they explain that you have to eat as much as you can and designated areas to throw away your trash. They basically explain the rules of the establishment. The rules were written on a scroll, which were laid out on the table in front of us. It’s a really interesting experience. 

For more information on it go to: http://www.ninja-kyoto.com/

Picture from Japaneselifestyle.com

As for the Maid café, I haven’t been to one but I heard it’s really something. My roommate went to one and she said that you have to do a magic spell on the sweets that you order to make it tastier.  They treat you as their “master”, a little creepy right? It seems like a curious place to go to because I wouldn't see people dressed up as maids in any of the areas near where I live in America. Information on Maid Cafes: http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/tokyo/maid_cafe.htm

Where I really want to go is a Neko (cat) café. It sounds really fun though I might find a hairball in my drink. At the café, you basically pet cats for a fee. It’s worth it! (as you can tell from the pictures, irresistible face!) 

Picture from: http://www.tokyotimes.co.jp/post/en/282/Neko+Cafe+in+Ikebukuro.html#image-2544

Japanica

I've been to Universal Studios Japan two times now and it is much Americanized. I’ve never been to the Universal studios in Florida, United States, but I know that the people there aren’t as “enthusiastic” about their job as the Japanese. At least that’s what I got from going to Disney Land; the workers were very bad with people.  I asked my roommate what she thought about Universal Studios Japan and she said it was fun, but boring compared to Tokyo Disney Land. I also asked her if she thought it was Americanized and the answer of course was yes. She said that it Universal Studios Japan has lot of American style architecture, the characters (such as Snoopy, Spider Man, Sesame Street, Pink Panther, etc.) are based from America and they play mostly American music throughout the park. I also found this to be true when I went, including their not so grabbing English musicals with foreigners as the cast.

Universal Studios Japan may be very America but it’s still Japanese because of their bizarre and unique food menus. I thought it was weird to see a lot of American restaurants. The restaurants have the American names, but sell food that is completely Japanese, such as mayonnaise pizza with squid ink. You would never see that in America. There are turkey legs being sold at food stands along with Hello Kitty and Snoopy “nikuman”, which are meat-rolls.

Another difference I saw between the Universal Studios in Japan and the one in the States is that they have different choice in main characters for their audience. Japan stands out with its Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Pink Panther and Sesame Street toys and clothing in every corner of the amusement park.

Japan may have similar attractions as America, but it still manages to show the Japanese culture, with its distinctive way of representing it.

I recommend Hollywood Dream: The Ride for anyone who goes. It’s AMAZINGGGG.