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.
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!)
This is an interesting subject and I hope you have a chance to visit and research these places. I would like to read a more ethnographic post based upon your own participation and observations.
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