Maid café

The increased competition drove the cafes to employ more diversified themes, gimmicks and even unusual tactics to attract customers.

Maid cafés were traditionally associated with Akihabara (秋葉原), a district in Tokyo famous for its extensive electronics and anime/manga related stores.

[4] Historically, following Japan’s economic crash during the 1990s, the ideas surrounding intimacy changed to become more individualistic.

Though maid cafés do not provide sexual services, the gender relations contribute to the popularity and enjoyable experience for patrons.

Scholars such as Patrick Galbraith and Anne Allison conclude that maid cafés provide a very different experience compared to things such as hostess clubs.

[1] These places focus more on the workplace and satisfying men due to their hard work, whereas maid cafés operate in quite different ways.

Furthermore, according to anthropologists such as Anne Allison, a maid café lacks the same sexual and caretaker undertones that hostess bars do.

Customers tend to not stray from appropriate topics as an attempt to preserve this space created through role play with the maid.

[1] The maids themselves tend to enjoy anime and manga and other aspects of otaku culture, allowing them to create further connections with their patrons.

Contrary to popular belief, the maids themselves tend to enjoy their work due to the ability to express themselves and explore the café's alternate character universe alongside the patrons.

In addition to the strict rules for patrons, the maids adopt different names for work and are not allowed to smoke or drink.

When their careers as maids come to a close, whether due to age or by choice, some can opt to work for the corporate agencies behind these cafés.

[8] Maid cafés were originally designed primarily to cater to the fantasies of male otaku – fans of anime, manga and video games.

[6][10] Around the early 2000s, maid cafés became more common and popular in Japan as otaku culture became increasingly mainstream.

[9] As a result, there has been a diversification of themes and services at the restaurants but they are ultimately still predominantly colored by anime and video games.