Akihabara

A maid café with no table charge.

Cure Maid Café is one of the first and most respected maid cafés in Akihabara, founded in 2001. Unlike typical maid cafés with theatrical performances, this venue emphasizes elegant Victorian-style maid uniforms, refined service and exceptional food quality. The café is certified by the Japanese Tea Association and offers an extensive tea selection as well as Western dishes such as omurice (omelette rice), curry and hamburger steak. The atmosphere is calm and refined, making it appealing even to those visiting a maid café for the first time. Prices are reasonable (¥1,000–2,000 per person), and the staff provide attentive but unobtrusive service. The café often holds collaboration events with anime, which adds to its appeal among otaku culture fans.

A shop for toys and figures.

To get a taste of otaku culture, visit the five-story Animate manga store in Akihabara.

Second-hand figurines (used anime/game figures).

A huge shopping complex with a large selection of electronics and more.

A large shop for second-hand and retro items with the atmosphere of an old library.

A maid café where the waitresses dress as maids and address guests as “master” or “mistress”; they sometimes dance and serve cute, cat-shaped food. There is usually a separate table charge from ¥500, and visits are typically limited to one hour. Photographing the maids and the interior is prohibited, but you can buy a cheki (チェキ) — an instant Instax/Polaroid-style photo. Food prices in such cafés are often inflated and the dishes themselves are rarely remarkable, aside from ketchup-drawn faces or cartoon-style ice cream with a cherry on top.