Maid in Japan

Tonight, Mai kindly took me to a Maid Cafe in Akihabara, something you'll never find in the States. The joint was called Cos-Cha. They have an all-Nihongo website at www.cos-cha.com, but there are few pictures (just impossibly-proportioned anime maids). Here is another website with photos and English descriptions of some other maid cafes in and around Tokyo's Electric Town. Notice that some of the maids are wearing big furry rabbit or cat ears on their heads? Don't ask, just accept it. I would have thought that this kind of establishment would be rare and underground, but I was wrong. Representatives from different cafes are posted right outside of Akihabara Station, handing out flyers to any passing nerd who looks ready to be parted from his money. The first time I walked by I got no love, but as soon as I strolled back without Mai, a maid in a frilly pink dress neatly pressed a flyer into my open hand and smiled as if by reflex.



*The above image is actually one of only two photos buried deep in the lacy folds of Cos-Cha's website, but I don't know if the featured maid really works there.

Filled with otaku (Nihonjin nerds), the draw of this particular place Mai brought me to seemed to be purchasing some extra contact with the waitresses in the form of a game of janken -- the Japanese version of 'rock paper scissors'. The maid brings out a drink with about eight small bowls, each with a different ingredient. The divertissement then begins: each time the otaku wins a round the maid puts something pleasant into the drink, like strawberry jam or sugar. If the maid wins, she adds a raw egg or natto, or some other nasty shit. You may think the finale is when the fool has to drink the concoction, but you'd only be half right: if he can't down the whole potion (including chewing and swallowing all the fermented soy beans) everybody gets to watch and applaud while the maid hauls off and slaps him across the face. That's right, these guys PAY for this stuff. Sadly, it's verboten to take pictures inside the cafe, so all I have to show for it is what I can find on the internet. For some live-action maid service -- sans slapping -- check out this CNN report, courtesy of YouTube:



THIS is what I came to Japan for! Mad foolish shenanigans and buffoonery that you just can't experience anywhere else in the world. Again, thank you Mai for enlightening me. Kon ban, benkyo ni narimashita.