Tokyo 2009 - Part 3

Tokyo, Day 4, Friday 16th October

Started the day with a walk through the Okachimachi markets to try and find a temple we had seen on the train previously when passing through Okachimachi station. We managed to find it without too much trouble. What makes it interesting is the fact it is nestled in amongst the various shops of the markets. We took a few photos and then continued on our way towards our destination for the morning - Akihabara.

Akihabara, also known by the shorter "Akiba", is the home to electronic consumer goods, collectibles, capsule toys and maid cafes. Basically the geek capital of Tokyo (or as they are known in Japanese, Otaku). We had a bit of a wander around a few of the collectibles stores and then headed to a shop we knew of that has the largest collection of capsule machines (i.e. vending machines that contain toys/collectibles in capsules, also known in Japanese as Gashapon). We spent a fair bit of time here, putting coins into machines and amassing a collection of capsules.

One of the things we really wanted to do this trip was visit one of the maid cafes, as we managed to avoid doing so on our previous trip. A maid cafe (a type of "cosplay restaurant") is a cafe where the waitresses dress in maid outfits and treat the customers like masters/mistresses rather than customers. When we came out of the capsule toy shop we noticed girls handing out leaflets and trying to entice passers by into a maid cafe that was upstairs in a nearby building. So we decided to check it out. As we headed towards the elevator one of the girls came over, assured us that they have an English menu and English speaking staff and escorted us up in the elevator to the cafe.

We had to pay 500 yen each for admission (gives us 60 minutes in the cafe), and agree to a list of rules - such as no photography, no personal questions or touching the girls, etc. Along with their maid outfits, the girls had various toys and other flair - the girl that showed us to our seats had a large fluffy alpaca toy hanging from her apron. We eventually decided on what to order from the somewhat limited menu - a plate of fries and a special plate of "assorted pies" - which was things like meatballs, takoyaki balls and fruit salad in small pastry shells. When the fries arrived the waitress performed an amusing song and actions which we had to repeat. When our special plate of "pies" was served there was a major ceremony. The lights were dimmed, special music played, the waitress grabbed a microphone and everyone in the cafe had to perform the song and actions that accompanied this dish! We were then escorted up to a platform where we posed with the waitresses and the dish for a polaroid photo! When we got the bill we were also given the option (for an extra 300 yen) of a "lucky dip" which wins you a picture of one of the waitresses!

All in all we enjoyed our introduction to Japanese Cosplay Otaku Culture although it was somewhat of a shock to us, having to perform strange sing-song actions whenever we were served by the very cute girls in their little maid outfits. Here's the polaroid picture we got with our meal:

After the cultural experience of the maid cafe we wandered around Akihabara a little more and then Sharon decided to head back to the hotel, while Simon spent some more time exploring the geek stores and buying strange but amusing toys from the mammoth 7 story Yodobashi Camera electronics (and toys, games) store.

After reuniting back at our hotel and a brief rest, we headed over to Tokyo Disneyland to take advantage of their cheaper after 6pm rate. We'll be spending more time at the Tokyo Disney resort this trip but took this opportunity to go on a few rides (Pirates of the Caribbean, Pooh's Honey Hunt), have some dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant, and do some shopping for the Disney merch we love so much.