Newsflash: Japanese People Think Westerners Are Pretty
Well, some of them, anyway.
CNN reports on a butler cafe that caters to women with yet another specific niche. Rather than the butlers being Japanese men (or Japanese women dressed as men), the men of the Butlers Cafe are all westerners.
The owner of the cafe suggests that Japanese men are too embarassed for the grand romantic gestures that these particular customers want, and some of the customers say that they’re just exhausted from running their careers and handling their husbands, and want a little time to feel special.
And that special feeling is what the cafe specializes in. Each customer is referred to as “my princess” and is given a tiara for the duration of her stay. The men serve the customers on one bended knee, and will apparently on request lift a woman into a “princess hold” (you know the one I’m talking about) for a photo op…at least if you’re a journalist.
As for the men themselves, well, they aren’t the most attractive (or most intelligent) I’ve ever seen. One butler is relieved that he found work in Japan that wasn’t teaching English, while another compares their cafe to Hooters. (Yeah, I see the validity of that comparison, but I wouldn’t exactly call that a clever or elegant way to put it…) Oh, and another mentions that he hasn’t told anyone at home what he’s been doing in Japan. Guess they’ll find out!
And the guy in the above picture? Well, apparently customers are given a bell with which to summon their butler(s), and when they were demonstrating it, all three men responded with “yes, my princess.” But that guy gave a massive eye-roll while doing it. Not very princely, unless he was merely raising his eyes to the heavens to thank god for the existence of his customer…which I doubt.
Still, looks like a fun spot. Maybe I’ll drop in on my next visit and heckle ‘em!
Tags: butlers, cafes, in japan
July 21st, 2008 at 9:15 am
I’ve heard about the same type of thing happening in Disneyland Tokyo. Pretty much any gaijin could pass as Snow White or Prince Charming over there. Oh, that crazy homogeneous society…
July 21st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Heh, a friend of mine wound up in such a café when she was in Tokyo - to her surprise one of the “butlers” turned out to be from the same country as her. :D She said it was fun, though a bit embarrassing for a foreigner.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
This looks hilarious - guess I’ll add this to my list of what I’m going to check out when I’m in Japan.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:07 am
Sweet! I think I just found my next career move! American gigolo in Tokyo.
*ringa-ding* Coming mistress!
July 21st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I saw that bit of news and also rolled my eyes. One of my friends keeps getting called Brad Pitt, despite the fact that he looks absolutely nothing like him. Yet because he’s white and not bad-looking (but not the same features as Brad Pitt), he gets elevated.