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!

Posted by gia in Misc, Videos • Comments (5)

Back in March I reported on a new offshoot of the maid cafe phenomenon: a Mother Cafe, featuring 19-40+ year old women, which has now opened in Osaka. The Mainichi has an article on the new otaku hot spot, and some of the features a Mother-type maid can offer:

Staff are encouraged to make even the shyest customers feel at ease, and their motherly ministrations extend to hand-feeding anybody who orders a slice of cake.

Asahi Geino notes that regulars will be able to designate their own “mother” to serve them every time they visit at no extra cost, with “moms” instructed to make sure they nag repeat visitors about their lifestyles to make the experience as real as possible. (By Ryann Connell)

I like the concept of a MILF cafe, but I don’t know how much I’d want to pay to get nagged.

* Hey, I’m Italian, I’m allowed.

Posted by gia in JP News, Misc, News, Otaku • Comments (4)