Spotted In Akihabara’s Junk Street
Akihabara is known for its many themed restaurants, maid cafes, and even hostess bars. But when one looks into it, they may discover some hidden odd gems. This was my experience with the male maid cafe New Type.
After seeing a video for it online, I decided to make my way there, not exactly sure what to expect. On a weekday night, I then followed the instructions on my GPS, and spotted a tiny banner in Japanese for it on a side building in Junk Street, which I am so used to wandering for some cheap second-hand anime figurines.
Actually, it’s not so surprising that someone who doesn’t read Japanese would completely pass it by; at first glance, the poster showcases some pretty young Japanese girls like any other. When you spend more time looking at it, though, you realize that those are definitely men. It’s funny how one can miss such big details.
Anyways, happy to have found my destination, I go on to climb the three flights of stairs to the cafe (the elevator had been broken for a week…)
A Charming Little Cafe
Arriving upstairs, I am greeted by a full ceiling of fake sakura flowers, which I found absolutely delightful. As I entered, one must pass a little corridor, and they find themselves in the main bar area.
It’s just a few bar stools and a couple of tables, with a bar counter and a tiny open plan kitchen on the side. The walls have a fun wallpaper featuring paint splatters in greyscales. Those same sakura flowers follow suit, blooming inside of some picture frames on one of the walls. Three screens are playing an episode of Gundam with the browser frame visible all around.
As I came to learn later on, the bathrooms have posters of the unequivocally homoerotic anime JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. And of course, there they are, the boy maids.
Prices of Food & Drinks
As I get invited to sit down at the bar counter, I am handed a menu, indicating to me that I must pay for one hour of all-you-can-drink to stay there (non optional), which costs 2,990¥. I acquiesce, and order a beer (the only drink that they can’t water down in those kinds of places).
Looking at the rest of the menu, I spot their famous omurice, on which one of the maids can draw something at the request of the client with ketchup. Figuring it would make for good content, I ordered this for 1,400¥.
It arrives a few minutes later, and I request from one of the maids that she draw Sumikko Gurashi’s Tokage on it. A quick Internet search later, she’s at it! It was a fascinating process, and very cute to watch. Once the character is drawn and pictures are taken, I regretfully get to eat the masterpiece.
It’s simple: some rice with a ketchup-based sauce and a few pieces of pork and vegetables, with a quick omelet on top. The rice part is probably frozen, but I’m not mad at it; one doesn’t come to these kinds of places for food, and it actually tastes quite nostalgic.
Omurice devoured this dinner time, I got to chatting with the maids.
Very Friendly and Chatty Staff
Dresses, wigs, and makeup on, the maids were truly what my dreams are made of. I was wondering about their voices, if they were to feign a girlish accent. Well, not really! Although most of them seemed like feminine guys, they spoke naturally and freely.
The maids were surprisingly friendly and chatty. They openly told me about their lives, hobbies, or where they were from. Although they took turns chatting with me, I had a somewhat “assigned” maid with whom I chatted more. Although she never told me her name, I came to learn that she was only 17, and had been working at the bar since she was 15.
She willingly showed me videos of her playing the guitars and the drums at some events she performed at. And of course, she drew an adorable Tokage on my omurice, as she proudly told me that another maid had cooked the eggs.
She also told me that the cafe was rather long-standing, and was opened about 15 years ago. That was truly to my surprise, as I wouldn’t imagine the Japanese society of a decade and a half ago to be so open about these sorts of things. That also means that they made it through the Covid pandemic, unlike a lot of shops in touristy areas of Tokyo: Akihabara, Harajuku, Ginza…
I also dared to question her about the identity of the people working there, and she revealed that they were mostly gay men, but few or no trans women, unlike what I was expecting. Although, this may be due to the need to stay closeted, like I talked about in my article about bisexuality in Japan.
It is worthy to note that the staff speaks very little English, but they will be happy to use their translator to chat with you!
A Varying Customer Base
As I visited this place on the early evening of a weekday, I decided not to take the customer base I saw alongside myself as the typical one for this type of place. There is no other way to say it; other than me, there were three foreigners: a balding guy in his 40s, someone with cat ears on, and a chatty young man who was definitely flirting with one of the maids.
However, the nameless maid assured me that the place would get busier as the night went on, and that they made most of their business on weekends. According to her, it was actually quite rare to see foreigners (I blame the viral Internet video), and most of the customers were actually females, so quite the opposite of tonight.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to the NewType maid cafe. Sure, it’s not a luxury restaurant, and it’s a bit pricey; but the entertainment is worth it all. I have really had the chance to have such extended conversations with a Japanese person, let alone staff in a cafe.
They were just so cute and friendly, I cannot feel anything else than the need to go back again and bring some friends next time! I even learnt that upstairs was a “fat maid cafe”. An idea for another time… Meanwhile, feel free to read about my first time at a muscle girls bar.
Japan Gay Guide is not affiliated or sponsored by NewType maid cafe.
