The maid cafe industry is apparently having a tough time of it, with Akiba cafe numbers halving in recent years, and some fearing the maid cafe bubble may have actually burst for good.
According to reports by journalists anxiously reporting on the state of this most crucial of Japan’s industries, it is not looking good – one database lists a total of a mere 132 maid cafes in Akihabara, out of the 282 recorded as having opened.
How their numbers could have apparently halved when they offer such an essential service is the subject of much speculation online:
“Paying ¥1200 for some frozen omelette a girl has written ‘nyan nyan’ on in ketchup is not happening.”
“Nobody thinks ‘I’m hungry, I’ll go eat at a maid cafe.’ The barrier to entry for any normal person is rather high.”
“Maids are OK but serve us normally, none of that moe-moe-kyun stuff please!”
“They did a maid cafe out our school festival and that was quite enough for me.”
“Their personnel system is set up like a cabaret club but you can’t touch and their revenue comes only from light meals and drinks. It’s a difficult model to sustain.”
“I went to one on a business trip to Tokyo, but the service is just too annoying. I was expecting something quite different.”
“I’m not convinced by the statistics. They just show a high rate of closures, but that’s about it.”
“Right, they may just have a short life expectancy per-shop, with fast opening and fast closing”
“With all the otaku in them they hardly provide an environment appealing to new customers.”
“Look at all the cuties they have at the AKB cafe!:”
“What are these creatures…”
“Somebody throw some water on them.”
“Aren’t there any normal cafes where they just dress in maid uniforms?”
“Yes, try Ginza West or something.”
“Maid cafes are just too high level. It was inevitable they’d go out of fashion.”
“Over ¥1000 for a glass of juice is outrageous. And despite being maids the service is poor and well below that you’d see in a cabaret club. And of course, they are patronised by creepy regulars. Why would anyone go to one?”
“They are all the same when it comes to regular customers compared to actual cafes. You are better off going to one of those.”
“The number of maid cafes boomed, and with all the copy cat cafes their image collapsed and customers lost interest. You can find cute JKs at a normal fast food place and just go there, and you won’t get ripped off.”
“You can buy anything in Akihabara anywhere else these days, no wonder fewer people feel drawn there. I haven’t been for a year.”
“I’d be OK with a maid cafe where the staff dressed as maids but didn’t try to shove any moe nonsense down your throat or provide fake conversations.”
“They are just daytime cabaret clubs. Too many of them are managed by the same people as those clubs too…”
“They used to be run by otaku, these days it is just the same yakuza who run the brothels. And their mass influx is why it ended up like this.”
“I’m still waiting for a yandere cafe…”
And let me guess. Host clubs are still booming full of lonely housewives?
Stop over-charging customers for food and provide more variety on the menu. More entertainment features.
It’s simple really. Throw in a Karoke box in there and host parties.
It is possible this phenomenon (maid cafes) is a generational fad. Now that the otaku or other types who would have gone them are either burned out, or “moved on”. The customer base would shrink. Do even nerdy middle-school kids look forward to being able to go to maid cafes? In a few more decades there may be a handful left catering to senior citizens who haven’t given up on it yet.
only losers without girlfriends go to such places
I bet most of their customers are married salary men actually.
how can one complain about 3dpd, then pay 3-4x more than normal to be served by 3dpd in maid costumes?