Maid cafes are a dime a dozen in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara. They're totally normal. Cafe t.t.t. might be in Akihabara, but it's zip codes are way from normal.
Cafe t.t.t. is a kigurumi cafe. Literally, "Kigurumi" is a mash of the Japanese word "kiru" ("to wear") and "nuigurumi" ("plush toy"). In kigurumi cosplay, people—often men—don full body suits and cover their head with anime style masks, bringing 2D drawings into our 3D world.
That's why kigurumi is often cross-dressing. Nothing wrong with that, I guess!
At Cafe t.t.t., all the maids waiting tables are kigurumi bishoujo ("beautiful young girl"). As not to break character (and perhaps reveal that they're dudes), the staff only communicate with customers via body language and in writing.
According to Akiba Keizai Shimbun, the maids also play mini-games with customers. No doubt, they play games like paper-rock-scissors.
Food-wise, there are the maids' handmade cheesecake for ¥700 (US$9), omlettes and hotcakes for ¥1,000 ($13) each, as well as drinks like hot chocolate and cafe latte for ¥700 ($9) each.
Those who want to commemorate their visit to Cafe t.t.t. (and really, why wouldn't you?) can shell out ¥500 for a photo with one of the maids. The cafe also has maid photocards available for sale.
"We'd love lots of people to come and meet with our beautiful girl kigurumi," said Cafe t.t.t.'s manager.
Believe or not, this isn't the first kigurumi cafe in Akihabara. Last year, there was a temporary kigurumi cafe that was designed to be open for just a day. Likewise, Cafe t.t.t. will be a special, one-day only affair. It will be open on Oct. 10 from 10am to 4:30pm.
The other 364 days? They're totally safe.
You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at bashcraft@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
(Top photo: Triomphe Co.,Ltd)
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