The Akihabara area of Tokyo is a paradise of otaku culture, with stores selling everything you can imagine related to anime, manga, games, and electronics. Akihabara Station can be reached by the JR or Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. It's around five minutes from Tokyo Station and Ueno Station and easily accessible from major sightseeing spots in Tokyo such as Ginza and Shinjuku.

Akihabara's Chuo-dori avenue, lined with electronics stores and massive arcades, becomes a pedestrian-only area on Sunday afternoons and evenings, and is a popular spot to take photos with the colorful cityscape for a backdrop. On the side streets, you can find cozy little PC parts stores and a growing number of shops selling used games and anime merchandise.

From hard-core otakus to uninitiated tourists, anyone can find something to enjoy in Akihabara, and more and more maid cafes are vying for the attention of visitors to this popular area. You may have already seen the deluge of maid cafes advertising on social media, as well as the different varieties and sub-types that categorize them. It’s information overload, especially for those who’ve never visited such a cafe before. How can you possibly pick just one?

To help better understand the world of maid cafes, we asked Yamamoto, the producer of MAID√MADE cafe, and Tsumugi, a maid who works there, for advice on choosing the right café for you.

MAID√MADE was chosen as the number one restaurant (*as of December 2023) in Chiyoda Ward (the Akihabara and Tokyo Station area) by TripAdvisor. Yamamoto is a famous producer who has developed one popular maid cafe after the other, and Tsumugi is a professional maid with a long history working at maid cafes in Akihabara.

Right now, most of the maid cafes in Akihabara fall into one of three main categories. Yamamoto and Tsumugi help us explain them here.

1. Coffee shop-style (Kissa-style)
At coffee shop-style maid cafes, called "maid kissa" in Japanese, maids serve you food and drinks in a cozy, retro atmosphere. The main difference from other maid cafes is that the maids are dressed in a more classical style. In most cases, they wear long black skirts and white aprons. One iconic example is the Cure Maid Cafe, which is said to be the oldest maid cafe in Akihabara.

"Maids and customers also don't often chat with each other, so the place is very quiet and relaxing," shares Yamamoto.

"Another key point is the delicious food! The maids make the food themselves, there is a daily special, and all of them are very particular about the food they serve. Many people visit to enjoy a good lunch," notes Tsumugi.

2. Entertainment-style
Here, customers can enjoy lively performances by the maids. There are tons of exciting elements that allow customers to interact with the maids, such as getting a drawing in ketchup on your omelet, requesting a specific dance to be performed on stage, and more. Costumes are characterized by above-the-knee skirts, knee-high stockings, ribbons, frills, and other accessories, plus the iconic maid elements such as aprons and headdresses.

According to Yamamoto, "Around 20 years ago, a TV series called Densha Otoko (Train Man) starring an otaku from Akihabara, became a big hit in Japan, and otaku culture began to rapidly gain recognition. This led to a boom in entertainment-style maid cafes, which are emblematic of Akihabara's otaku culture.”

“In Japanese otaku culture, the word moe is slang for something or someone that is super adorable. I want to give people an immersive moe experience, like going to an amusement park!" Tsumugi adds.

3. "Girls bar"-style
This type of maid cafe focuses on talking with customers. The maids aren't allowed to entertain guests in a one-on-one setting, but the overall emphasis is on chatting with the maids as they serve you food and drinks. They also serve alcoholic drinks until late into the night.

"Some cafes have unique themes, such as ninja or fairy cafes, so I recommend that you compare the concepts and choose the one that appeals to you," Yamamoto shares.

"There are a lot of chances to talk with the girls who serve you, and I’ve even heard that some people ask for life advice at those cafes," Tsumugi adds.

Akihabara's maid cafes are becoming more and more diverse. Yamamoto and Tsumugi gave us advice on how to choose the right maid cafe for you.

"The coffee shop-style is for people who want a relaxing and laidback experience. Many people go there alone, so it’s a nice spot for lunch on a solo trip,” Yamamoto says. “Entertainment-style cafes are better for those who want to experience moe in Japan. If you want to visit a maid cafe just like what you've seen in anime or manga, this is the best choice! If you want to spend some time chatting with the maids, then the girls bar-style would be better."

"If you've never been to a maid cafe before, go for the coffee shop or entertainment-style cafe. For people who are shy and may not enjoy the attention at other maid cafes, you'll like the coffee shop-style better,” advises Tsumugi. “If you want to make memories and have fun with the maids in Akihabara, the entertainment-style is perfect. The girls bar-style is recommended for advanced customers who want to talk with the maids and drink."

Entertainment-style maid cafes appear frequently in anime and manga. Here are some of their iconic features that you won't want to miss.

1. The "moe-moe-kyun" chant
This chant is used to make the food and drinks taste even better. A maid will lovingly sing this chant for you when she brings your food: "Oishikunare, moe, moe, moe, kyun!" It means "Delicious! Cute, cute, cute," and "kyun" is the sound of your heart squeezing from how adorable this all is. If you think the full chant is too much to memorize, feel free to say "Delicious" in English in place of the first word.

MAID√MADE is staffed by robotic maids who use the "moe-moe-kyun" chant as a ritual to install emotions. "This is an important process to help the maids connect with their masters and ladies. You might be a little nervous to chant along, but once you try it, all your shyness will disappear," Tsumugi promises. Be brave and give the moe-moe-kyun chant a try!

2. Omurice with a drawing
"Omurice" is the name for a beloved Japanese comfort food, an omelet on top of rice flavored with ketchup. At MAID√MADE, they'll even draw an adorable picture in ketchup on the omelet for you. This is the most popular item at maid cafes.

"We'll draw whatever our masters and ladies ask, like your pet or favorite anime character,” Tsumugi says. “We love drawing them for customers to take photos of and share with their friends and family."

3. Instant camera photo
This is a standard activity at an entertainment or girls bar-style maid cafes. Take a photo with a maid on an instant camera that will be printed out as soon as you take it. They'll even draw something special on it for you.

When taking a picture together, the maid will suggest a pose. For example, putting your hands on your head like a bunny in the "pyon-pyon" or "hop hop" pose, or putting your fists below your chin and looking up in the "kyun-kyun" pose. "It's a unique experience to take a photo in a pose you would never normally do," Tsumugi shares.

MAID√MADE is a maid cafe only a minute's walk from JR Akihabara Station. The moment it opened, word quickly spread and the cafe has since earned the number one spot as the best restaurant in Chiyoda Ward on TripAdvisor. It's no exaggeration to say that this is the most lively and popular maid cafe in Akihabara today.

The servers at MAID√MADE are robotic maids equipped with magical AI. Sent from a future world where everything is run by AI, they are installing emotions to help regenerate the hearts of the people of the future. Or at least, that's the cafe's backstory. Your mission is to help install emotions in the maids by chatting, taking pictures, and having a good time with them.

Another appeal of MAID√MADE is that the style and worldbuilding of the cafe was created by artists active in the world of anime and manga. The cover of the menu book and the uniform design are by LAM, a popular artist with 730,000 followers on X/Twitter. LAM is also famous for designing the cover of the catalog for Comic Market (commonly known as Comiket), one of the world's largest doujinshi and original manga sales events.

The futuristic interior of the cafe was also designed by LAM's company, Rairai Corporation. The space reflects the creativity and innovation of people on the cutting edge of Japanese subculture and the anime industry.

MAID√MADE has a wide variety of unique dishes and drinks you won't want to miss. We asked Tsumugi for her recommendations.

The Space-Time Transfer Parfait (1,518 yen) is inspired by the device that allows the robotic maids to travel from the future to the past. A maid floats in the space between the cookie and jelly, giving this parfait a fantastical aura. Filled with macaroons, ice cream, whipped cream, and bavarois, this dish is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. "Us maids love it, too, and after work we all get excited about what flavor of parfait we'll have that day," Tsumugi notes.

As the name suggests, the Become-a-Maid Soda (1,430 yen) is an original drink that lets you become a maid, too. When you drink through the straw, the lower half of your face is hidden by a large illustration, making you look like a maid. The carbonated drink with blue syrup is refreshing and moderately sweet.

With the Hand-drawing on Demi-glace Omurice, you'll get your own special ketchup drawing on your omelet. The rich demi-glace sauce goes well with the fluffy omelet and it comes in a generous portion. This dish is satisfying enough for lunch or a light meal.

One of MAID√MADE's special performances is LIVE. You order a performance from a maid of your choice, and she will dance on the stage in the center of the cafe.

You can request any song from the list. Different maids can dance to different songs, so spend some time choosing a maid and what kind of song you want.

Glow sticks (330 yen per stick) are also sold so the audience can cheer on the maids while they perform. "Waving the sticks in time to the music makes the live shows more fun,” notes Tsumugi. Cheering on the maids while you wave your glow stick is a classic otaku experience."

MAID√MADE offers a Tutorial Set which makes it easy for first-time visitors to enjoy a maid cafe. There are a total of four types, including the Fluffy Tutorial Set (3,278 yen), which includes an omurice, a drink, and an instant photo, and the Sweet Tutorial Set (2,915 yen), which includes a dessert, a drink, and an instant photo. All sets can be upgraded to include a live performance request for an additional 1,750 yen.

MAID√MADE is a maid cafe that has taken the standard maid cafe services, such as drawing on omurice and live performances, and elevated them to a whole new level. MAID√MADE's popularity is due to its unique concept, the Tutorial Sets that are easy for beginners to try, and unique, photo-worthy menu items, all of which are the latest innovations to the beloved entertainment-style maid cafe. Why not visit a maid cafe, which has now become a part of Japanese culture, and enjoy a "moe-moe-kyun" experience of your own?