HERE WE COME TO THE KINKIER EDGE OF THE AKIHABARA MAID PHENOMENON -- SOME MIGHT SAY THIS IS THE DARK SIDE OF AKIHABARA... AKIHABARA FOR FREAKS. While most otaku are happy just to politely chat with the maids at the maid cafes, or perhaps get their feet massaged at one of the maid reflexology clinics, others need their maid action harder. Akihabara has its fair share of fetishists, and this site is devoted to those fetishists who are into maids -- and the places which service them. Fancy spending US$200 to sleep the night in a hotel room with a lifesize doll dressed as a maid? You can find this kind of place in Akihabara, and much, much more.
To return to the main maid cafe index, click here.
If you want to stay with this adults only tour of Akihabara, then hold tight, and read on!
Doll@Cafe: 外神田１−６−７秋葉原センタービル5F.
(5th floor Akihabara Center Building, 1-6-7 Soto Kanda.)
Phone: 03/3251 5865. Web: http://www.doll-cafe.net. Map: http://www.doll-cafe.net/html/access.htm.
This place is wierd and is definitely one for the serious fetishists. The idea is that you get to hire a little room to enjoy the company of what -- not a warmblooded Japanese female but actually a doll. Ja you read that right -- you share the room with a lifesize plastic doll. Click here to see pictures of what the dolls look like. They look even duller than the women you see in porn videos. Perhaps that is the whole point! The company website claims:
"ドール＠カフェは完全個室の秘密の小部屋です。
二人きりのプライベートタイムをおたのしみください。
キュートで美しいドール達があなたのご来店をお待ちしております。"
This is definitely adults only territory, unlike some of the tamer cafes such as Cure Maid Cafe! Nonetheless, it sounds interesting. And the most interesting thing is, I took the photo above at Akihabara Station (Hibiya subway line). Yes, in Japan you can put wierd porn billboards even inside busy train stations!
Kojin Satsueikai: 猿楽町２−８−１０水道橋駅前ﾌﾟﾗｻﾞ5F.
(5th floor Suidoubashi Station Plaza, 2-8-10 Enrakumachi.)
Phone: 03/3219 2355. Web: http://www.stacu.co.jp.
On any given Sunday you will see crowds of camera-toting otaku geeks on the streets of Akihabara, feverishly taking pictures of young women dressed as maids or high school students or anime stars, etc. The girls are not there for their own enjoyment per se, but to promote some new maid cafe or some upcoming special event. While it is free to take photos of the girls on the street it can be like a paparazzi scrum sometimes, and it is hard to get a perfect shot. Kojin Satsueikai is an attempt to give amateur photographers a more dignified and professional atmosphere to take their photos, and make some money off them in the meantime. The name "Kojin Satsueikai" basically means "Individual Photography Club" in English.
The flyer I was given in Akihabara yesterday by Mai, one of the girls at Kojin Satsueikai (see the picture above) said: "あなたのデジカメで私をつかまえて". This basically means "you can catch them on your digital camera", them presumably referring to the beautiful girls who work there (Mai included). A more accuate description would be that Kojin Satsueikai gives every geek the chance to be a Playboy photographer for an hour. You can choose which girl you like from the menu, tell them how to pose (do your best Austin Powers imitation and purr: "That's beautiful darling... naughty!"), and happily snap away in the relative privacy of your private studio. The only difference between Kojin Satsueikai and Playboy, is that the models at Kojin Satsueikai don't take their clothes off... as far as I know. However, the studio is located in a part of Chiyoda Ward called Enrakumachi (literally "Monkey Fun District" or "Monkey Business District"), so anything is possible.
Open from 10am to 6pm daily.
Go to the website listed above to book a session with the models.
Pop Life Department.m's:.
Web: http://www.ms-online.co.jp.
It's basically a sex goods emporium. I am not game enough to take photos inside but if you want to see how it looks, click here.
Cheap Bastard pointed out on his guide (mostly dedicated to porn): "This is a four-floor store that sells all sorts of pornographic shit. Funny, I didn't see any hentai manga, although they did have hentai anime. Anyhow, this used to be where a video store called Rocket Soft once lived, although that's not why I've included it in this guide. No, I've included it because of the surreal experience I had there. The store opened recently (recently meaning way back in May, damn I've been lazy about updating this section), and being a Curious Bastard I decided to see what was what. It was after working hours, so I found myself in a store full of young and middle-aged businessmen poring over, well, porn. This whole scene of salarymen earnestly scrutinizing various dildos, whips, riding crops, panties, and other accessories quite frankly scared the beejezus out of me. Having visited each floor briefly, I quickly departed this palatial proprietor of pr0n."
It should be noted that it is not only men who get into the costumes and sex aids at M's Shop. The adult convenience store manages to sell a lot of sexy costumes to girls. "When a girl tries one on, often she asks us to take a photo of her," a store PR guy said. "There are too many customers like that, and our walls are plastered with their photos."
I am heading up to Akihabara tomorrow to check this out for myself.
