Akihabara holds a few little gem destinations for you to visit. If you are into Otaku culture and are paying a visit to Akihabara, a Maid Café is a must on your travel itinerary.

Maid Cafés started out as a small niche fad, but have taken Japan by storm. They fall into a subcategory of cosplay restaurants. In these maid cafés, waitresses dress up as maids and serve the customers in these roles, treating the patrons as masters or mistresses. The maids outfits are usually based on the usual French maid costume, but some have fun added extras like cat ears or tails.

So if you like good food, pinafores and being treated like a master, here are some fun and fancy maid cafes for you to try in Akihabara.

1. @home Café

@Home Café is probably the most popular maid café in Akihabara. It actually has two different locations – one smaller branch found on the fifth floor is the Akihabara Don Quijote, and the main branch is found down the road. The main branch has four different floors dedicated to the experience, and there is always a line of people waiting to get in.

As you enter the café, you will be warmly greeted by young, beautiful girls in maid outfits. They address you as master and mistress and treat you as such. They do have English menus, and some maids do speak English as well. You will need to pay a table fee if you do not have a membership card.

On top of the actual maid experience, the food is really good. They love to decorate your food at your table, making faces with sauces and pictures with sprinkles. Each floor has a different design and the maids on each floor are all equally as friendly and welcoming as the next. There is even an option to host a birthday party at @home Café.

However, note that there is a time limit to one hour per table, and you are not allowed to take photos of the maids – only the food!

@home Café |Address: 1-11-4 Sotokanda Mitsuwa Bldg, Chiyoda 101-0021 Tokyo Prefecture | Phone: +81 3-5207-9779 |Website: https://www.cafe-athome.com/

2. Akiba Zettai

This maid café is slightly different to the rest. Apparently it was created by the gods so that cats could take on human form to serve their masters, and for this reason, the maids at Akiba Zettai wear cute little cat ears.

Walking in, you are greeted by cute and energetic cat maids who show you to your own table. They will explain the ins-and-outs of the restaurant to you and how best to enjoy it all.

There are English menus available, and the charge is 600 yen for a table, you need to at least order a drink, and then an additional 600 yen per hour after the first hour. In order to call one of the cat maids, simple call out nyan-nyan and they will come to your service.

If you are lucky, you will catch one of the wotagei dances on the stage in the café. It is a cute dance involving chanting, clapping and jumping. The food is decent and decorated with cat images and paraphernalia where possible. You get your own set of cat ears, and before you leave you can have a souvenir photo taken with one of the cat maids for 600 yen.

Akiba Zettai | Address: 1F Obayashi Building, 3-1-1 Soto Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | Phone: +81-050-1180-6584 | Website: http://akibazettai.com/SP/english/

3. Mononopu

So this café is pretty different to the ordinary maid cafés. Here, daughters of past famous warriors are dressed in armor, as maids, as ordered by legendary warrior Moda Nopunaga.

Mononopu is a little darker inside than the other brighter cafés. The décor is based around the Sengoku era and there are flags and symbols hanging on the walls. To keep with the theme, you are told the rules of the café and let know that if you do not follow the rules, you might be punished with a beheading or banishment.

You call the maids over using a clapper called a naruko. The menu and food are all named after the feudal theme and the armored maids decorate your food with ketchup at the table, then cast a spell on your food with a little bit of chanting.

The battlefield maid café is definitely a must visit if you like something a little off the beaten path. While the whole maid café concept is unusual to most, the battlefield maid café is just that much more unique.

Mononopu | Address: Soto-Kanda 4-6-2 Isuzu Building 5F, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | Phone: 03-5296-9199 | Website: http://mononopu.com/

4. Maidreamin

If you are looking for some light-hearted but funky fun, Maidreamin is waiting for your visit. The café is filled with the sounds of Japanese pop music and there is usually one of the maids on stage performing with some song and dance.

There are both male and females maids, so it caters to everyone. The food is crafted to be visually cute and really delicious as well. You are welcomed into the restaurant with an opening ceremony with one of the maids, where you are granted full entry into the fairy-tale café. You are encouraged to join in with a chant and dance, which helps your destress and relax, fully enjoying the experience. The café seems to focus on getting everyday workers to forget the stress of their day, and let themselves enjoy the ambience and fun that the maids have to offer. The food is also really enjoyable as well. You can pay to have a photo with one of the maids, a little souvenir to remember your visit.

Maidreamin | Address: Aruarucity 1F.2-14-5, Asano, Kokurakita-ku Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka, 802-0001, Japan | Phone: 03-6272-3263 | Website: https://maidreamin.com/multilp/

5. Mia-Café

Mia is short for Maid in Angels; it is a maid café that caters to the niche perfectly. It is a great maid café for tourists to try, as it is just 5 minutes away from the JR Akihabara station. It is full of all things kawaii, with the maids being as cute as can be as well.

The waitresses are there to serve the ‘masters’, and even finish off the preparation of each meal with a cute message written in ketchup. Mia Café offers up a more relaxing, and supposedly healing, experience. It is a good first maid café for those entering the scene for the first time.

Mia Café | Address: TH Building 2-19-36, Suida-cho Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | Phone: +81 352-561-335 | Website: http://www.mia-cafe.com/

6. Cure Maid Café

Cure Maid Café offers customers a relaxing and healing place to escape to. It is a calm atmosphere and a break from the usual rush of work life.

The maids serve up the cafés own brand of tea, and the café has a certificate from the Japan Tea Association as being a Good Tea Shop. There is quite a mix of the maid-theme and anime in the café, but it is still true to the otaku feel.

The food is also highly praised in the establishment, and if you don’t feel like tea, there is a bar that serves up alcoholic beverages as well. The atmosphere is not as energetic and obtrusive as some other maid cafés, but the customer service is still outstanding.

Cure Maid Café | Address: 3-15-5 SotoKanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo G Store Akiba 6F | Phone: +81 03-3258-3161 | Website: http://www.curemaid.jp/

7. Queen Dolce

Queen Dolce is a maid café with a difference. Instead of having cute, girly maids serving you, it is a danso café where the waitresses are dressed as male butlers. The service is still the same, except your waitrons play a different role.

If you go through during your birthday month, the café will treat you to a special cocktail and birthday picture. They often have themed events, mostly anime themed.

Overall, it is a place for the women to be treated as mistresses by the butlers, but this is no ways means the men can’t come along for a great experience as well. The food is good and they do serve alcohol as well.

Queen Dolce | Address: - 15-6 Kokubu Suehiro Building 4, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo | Phone: +81 03-3252-2031 | Website: http://akibakotower.com/queen-dolce/

8. The Granvania

This maid café is a mix between Japanese maid café culture and European tavern style dining. It is a fairly large café and you can choose to sit at large wooden tables or wall booths.

The café likes to change it up twice a week, changing their style every few days. The first style of the week is called Princess Night where all the waitresses / maids wear princess cosplay outfits and then freestyle when the maids can wear any type of cosplay outfit they want.

The theme takes you back to old England, and you will be greeted with a warm and respectful Master or Mistress, welcoming you back home. Regular visitors receive special member cards where you can earn or loose points completing different missions and playing different games. Having enough points is the only way you can have your photo taken with the maids, or you can choose to use the points for discounts.

Take a trip to old England, in Tokyo, and be served by pretty maids, all while feeling like a master or mistress.

The Granvania | Address: 1-14-3 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0021 | Phone: 03-3251-5359 | Website: http://the-granvania.ciao.jp/

9. Pinafore

For some easy-going, friendly fun, Pinafore is a good maid café to visit. The maids are super friendly, and try their best to make conversation even if they can’t speak English. It is a traditional maid café and is full of bright, cute and colorful décor and paraphernalia.

If you order an Omurice, which is omelette rice, the maids will bring it to your table and decorate it however you want in front of you. Most of their food is decorated with anime drawings, and the menu includes meals such as curries and lattes. The café prides itself on being healing and being able to deliver Moe to its patrons. Pop in during your birthday month, along with your ID for proof, and enjoy a photo with one of the maids.

It is actually a great maid café for tourists, as it is a one minute walk from the Akihabara station, and you can escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo for a little while.

Pinafore | Address: 1F Yamanaka Building, 1-19 Sakumacho Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | Phone: +81 03-6206-8739 | Website: https://pinafore.jp/en/

10. Jam Akihabara

Pay a visit to Jam Akihabara if you are looking for a relaxing, soothing and healing experience. The décor is not obnoxious and the maids are calming. It was one of the first maid cafés opened in Jam Akihabara, and has that air of tradition around it.

You are not required to pay a charge for a table and you do not require a minimum order of a drink at the café. Their food is relatively cheap, you can order a full lunch set and a drink for only 600 yen, and you are allowed to sit and enjoy the café, and free wifi, for as long as you want.

It is probably the most relaxed maid café around, and offers tourists a chance to experience maid culture without the loudness and obnoxiousness that most maid cafés give.

Jam Akihabara | Address: 3-2-13 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0021 | Phone: +81 03-3253-1855 | Website: http://jam-akiba.com/

Whether you are popping through Akihabara during your trip or staying for a few days, you have to visit one of the maid cafés. Even though it is a niche market, there is a maid café for each taste. Why not take a trip to as many maid cafés as you can, to really enjoy the Otaku culture? You might be lucky and get a photo with one of the maids!