Into electronics and old computers? How about manga and anime? Or action figures and robots? Or women who dress up at maids and entertain you for money? You can find all this in Akihabara.
Shane told me I should check it out and mentioned the maid cafes. I thought the idea of girls dressing up as maids so guys can pay to play cards with them was weird and one of those "only in Japan" experiences I should see for myself. I also thought Clay would get a kick out of it.
This was our second day in Tokyo and I was still skeptical about our ability to get around since finding specific addresses here can be a bit tricky. Turns out finding a maid cafe in Akihabara isn't hard at all. When we got out of the train station the "maids" were standing there handing out flyers to attract customers. All the flyers had maps, but unfortunately they were in Japanese. It didn't matter. We ended up finding one simply by walking around the block. The Amusement Cafe had girls in green and white maid outfits. Their hair in braids. Knee socks with ruffles and mary jane shoes were also part of the costume. We were handed a menu that not only included food but "recommended amusements" we could choose. A card game. A drawing by one of the maids on the back of a coaster. A game of pool. Or perhaps a maid could sing us a song. We chose none of the above and opted for something called "burnt curry." The menu said it was their specialty. It did smell good so what the hell.
Turns out "burnt curry" is curry sauce over rice mixed with cheese and topped with a smiley face drawn in ketchup. It looked like something a 6 year old would make on "make your own dinner night". Anyway, we ate it and it wasn't bad. I think it could have done without the ketchup. Clay said the ketchup was a vehicle for the smiley face. He's right, of course.
While we ate, we were entertained with a rendition of a Japanese pop song by one of the maids. Guess someone wanted to be amused. She did a little dance with hand movements and jumping and she smiled the whole time she was up there. Later another maid got up and led the entire restaurant in game of rock/paper/scissors only we didn't understand what was going on for a bit. Really funny once we realized what was going on. The winner of rock/paper/scissors was treated to prize from the "Lucky Box." Yes, the little gold box actually said "Lucky Box" in english. The guy who won was given a coaster drawing.
I noticed Clay looked a bit uncomfortable. Then I noticed what was on the projection screen. Young girls in school uniforms and girls dressed as maids looking innocently seductive. Ok. Time to go. We were rushed out anyway since the place was full and some guys were waiting to get inside to be entertained by the maids.