- Title: JAPAN: Tokyo's cross-dressing cafe attracts both the young and old
- Date: 26th April 2008
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MIYUU KURUSU, A WORKING MAID, SAYING: "I do this for a change since I have an ordinary job. I love talking to people, enjoy wearing cute costumes and get a kick out of it when people tell me I'm pretty."
- Embargoed: 11th May 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAC5TOZO6YCKK97IAR1501MH7PF
- Story Text: Japanese men cross-dress and fill in for women in the latest twist to Tokyo's popular maid cafes.
"Welcome home, Master," said a group of maids bowing deeply to the customer at maid cafe "Hibari Tei (pron: He-bar-ree Te-ei)" on Saturday (April 12).
Long known as a hub for electronic and comic geeks, Tokyo's Akihabara district is now a battleground for maid cafes. Though at this latest maid cafe, men in colorful frilly maid costumes serve the patrons.
"I do this for a change since I have an ordinary job," one of the cross-dressing maids working at Hibari Tei Miyuu Kurusu told Reuters.
"I love talking to people, enjoy wearing cute costumes and get a kick out of it when people tell me I'm pretty," he said.
It all started when the cafe manager asked a few cross-dressing men to fill in for women working at a different maid cafe. To his surprise, no customer found out they were being served by a male waitress. Some even got a kick out of it.
"The maids are too pretty to be a man," said 33 year-old businessman Takao Mochizuki, who also cross-dresses during vacations.
"These maids know how to look good more so than real women!"
another customer Yoko Iwata, 33, told Reuters in excitement.
Maid cafes first emerged in the Akihabara district about 6 years ago.
It has now grown into a booming business and a core part of the Japanese "Otaku" or "Nerd" industry believed to be worth nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars.
Like Kurusu, most maids have full-time jobs during the week so the cafe opens only on weekends depending on the servants availability.
"I think there are many Japanese cross-dressers and they actually look good," explained 24 year-old maid Chazuke. "They're just not out in the public yet because most Japanese used to be hesitant to cross-dressers," he said.
Pretty maids are there to cater not just to Japanese geeks but also to fellow cross-dressers, tourists and even couples.
In addition to typical cafe menus like coffee, tea and sandwiches, Hibari Tei also offers personal services where maids draw pictures on an egg omelet using tomato ketchup. Each item costs about two to ten dollars.
A growing number of role-playing based services are trying to come up with a new twist to their fares hoping to cash in on the Japanese Otaku industry. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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