Forget Maid Cafe, Osaka Otaku Now Want Mother Cafe
According to Asahi Geino, Japan's otaku now want moms for their themed cafes.
While maid cafes -- diners where the waitresses are decked out in saucy French maid outfits -- have become passe but successful enough for Japan to export the concept overseas, it seems they haven't been enough to satisfy all otaku fetishes.
While maid cafes -- diners where the waitresses are decked out in saucy French maid outfits -- have become passe but successful enough for Japan to export the concept overseas, it seems they haven't been enough to satisfy all otaku fetishes.
But
now Mother Cafe, in Osaka's recently opened Mandarake outlet in
Amerika-mura, aims to ease otaku's Oedipal urges by having waitresses
take on a maternal air as they baby their customers.
Customers entering the establishment are greeted in motherly tones from the "mom" waitresses, whose ages range from 19 to their 40s.
"We came about because there wasn't really anywhere that had a library of over 10,000 different manga and also allowed people with a bit of a maniac streak about them to pursue their hearts' desire," Mother Cafe's boss tells Asahi Geino. "We staff our cafe with women who look older than they actually are, but they're also capable of understanding worries people have and have experience in dealing with people of all ages. Our aim is to become a kind of therapeutic cafe where customers feel at ease enough to be able to open their hearts to staff."
Staff are encouraged to make even the shyest customers feel at ease, and their motherly ministrations extend to hand-feeding anybody who orders a slice of cake.
Asahi Geino notes that regulars will be able to designate their own "mother" to serve them every time they visit at no extra cost, with "moms" instructed to make sure they nag repeat visitors about their lifestyles to make the experience as real as possible.
Customers entering the establishment are greeted in motherly tones from the "mom" waitresses, whose ages range from 19 to their 40s.
"We came about because there wasn't really anywhere that had a library of over 10,000 different manga and also allowed people with a bit of a maniac streak about them to pursue their hearts' desire," Mother Cafe's boss tells Asahi Geino. "We staff our cafe with women who look older than they actually are, but they're also capable of understanding worries people have and have experience in dealing with people of all ages. Our aim is to become a kind of therapeutic cafe where customers feel at ease enough to be able to open their hearts to staff."
Staff are encouraged to make even the shyest customers feel at ease, and their motherly ministrations extend to hand-feeding anybody who orders a slice of cake.
Asahi Geino notes that regulars will be able to designate their own "mother" to serve them every time they visit at no extra cost, with "moms" instructed to make sure they nag repeat visitors about their lifestyles to make the experience as real as possible.
Mandarake Grand Chaos (Japanese)
