StreetSmart's posts with tag: moe
I’ve heard about this rather “unique” addition to Sukhumvit Road before, but I’d never had the chance to actually see it by my own eyes… ‘til now. Before you read further, I’d have to warn* you first: STOP READING this blog post if: - you know what otaku means and are extremely allergic to it - you know what moé (pronounced “mo-eh”) means and are ALSO extremely allergic to it - you hate bubblegum pop - the color pink gives you migraines - extreme cuteness makes you wanna barf/bang your head on the wall/commit hara-kiri - you find role-playing and costume-dressing disturbing/pathetic/disgusting - you think the idea of women working in a “maid café” is degrading and demeaning - you view comics and animes as “mind pollutants” If not (or you have no idea what the heck I’m babbling about)… then read on~!! Opened in February this year, J-Trend In Love is a bona fide “maid café”, imported straight from Japan (from Tokyo’s famous Akihabara district, to be exact). Owned by a Japanese expat, the cutesy café can be found in Time Square (around Asoke, Sukhumvit 21). The Thais have always enjoyed reading Japanese comic books (“Doraemon” is an all-time favorite, and now there are countless Japanese comics translated into Thai – “Naruto”, “One Piece” and “Bleach” just to name a few), following Japanese anime series on TV (there was the ancient “Saint Seiya” on TV about a million years ago, as well as Kenshiro, “Dragonball” and “Dragonball Z”) and watching Japanese movies (“Death Note”, “Nada Sou Sou”, “Hula Girls” and let’s not forget that “Nana” and “Nana 2” took Bangkok by the storm a few months ago). So I guess it was just a matter of time (and a bit of sugar and spice plus copious amounts of pink) that “maid café” would soon follow. Following its Aki habara predecessor, J-Trend In Love employs cute young females as its coquettish “maids” who prance around in maid costumes (short skirts, aprons, lacy knee-high socks), imported straight from Japan. They greet customers in Japanese, “Irashaimase~~~!!!” and are also available for picture-taking (for a price).  The café itself is covered in girly colors: white, pink and red (right). Also on prominent display are various comic books, maid and costume magazines, maid figurines and bulletin boards displaying pictures of the uniformed staff. There is even a maid costume encased in a glass display (pic above).  On a mounted TV screen, the idol girl singing and dancing group Morning Musume (a common otaku obsession) is played non-stop. If you have never been to a maid café before, the first time could understandably be quite intimidating; I mean: gosh look at those costumes! And abundance of frilly lace! And those costumes! And mirrored walls! And those costumes~!!! The menu here is of second priority to the servers and the atmosphere; J-Trend In Love serves the typical (if not bland) comfort foods of many “maid cafés”: sweet deserts, fruit juices, milk tea, and omurice (fried rice wrapped in egg) with the word “raabu” (Japanese spelling of “love") written in katakana on it. Customers turned out to be mostly Japanese males (no surprise there), but one maid said they actually do get some female customers (in Japan, there are now “butler cafés” and “gentlemen cafés” where the wait staff a re beautiful boys dressed in server uniforms). The maid café’s main attraction is, of course, the costumed maids who are VERY accommodating, VERY polite and VERY service-minded. When you arrive at the café, they bow deeply and cheerfully greet you. With a sweet smile, they gently usher you to your seat, hand you the *pinkpink* menu and chat you up. They even bow after every time they hand you ANYTHING (in Akihabara, service often extends to massage, foot wash, playing cards, as well as singing and dancing for the customers). The whole idea of a maid café is to create a comfortable atmosphere where the customer can completely relax and feast their eyes on pretty young (costumed) things who are very moé.  Unfortunately, all this female pampering doesn’t come cheap. Hot milk tea is 70 baht and strawberry milk ice (kakigori - left) is 90 baht. If you want to take a picture with the so-called maids, that is 200 baht per shot (either with all of the staff or the maid of your choice) – well, I guess the owner gotta make some quick profit after importing everything from Japan, riiiight?! If you're a skinflint, then this ain't for 'ya~!! The maid café phenomenon is still in its infancy in Thailand. As far as I know, there are only TWO maid cafés in the whole Bangkok: this J-Trend In Love in Sukhumvit and Akiba in Siam Square (homepage here).  Are the Thais ready for this? Time will tell. Already we are seeing some costume contests and Thai singers imitating their Japanese counterparts (hello, Golf and Mike~!! ------------------------->). And what about the Japanese expats in Sukhumvit? How do most of them feel about the arrival of the first maid café in Sukhumvit? Actually, I’ve asked a few of my Japanese friends and 95 percent of them expressed shock, disgust and disappointment. They feel that maid cafés are a shameful Japanese phenomenon and they would rather prefer not to see them outside Japan. They also fear that this is a sort of “cultural imperialism”, where Japanese pop culture is invading traditional Thai culture. I am already tingling with excitement to hear what that dragon lady  Rabiabrat Pongpanich has to say about this~!! *Why the warning above? The words o taku, maid café, and moé can elicit pretty strong emotions in people, especially the Japanese. Ask any Japanese, and more than likely he or she will claim that ANYTHING that has to do with the otaku culture is twisted and sick. But if you ask a true blue otaku, he (an otaku is usually male, though there are some female otakus and their number is rising) will sing you a completely different tune. Officially, an otaku can mean someone who is a hardcore fan of anything, be it cars, computers or card games. An otaku spends a lot of time to deepen his knowledge of the chosen craft and doesn’t think twice about spending a lot of money to buy various paraphernalia connected to his obsession - which is usually NOT cheap (aspiring businesspeople, are you READING THIS?!). It’s no wonder then, that in Japan’s Akihabara, the otaku culture is a multi-billion dollar industry, catering to the otaku's every need: computers, games, cards, tech gadgets, comic books, and yes, maid cafés. In Japan, the term otaku has a negative connotation that usually means a maniac (usually male) who is nerdy, unfashionable and lacks social skills. A stereotypical otaku: - doesn’t know how to communicate well with others (especially females), so he reverts into fantasy worlds - wears the most repulsive fashion (dorky glasses, pants that are too short, tucked in shirt, suspenders and backpacks that hang too high on the back) - is obsessed with his hobby, which usually involves comic, anime or cute girl singing/dancing groups (called “idols”) Outside Japan, the term otaku has morphed into a somewhat proud badge, fearlessly worn out in the open. Will Bangkok's budding "maid café" phenomenon be able to elevate the otaku term into a new respectable height?! streetsmartsukhumvit@gmail.com Can’t get enough of this otaku culture? Suspicious that you’re actually a closet otaku? More moé pics HERE~!! More Thai cosplay pics here, here, here and here~!! Further reading to deepen your knowledge: General information and background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosplay_restaurant A list of some of the most popular maid cafés in Japan: http://www.akibaangels.com/articles/09_2005/maid_cafe.php More explanation of otaku: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku Explanation of moé: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_%28slang%29 Akihabara info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara + This blog entry is dedicated to Stephie, who is, in fact, very moé~!! Show me some more moé love, people~!!   sukhumvit  bangkok  thailand
|  | Opened in February this year, J-Trend In Love is a bona fide “maid café”, imported straight from Japan (from Tokyo’s famous Akihabara district, to be exact). Owned by a Japanese expat, the cutesy café can be found in Time Square (around Asoke, Sukhumvit 21).
The Thais have always enjoyed reading Japanese comic books (“Doraemon” is an all-time favorite, and now there are countless Japanese comics translated into Thai – “Naruto”, “One Piece” and “Bleach” just to name a few), following Japanese anime series on TV (there was the ancient “Saint Seiya” on TV about a million years ago, as well as Kenshiro, “Dragonball” and “Dragonball Z”) and watching Japanese movies (“Death Note”, “Nada Sou Sou”, “Hula Girls” and let’s not forget that “Nana” and “Nana 2” took Bangkok by the storm a few months ago).
So I guess it was just a matter of time (and a bit of sugar and spice plus copious amounts of pink) that “maid café” would soon follow. Find out more about this relatively new phenomenon in Sukhumvit here http://streetsmartsukhumvit.multiply.com/journal/item/21.
streetsmartsukhumvit@gmail.com
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