4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
All-senior maid cafe in Japan's Gunma Pref. serves smiles, new connections
KIRYU, Gunma -- Last July, two seniors began working as "maids" in frilly white aprons at the new "Meido Cafe Shangri-La" in this eastern Japan city. The goal was to create a community space where seniors could relax. A year later, there are now over 10 maids aged 65 and up, the customer base has diversified and the maid cafe plans to host matchmaking events for older adults.
When this reporter visited on June 7, 10 maids gathered in a circle for their morning pep talk just before the 8 a.m. opening, energetically calling out in unison, "Let's be lively, cheerful and beautiful again today!" to kick off their workday.
Leading the chant was Nene, 72, who joined the cafe last December. She applied for the maid role desiring to "try something extraordinary." Having been a full-time homemaker after marriage and with no previous customer service experience, she has grown to enjoy interacting with a wide range of patrons over the past six months. Her son even complimented her by saying her complexion has improved.
Also in the group was Popo, 75, who was making her debut as a maid that day. After visiting the cafe three times as a customer, she had decided, "I want to become a maid, too," and auditioned in May. Smiling in her long-awaited maid outfit, Popo said, "I'm still fumbling to keep up with the more experienced maids."
Meido Cafe Shangri-La (featuring a pun on "maid" with the Japanese term "meido" meaning underworld or afterlife) in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, is run by the nonprofit organization Kids Valley, headed by Asami Hoshino. It garnered attention for its playful services, such as recreating Buddhist concepts like Sanzu River -- a mythological river that separates the living world from the afterlife -- inside the cafe and labeling the restroom after the "Land of Bliss."
Initially open for only two hours from 8 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month, the cafe quickly drew long lines of people, and is now open for four hours.
Original cafe members Deco, 67, and Coco, 66, remain on board. In April, the cafe began selling acrylic keychains featuring the two women at 1,000 yen (about $7), tax included. On this day, Deco's 87-year-old mother served as the instructor for an origami class. Deco's eldest daughter, 41, also came to help, bringing three generations of the family together in one space. The latter remarked, "My mother really enjoys working as a maid."
Previous cafe events have included distinctive gatherings through collaborations with funeral supply companies, including a "coffin experience fair" where participants had an opportunity to lie in a coffin. The cafe is currently planning to host senior dating events where the cafe maids will serve as matchmakers.
Customers streamed in throughout the four-hour business period. One regular customer, affectionately dubbed "Kacchan" by the maids, is a 62-year-old truck driver from the prefectural capital Maebashi, who has visited monthly since last October. "On days after night shifts, chatting with the maids is fun and completely relieves my fatigue," he said.
Some visitors have apparently even become friends, exchanging contact information and creating new friendships through the cafe. A 21-year-old in the fourth year of studies at Tokyo Keizai University, who is originally from Kiryu, also visited for the first time that day after hearing the cafe had brought new energy to her hometown. "I came by myself, but the maids warmly gathered around me, and I was surprised by their liveliness," she said. She plans to return regularly and include the maid cafe in her graduation thesis on Kiryu's community cafes.
(Japanese original by Kazuhiko Toyama, Kiryu Local Bureau)
