If you’re out enjoying the fantasies and frills, don’t forget that they come at a very real price.
In many ways, Japan’s maid cafes are a smaller-scale, more relaxed version of the country’s hostess bars. At a maid cafe, the atmosphere is designed to feel less exclusive, the pressure to keep ordering isn’t as intense, and menu items are generally less expensive.
Still, maid cafes are, above all else, businesses, and so they’ll be happy to take as much of your money as you choose to exchange for their goods and services. As proof, consider this receipt from a branch of restaurant chain Afilia, located in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood. Afilia gets full marks for thorough theming, as the chain has a detailed backstory about a fantasy kingdom populated by mages, and presents its waitresses as students at the royal academy of magic. Dressed in costumes that are half-maid and half-anime magical girl, each has a fictional profile listing her favorite subject and school club membership, such as flying, transformation, or magical Pilates.
But all that theming can come at a very high price.
なにもかも狂気 pic.twitter.com/8wkCYhXEtW
— 🍒たかたか❕ 💛💙˻˳˯ₑᶫᵒᵛᵉ (@URATAKAO) January 22, 2017
Let’s take a look through the lengthy list of items:
● Male customer charge: ¥1,100
● Male customer 30-minute time extension (8 times): ¥4,400
● Ueei: ¥1,200
● Photograph: ¥1,200
● Tsu-chan highball: ¥1,200
● The One Everyone Likes: ¥1,500
● Tsu-chan highball: ¥1,200
● Dom Perignon P2: ¥160,000
● Nina-chan: ¥1,000
● Dom Perignon Rose: ¥84,000
● Cocoa: ¥1,000
● Dom Perignon: ¥44,000
● Ame-chan: ¥1,200
● Strong Wind: ¥1,200
● Dom Perignon: ¥44,000
● Ame-chan: ¥1,200
● Meno-chan: ¥1,200
● Dom Perignon Rose: ¥84,000
● Dom Perignon: ¥44,000
It’s difficult to deduce exactly what some of the items are, thought the ones ending in -chan are ostensibly the names of waitresses the customer paid a surcharge to have spend time with him. Add it all up, and the bill came to a staggering 478,400 yen (US$4,120).
@URATAKAO, the Japanese Twitter user who shared the snapshot, insists that he merely found the receipt, and is not the big-spending diner who ran up the towering tab. As such, the identity of the big-spending champagne fan (we’re guessing he’s a fan, since he ordered six bottles of the stuff) remains unknown.
If you’re keen to see for yourself whether Afilia is really so wonderful as to be worth dropping a couple grand at, the chain has five branches in Tokyo, one in Osaka, one in Nagoya, and a final location in Saitama Prefecture’s Omiya. Just don’t forget to bring plenty of cash, or, alternatively, a modicum of restraint.
Related: Afilia
Source: Jin, Twitter/@URATAKAO

Japan’s reverse maid cafe lets cosplaying customers play the part of maids in Tokyo
Sanro’s lazy egg Gudetama now has its own maid cafe in Tokyo’s Akihabara
Abuse Cafe Japan: We get abused by waitresses in maids’ uniforms at Tokyo’s viral pop-up diner
Brand-new Cardcaptor Sakura Cafe opens in Tokyo this week, with Kero-chan calling the shots
Akihabara Nagomido manga cafe x Felissimo Cat Division Parlor collaboration café is open meow
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Which country’s foreign tourists spend the most money per-person in Japan? Hint: Not the U..S. or China
Brand new Shinkansen bullet train unveiled in Japan… but it won’t carry passengers
Beautiful exclusive Totoro tenugui towel is a gift from Disney to Ghibli physical media buyers
Foreign hiker on Mt. Fuji loses consciousness and dies, becoming climbing season’s second fatality
Cup Noodle releases cold-water instant ramen in Japan, but can it really be made with just cold water?
Yakuza members arrested for building a road on mountain they don’t own
Starbucks Japan adds a new summer Frappuccino to the menu, but is it as refreshing as it looks?
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Cup Noodle and Columbia team up for a weird and wonderful T-shirt that’s very Japanese
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
Japanese convenience store releases Japanese convenience store-flavor fried chicken
Family Mart’s new Tokyo flagship convenience store doesn’t feel convenient, but is that a problem?
Starbucks Japan releases new Discovery Series collection celebrating local regions and traditions
Teen girl in Japan refuses to be victim, personally escorts train pervert to police for arrest
Is Japan’s tourism boom slowing down? Foreign visitor numbers fall for first time in five years
Starbucks Japan releases exclusive new Bearista collection…with beary cute details
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa