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cafe (Page 8)

Akasaka’s totally non-creepy android maid cafe

Business district by day, at night Akasaka in Tokyo transforms into an area of dazzling nightlife, a hip and happening place where the local execs can easily spend their hefty paychecks. But among the trendy neon-lit clubs, there’s one café that doesn’t quite fit in: The Android Idol Caffe.

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Look Out Starbuck’s Gundam Café Has You in Its Sights, Opens 3rd Store in Tokyo Station

When the first Gundam Café opened in Akihabara, people thought it was a cute little niche place for the resident otaku, but there’s no way a giant robot themed coffee shop would ever take off.

However, their blend of mechanically efficient service and sterile décor had led to a second Gundam Café to the south in Odaiba.  Still, people wrote it off as a fluke.

Now, less than a year later on 20 December, the a 3rd Gundam Café is set to make a precision strike right in the heart of Tokyo: Tokyo Station.  The coffee service industry may never be the same.

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Order in English and Your Coffee is Free at Rosetta Stone’s Language Cafe

Japanese people often get a hard time for their lack of English language skills. But with so few Japanese ever setting foot outside their own country, it’s little wonder that one of the most frequently heard reasons given for struggling with the language is the lack of opportunity to use it.

Just last night, in fact, I was completely caught off guard when a teenage girl in my local convenience store seized the opportunity to break out her English and asked me whether I needed a plastic bag. Unfortunately, I was completely unprepared for the question and it was only after she had repeated herself three times that I realised that a) she was speaking English and b) I’d probably just ensured that she never dare to do so ever again.

But perhaps the prospect of a free cup of coffee would rekindle her enthusiasm for language?

As part of a promotional campaign for the launch of its new ReFLEX language learning software, Rosetta Stone is opening a special limited-time-only cafe in a Shinjuku book store, giving customers the chance to use their English, and doling out free cups of coffee to those who can.

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The Cakes at Seoul’s Hello Kitty Cafe Are So Cute, You’ll Feel Bad Mutilating the Face of the World’s Most Beloved Cat

Just about everyone knows Hello Kitty.  The Japanese born cat of Sanrio, with her simple expression and cute little bow, has reached the far corners of the world.  Hello Kitty, known as Kitty-chan in Japan, has made appearances on lunch boxes, debit cards, $5,000 necklaces, electric guitars, and even airplanes.

The expressionless white cat’s overwhelming popularity has spread throughout the world, prompting the creation of the Hello Kitty Cafe franchise in South Korea with locations in Seoul, Incheon, and Sinchon.  One of our reporters, enamored by the cuteness that Japan’s most famous cat exudes, decided to pay a visit to Hello Kitty Cafe’s Seoul location.

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  • Aug 23, 2012

Sip Coffee With Customers From Over 100 Countries at Sakura Cafe in Ikebukuro

We all love cafes, don’t we? They provide welcome respite from the hassles of daily life while you relax over a nice cup of coffee or tea, whichever you’re in the mood for. Well, one of our reporters at Pouch website learned of an interesting cafe located near Ikebukuro Staion in Tokyo and decided to investigate.

According to the shop website, the Sakura Cafe Ikebukuro is an open terrace cafe located on the first floor of the Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro, where guests from approximately 110 countries around the world stay each year. Open 24 hours every day of the year, the cafe offers a breakfast, lunch, afternoon (tea time), dinner and late night menu, and in particular, they have a breakfast buffet (called the “morning set”) that costs only 320 yen (about $4). That certainly caught our attention! They also offer a weekly selection of 4 lunch plates, each offering a dish from a different country. Sound interesting? Let’s hear what the reporter, Yayoi Washinomiya, had to say after making a visit to the cafe. Here’s her account: Read More

First World Problem: Trying to Say Your Coffee Order, Becoming a Quivering Blob. Here’s an App to Help the Wannabe Coffee Connoiseur.

As we all know, part of Starbucks’ appeal is its big menu and many choices, which naturally lead up to customizable orders. Seeing people rattle off all the options that comprise their beverage of choice is almost enough to make you develop an inferiority complex for just wanting a plain coffee. Read More

8 Starbucks Hacks – Get More Bang For Your Buck

Of course everyone knows that coffee shop chain, Starbucks – good coffee, delicious food, comfortable atmosphere, top-notch service. If I had more money, I’d go everyday. Now we can all get a few steps closer to realizing this dream using these secret hacks: Read More

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