http://www.crisscross.com/jp/shukan/230)
For the lazy ones:
When this many "otaku" boys get together in Akihabara, someone must feed them somewhere, so cafes and restaurants, especially for them have opened one after another. At the Cure Maid Cafe, all the waitresses wear maid costumes. "There are seven waitresses at this moment. They've got pretty names such as Pudding and Chocolate," said manager Masato Matsuzaki. "We also have a website on which customers and waitresses can chat. We get nearly 1,000 page visitors a day, which is unbelievable for a restaurant."
The maid's skirts at Cure Maid Cafe aren't as short as other restaurants; they tend to be longer and more elegant. So why are the "otaku" so crazy about ther maids? "It's because of the image that a maid is always supposed to obey a customer. That has a sort of healing or calming effect on a guy," explains Matsuzaki.
On the other hand, waitresses at another "cosplay" cafe, Cafe & Kitchen Cos-Cha, do wear very short skirts. "The waitresses are all in the early 20s," said manager Masahide Kamei. "There are always three or four, whom we call angels, serving customers at all times. Depending on which animation or video game is popular, we change the costumes of the angels to stimulate the interests of customers."
What fascinates customers the most, Kamei added, is the costume change event that is held three times a month. "The most successful event we ever had was the school swimsuit pageant last December. Almost 300 people lined up in front of our cafe before the 6 p.m. opening time. It was impossible to control the situation. Around 8 p.m., an angel came out and tried to call for order. The audience was actually touched by her sincere attitude and applauded. In response to that applause, she took off her coat to reveal her swimsuit, and that brought a bigger cheer."
In addition to all the cafes, there is a "cosplay izakaya" (small Japanese-style bar) called Little BSD (Little Beauty's Satanic Dining). "Waitresses wear different costumes everyday. We have nearly 15 waitress now. Customers like to have their photo taken with the waitresses," said the bar manager.
If you're hungry, try ordering a rice ball. One of the Little Beauty Satans will bring you some rice and seaweed. Using a cutter, the little beauty shapes rice balls into triangles and other shapes, and feeds you by hand.
However, don't get take this as invitation, cautions Morikawa. "They are not ImeCla girls (Image Clubs in which you can act out your fantasy in a situational setting as nurse-patient, teacher-student, commuters in packed train and so on). Nor is it a a 'no-pan' cafe (where mini-skirted waitresses with no panties serve customers). These shops at Akihabara are not in the sex business because for geeks, fantasizing is much more important than actually doing anything with girls."
It should be mentioned that there are also female "otaku" who are into costumes. The adult convenience store M's Akihabara is selling lots of sexy costumes. "When a girl tries one on, often she asks us to take a photo of her. There are too many customers like that, and our walls are plastered with their photos," said a store PR guy.
Tetsuma Yamada, who writes about the sex industry, said: "First of all, the Akihabara area isn't authorized to have sex businesses. Therefore, there are no Pink Salons (hostess clubs in which a hostess sits next to a customer and sexually stimulates him with her hand and mouth. Since no one gets naked, the salons are legally defined as bars). Nor are they a Soap Land (where women give customers a bath and aesthetic massage)."
There's more, but this definitely is paradise for all you geeks. Last one to Japan is an 11-year-old AOLer!