Business · Companies · 2 days ago
Tokyo maid cafe trains staff to welcome more foreign visitors
At-home cafe, a chain of maid cafes, is preparing for more foreign visitors at its locations in Japan.
In Tokyo’s Akihabara district, staff dress as maids and serve customers in a themed setting inspired by Japanese pop culture.
The cafe has started conversational English lessons to help maids communicate with overseas guests.
It also gives some foreign customers chopsticks decorated with the flags of their home countries or regions.
Japan welcomed an estimated record 42.7 million foreign visitors in 2025, whose spending also reached a record high.
The cafe says it is family-friendly and has rules against touching staff or asking for their personal information.
Its English lessons are part of its effort to make visits enjoyable for customers who want to experience Japanese culture.
At-home cafe, a maid-cafe chain with 13 locations in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, is preparing its staff to welcome more foreign visitors.
The cafe has introduced conversational English lessons so maids can communicate with overseas customers.
Maids also give some foreign customers “Moe chopsticks” featuring the flags of their home countries and regions.
At-home cafe says it has more than 700 maids and serves a family-friendly clientele, with women making up about 70 percent of its customers.
Japan received an estimated record 42.7 million foreign visitors in 2025, who spent a record 9.5 trillion yen, according to the article.
- Who
- Maids at At-home cafe
- What
- Learning conversational English and welcoming gifts to attract and accommodate foreign visitors
- When
- Amid the tourism boom; the lessons’ start date is not stated
- Where
- At-home cafe in Akihabara, Tokyo, and the chain’s other locations
- Why
- To accommodate a growing number of foreign customers
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
They are so delighted by that
I still cannot make perfect sentences, but sometimes I can express myself just by putting words together
For Masters and Princesses who learn about Japanese culture and come to enjoy it, we are always eagerly waiting for you at the mansion
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- At-home cafe locations
- 13 cafes in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya
- At-home cafe maids
- More than 700
- Women among customers
- About 70 percent
- Estimated foreign visitors to Japan in 2025
- 42.7 million
- Foreign visitor spending in Japan in 2025
- 9.5 trillion yen ($60.2 billion)
Sources
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