Visiting the Steins;Gate Cafe in Tokyo: The Mai:Lish Cafe

Tags: Anime Tourism

Ateh Amanda

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The Mai:Lish Cafe

Steins;Gate is a Japanese anime with a novel of the same name which tells the story of a really intelligent and innovative man named Rintaro Okabe. He is a crazy scientist who runs a future gadget laboratory alongside his friends Mayuri Shiina and Itaru Daru Hashida.

The team discovered with time that the cell phone-operated microwave they were developing, can send messages back in time. They developed this to the point where the user could actually go back in time and change certain things. With this, they were able to save their friends and prevent the third world war from taking place.

This anime is very interesting and the MayQueen NyanNyan cafe in Steins;Gate was adapted from the real-life Mai:lish café. If you are visiting Japan, visiting this café is one of the best things to do in Tokyo. Apart from the café, there are also other real-life locations of Steins;Gate which exist in Japan.

This is the May Queen Nyan Nyan café in the Steins;Gate anime and the one below is the Mai:lish café is the real-life picture of the café.

Cafe Mail:Lish entrance — *Image source: mipon.org*

Japan has a lot of beautiful tourist attractions which bring in a large population of tourists to the country. Among these beautiful tourist attractions are anime-related sites. Anime tourism has become a popular new way to travel as many want to experience and enjoy this part of Japanese culture.

The Steins;Gate café in Tokyo: The Mai:lish café is one of the places that encourage and provide scoop for anime tourism. We know that anime tourism will not be possible without anime real-life locations.

What is anime tourism?

Anime is one of the interesting parts of Japanese culture which many people around the world are able to relate to. Many people dream of going to Japan because of their love for anime.

Some actually travel to see the country in order to have a feel of what being in an anime location in real life can feel like. Anime Tourism is a tour, visiting places and spots that appear in an anime.

The Mai:Lish Cafe

The Mai:Lish café is located on the outskirts of Akihabara, Tokyo. Tokyo is one of the parts of Japan with interesting and popular restaurants and anime-themed cafes. Café Mai:lish is classic with a beautiful mixture of maids and cosplay waitresses who dress up depending on the day of the week.

They also have special anime or game events sometimes which makes the place worth more than just a bite.

Description

Itaru Hachida and Rintaru Okabe in may queen nyan cafe

The café is not so big but has a quite relaxing atmosphere and a welcoming host. Everyone who enters this café is greeted by the words “welcome home master”. The café has tables and counter seats alongside classic decorations, maid and anime figures and posters which give an entertaining feel.

The Mai:Lish Cafe Menu

Their menu is colorful with a combination of meals and drinks with each waitress having a cocktail speciality.

Omurice

This meal is just rice fried with savory chicken flavor which is then wrapped in a thin layer of egg and decorated with Ketchup.

Chocolate Mochi

Otakufood

This dessert is a Japanese rice cake made by pounding rice into soft and sticky cake and then mixing it with chocolate.

Waffles

Waffles are made from leavened dough which is cooked between two plates with a patterned characteristic. It is specific in size, shape and an impression on the surface.

Beverages

These are generally drinks or tea or coffee. There are also cocktail beverages that have more than one ingredient or drink in the mix.

Things to do in the The Mai:Lish Cafe

The Mai:lish café has a couple of interesting activities which can be carried out at the café including eating, drinking, enjoying the cosplay of the maids, requesting a song, taking a tour of the café and seeing your favorite anime figures and posters.

How to access Steins;Gate Café (The Mai:Lish Café)

There are three stations close to the cafe but the closest and easiest one to use to get to the café is the Akihabara JR station. It takes 15 minutes to walk from the station to the cafe.

FAQS

Every interesting and popular place has a couple of questions that people frequently ask. The Mai:lish café is no different as there are questions that many people who show interest ask about the place. Some of those questions are;

What Budget should I reserve in advance?

The amount of money to take there is up to you but a plate of food and drink there costs about 1900 yen which is 17 USD. So make sure you go there with 17 USD and above to get the most out of your time and the place.

What are the opening and closing hours of Steins;Gate Café?

Steins;Gate café operates from 11 am to 10 pm daily with good and tireless service.

Where is Café Mai:lish Located?

Like many other maid cafes, Mai:lish is located in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Can you take pictures in the Cafe Mai:lish?

Taking pictures inside the shop is restricted. If you really want to take a picture of anything in the café, you need to verify with a waitress and get permission before you can snap a particular thing.

You can snap the food you order but a waitress has to check to ensure that you don’t inconvenience other customers or take a picture of a restricted area

Does the Mai:Lish Café sell Steins;Gate Goods?

The café does not sell Steins;Gate goods but there are a couple of stores just in that Akihabara district that sell Steins;Gate goods and other anime accessories.

Can you take a picture with a waitress at the café?

It is not allowed but you can pay to take a picture with the waitress. A picture with a waitress costs about 1,100 yen which is about 10 USD.

Conclusion

Steins;Gate café in Tokyo is a very interesting and one of the highly recommended sites for anime lovers who want to have a feel of the anime in real life. Visiting anime real life locations in Tokyo is another way of bringing the anime to life and reviving those scenes that made your heart skip. As a tourist who loves anime, try visiting these sites.

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