In
my room, there are maid figures from “Maid Cafe Collection”. It
is a series of character figures which was released in year 2006, and
these characters are wearing the uniforms of the maid cafes that
actually existed back then. One of them is JAM Akihabara. It is one
of the older maid cafes that existed since 2004. If you know
Akihabara maid cafes well, you should have heard about it at least
once. It is one of the historical maid cafe that surely has
contributed to the maid cafe culture.
What
makes JAM Akihabara unique? I think the answer is its regulars.
There are regular customers who call themselves JAM-min or
“JAM-tribe”. They are very close to each other, and they hang
out even outside the cafe. They have tight bond, yet they do not
build up the unwelcoming atmosphere to the newcomers, thus you will
not feel exiled even if you are not part of the tribe. As a maid fan
who believes one of the important function of the maid cafe is
hang-out place of otakus yet it is important not to build up the
atmosphere that is tough for newcomers to come in, I think JAM
Akihabara was one of the ideal case of the maid cafe.
JAM
was also very “handy”. The price was reasonable, and it is open
until 5AM before weekends. If you feel like you want to stop by
somewhere to have a glass of beer, JAM was always the place to go.
Unfortunately,
the place is closing down mid of this month. I can only imagine how
heart-broken Jam-mins were. When the announcement was made, twitter
was filled with the memories of JAM. I am also one of “Schatzers”
or regular customers of Schatzkiste, and I am certain how shocked I
will be if I loose Schatzkiste.
Until
the day it close, I am sure the place will be filled with JAM-mins
and maid cafe enthusiasts. However, if you are in Japan and have a
chance to stop by Akihabara, I highly recommend you to stop by this
place, and remember one of the greatest historical monument of the
maid cafe culture.
JAM AKIHABARA
