Tokyo’s Harajuku is all the time on the forefront of youth tradition traits, the place you’ll be able to experiment with new traits in trend, and if you recognize the place to go, new traits in cafe tradition too.
The newest place to trigger a stir within the neighborhood is Tomodachi ga Yatteru Cafe, which interprets to both Cafe Run by Your Friend or Cafe Run by Your Friends, as a result of phrase tomodachi being each singular and plural, relying on the context.
Either method, whenever you stroll by way of the door right here it’s secure to say that everybody right here is your pal, as a result of it’s staffed by actors who’ll greet you with the identical relaxed manner and conversational chat you’d count on from somebody who’s identified you some time.
▼ Members of employees embrace actors, fashions and creatives within the leisure business.
This distinctive strategy to serving clients is especially profound in Japan, the place employees within the customer support business typically use keigo (honorific speech) when talking to clients. On one hand, such a honorific language is an excellent method of displaying respect and making the shopper really feel like a god, however alternatively, it creates a barrier between the shopper and employees because it lends itself to a proper ambiance that’s completely faraway from the best way one would converse with pals.
The formal nature of customer support in Japan makes it exhausting for a buyer to strike up an off-the-cuff dialog with employees at a restaurant right here, in a method that may come simply and naturally overseas. And that’s the place Tomodachi ga Yatteru Cafe goals to step in, taking issues up a notch by giving clients the prospect to expertise what it’d really feel wish to step into a restaurant that’s run by your pal.
▼ If you’re going to have a pal that runs a restaurant, there’s no cooler place for that cafe to be than in Harajuku.
The concept of visiting a pal’s cafe in Harajuku is one which notably appealed to our reporter, and Harajuku fashionista wannabe, Mr Sato, who’s been attempting to slot in with the cool crowd on this hip neighborhood for years.
So he headed out to pay the place a go to, making his solution to the third flooring on the signal that learn 友だちがやってるカフェ (Tomodachi ga Yatteru Cafe).
Photo: SoraNews24
Despite his unbridled enthusiasm for loopy meals challenges and pole-dancing on rooftops, Mr Sato says he’s not nice at assembly folks for the primary time. When he talks to folks he doesn’t know nicely his nerves are inclined to take over, making his face twitch with shyness, and he doesn’t prefer it when he feels compelled to be pleasant.
So whereas Mr Sato was eager to really feel like he had trendy pals in loftier locations apart from the SoraNews24 workplace, this cafe go to was going to be a take a look at of his nerves. And when he stood earlier than the glass door of the cafe and noticed a horny feminine member of employees wave at him from behind the counter, he felt his pulse quicken.
“No lady like this would ever be friends with an old, bearded, long-haired man like me in real life,” was the thought that instantly ran by way of his head, however lo and behold, their friendship had already begun.
Photo: SoraNews24
As he stepped by way of the entrance door, she known as out to him with a smile, saying, “Long time no see!”
This greeting was far faraway from the standard Irasshaimase (“Welcome“) that Mr Sato is used to listening to upon coming into an institution like this, however surprisingly, he didn’t really feel as if it was compelled or inappropriate.
After taking stock of the scenario for a couple of seconds, Mr Sato returned the reply, saying, “Long time no see!”
With the partitions round his anxious coronary heart already melting, the waitress didn’t miss a beat as she continued their dialog. “How long has it been, now? Three years?”
Mr Sato smiled, as they each knew this cafe had solely opened a couple of days earlier, on 22 April. Still, he appreciated her organising the groundwork of their friendship for him, so he replied with: “Yeah, that’s right. It’s been a while.”
The air of familiarity continued as she instructed him, “We’re a bit full right now.” To which Mr Sato replied with: “Yeah, you look busy.”
With plenty of the tables full, Mr Sato determined to get a drink to go, and when he seemed on the menu, he instantly knew what he would order.
“Well, then, I’ll just get what I always drink.”
This wasn’t a sterling little bit of improvisation on Mr Sato’s behalf — it’s truly an possibility listed on the menu as Itsumo nonderu yatsu (“What you all the time drink“).
▼ Itsumo nonderu yatsu is underlined on the menu under.
Photo: SoraNews24
With costs starting from 680-960 yen, it’s a little bit of a chance to decide on this selection, but it surely’s a low-risk one, as employees counsel what you’d like earlier than making it, and clients can all the time refuse or counsel one thing else, simply as they’d when speaking to a pal.
Mr Sato should’ve match the profile for a drip coffee-loving man, as his pal behind the counter mentioned:
“You always like drip coffee, right? Hot? Iced?”
Mr Sato did need to drink drip espresso, so for a fleeting second he puzzled if they may’ve actually been pals three years in the past. Shaking off the unimaginable thought, he smiled and mentioned: “It’s cold today, so I’ll have it hot, please.”
With that, his pleasant mate went about making ready his espresso for him, and whereas he was ready, one other member of employees struck up a dialog with him, saying:
“Sorry to make you wait. It’ll just be a moment. But, hey, by the way, hasn’t it been a while? Since we went to the art gallery?”
Well, this was an sudden flip of occasions. Mr Sato felt himself being pulled into one other fictional story that was so plausible it had him questioning if he was dropping his reminiscence.
Mr Sato: “Eh, ah, no…I didn’t go to the art gallery.”
Staff: “No way, a group of us went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art together one time.”
With Mr Sato’s performing expertise being as unhealthy as his first-time dialog expertise, he discovered himself taking a second to provide you with a witty response, however fortunately his sparring companion was already on the ball, switching matters to say:
“If you were coming, you should’ve sent me a message on Line!” [Line is Japan’s most popular messaging app]
Completely in awe of the employees member’s cheerful communication expertise, Mr Sato smiled as his pal handed him his drink whereas saying, “Come back anytime! I’ll be waiting for you.”
It was the proper second for Mr Sato to take his depart, and as he did, he felt like he was saying “see you later” to a few his coolest pals.
▼ Incidentally, if Mr Sato had ordered two drinks, he would’ve had a cool solution to carry them out as nicely.
Sipping on his espresso outdoors the cafe, Mr Sato contemplated over what had simply occurred. He’d felt surprisingly comfy within the presence of employees, and after their interplay, he puzzled if extra cafes and shops in Japan would do nicely to undertake this extra informal, pleasant strategy to serving clients.
Anyone who didn’t know concerning the cafe earlier than visiting can be in for a complicated shock when greeted by the overly pleasant employees, however for Mr Sato, it reminded him of the pleasant banter he typically sees in cafe scenes in overseas movies, and the skit-like efficiency facet of all of it left him feeling just like the star of his very personal movie.
Mr Sato says there are some things to notice earlier than visiting the cafe — they don’t settle for money funds, and bar meals and drinks are on the menu from 5:30 p.m. Also, Mr Sato’s dialog with employees befell completely in Japanese, and the cafe doesn’t point out something about different language choices, so the banter could be restricted for these desirous to converse in different languages.
All in all, Mr Sato reckons this can be a excellent spot to go to for folks wanting a deeper connection to Harajuku and its cool tradition, and it’s much more trendy and much much less kitschy than visiting a maid cafe. It’s good to know he’ll all the time have a spot in Tokyo the place he can really feel like he’s amongst pals, and it’s now been added to his checklist of standard locations to go to in Harajuku.
Cafe info
Tomodachi ga Yatteru Cafe twentieth Anniversary Cafe / 友だちがやってるカフェ
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 6-6-2 Harajuku Bell Pier 3F
東京都渋谷区神宮前6-6-2原宿ベルピア3階
Open: 12 p.m.-11 p.m. (cafe from 12 p.m.-5:30 p.m., bar from 5:30 p.m. – 11 p.m., takeout from 12 p.m.-11 p.m.)
Website
Insert pictures: PR Times until in any other case said
Read extra tales from SoraNews24.
— Why Gonpachi Nori-Temaki in Harajuku is a superb Japanese restaurant for overseas vacationers
— Sushi Crepes: Will Harajuku’s latest bizarre meals craze catch on in Tokyo?
— We go to a brand new Tokyo bar the place no one speaks and writing is the one solution to talk
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