Maid cafes in Japan: what Maidreamin charges and its house rules

Maidreamin charges an adult $6 (¥880) in entry fees per hour, billed with food or drink, and an extra hour costs the same. Photos and video are allowed only when no maid, kitchen cast member or other guest appears in the frame, and every shop is non-smoking. These figures and rules come from Maidreamin’s own charge page, FAQ and English site.

This page sits in the Anime and manga hub and extends the maid cafe section of the complete guide. Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.

What does Maidreamin charge?

Maidreamin sets its entry fee by age group and bills it per hour. The adult fee includes tax.

The student tiers follow the Japanese school system: elementary school, junior and senior high school, and university or vocational school. Students show ID to get a student rate.

How is the bill worked out?

The entry fee and your food or drink are billed per hour, and an extension is charged at the same rate. There is no extension fee when service is late. On that rule, the entry fees alone add up as follows.

The family rows are two adults and one elementary school child. Food and drink come on top of every row.

The charge page puts average spending at $11 to $32 (¥1,650 to ¥5,000) per person, so plan the visit around that range, not the entry fee alone. Entry after 22:00 is billed as a “last entry” at $17 (¥2,600), and the FAQ says it includes one drink.

Maidreamin takes cash, major cards, PayPay, WeChat Pay, Alipay, Rakuten Pay and au PAY.

To verify Ask the shop whether the entry fee is billed per hour, as the charge page says, and whether the fee table applies at that branch, before you pay.

What are the photo rules?

Photos and video are allowed only if no maids, kitchen cast or other guests appear in the shot. Photos of maids with other people in the frame are not allowed. In practice that leaves frames with no person in them, such as your own food or drink.

Ask staff before you point a camera at anything with a person near the edge of the frame. Maidreamin’s pages do not describe paid photos with a maid, so no price is listed.

What are the house rules?

Maidreamin’s FAQ sets six rules, and they are the only etiquette this page lists.

• Do not touch the maids.
• Do not hand gifts to the maids directly.
• Maids do not sit beside guests or pour drinks.
• Seat changes are discouraged.
• Every shop is fully non-smoking, including e-cigarettes.
• Guests may leave whenever they like.

These are one chain’s rules. Other cafes set their own.

How do you reserve a table?

Reserve through the shop’s own booking page, which you reach from the reservation menu on Maidreamin’s home page. Each shop has a separate page. Groups use a contact form that asks for the shop, date and time, party size, course and budget.

The phone line is 03-6744-6726, open 9:00 to 18:00 year-round. From abroad, dial +81 3-6744-6726. Book for a set time: the pages state neither whether a small party needs a reservation nor how far ahead booking opens.

Before you book For a group, have the shop, date and time, party size, course and budget ready before you open the contact form. Use the shop’s booking page for a small party.

Is there an English site?

Yes. Maidreamin’s global English site states the rule as an entrance fee plus one drink or food item or set. It lists shops in Akihabara (7), Ikebukuro, Shinjuku (2), Shibuya, Nagoya (2), Osaka (2), Sapporo and Fukuoka (2).

The English site gives no prices and no photo rules, and an English menu page was not found. Use the charge page and the FAQ for fees and rules.

What about @home cafe and other chains?

Ask any other cafe for its table charge and photo rules before you sit, because Maidreamin’s fee table and rules do not carry over. @home cafe’s site returned only a title line naming Akihabara, Osaka and Nagoya, so its charges, photo rules and reservation method are not given. No other chain’s official page was read.

What about street invitations in Akihabara?

Book through the shop’s own page instead of following an invitation from the street. Chiyoda Ward has an anti-touting ordinance, with patrols reported from 2019. The ward’s page focuses on adult-service touting, not maid or cosplay cafes, and current enforcement is not confirmed.

The district route, with the other stops that sit near the cafes, is in Akihabara for first-timers.

Where next?

• Arcades and gachapon: Taito Station rules and Bandai capsule prices, the next stop in Akihabara.
• Manga shopping in Tokyo: Animate, Mandarake and the tax-free change from 1 Nov 2026.
• Akihabara for first-timers: a three hour route ordered by opening times.
• Nakano Broadway and Mandarake: the second-hand side of Tokyo.
• Comiket for tourists: Comiket 109 runs 29 to 31 December 2026 at Tokyo Big Sight.
• The Anime and manga hub and the complete guide cover every other stop.