Maid Casino

Japan has long been known for its maid cafes.  I was pretty surprised when China beat Japan to starting an airline with flight attendants dressed as maids and butlers.  Probably a terrible business model anyway (see Hooters Air)

The last time I was in Tokyo I hit up an awesome/creepy place in Akihabara, a Maid Casino.  I probably don't need to explain it any further because it was exactly as it's name implies.  It was a casino and all the staff were dressed as maids.  While the idea is simple enough, it was a pretty good time.

How does it work?  They have different tiers, but you can enter for as cheap as 2000 yen and they give you $200 in chips.  From there you get a complimentary drink and you pick your game.  After every hour or so you have to pay a small fee (in chips) to stay.  If you get bored before going bankrupt, you can show the staff how many chips you have and they will keep track for next time.  You will still have to pay a small fee to enter when you come back, but it is much cheaper than the initial cost.

They also have craps!

I thought it was a really cool idea, and since Japan doesn't gamble much outside of pachinko it was weird to gamble in Japan.  I also learned some Japanese gambling lingo in the process.  At blackjack they call the numbers out in English, and when someone hits and gets a 20 or 21, everyone says ナイスアップ(Nice Up).

I only had 2 complaints, which aren't even really complaints just something to be aware of.  For one, maid themed anything attracts the weirdest of the weird.  This maid casino was PACKED with otaku.

Second, this was most definitely not Vegas, or even Detroit.  When you walked up to a game, everyone assumed you didn't know how to play, and it took a while to get games started (though they did have some nice laminated cards with the game rules on them).  I've been to Vegas and know my way around a craps table, so I found that I knew more about the game than the maid running it.  There was also only one person manning the craps table, instead of the usual 4, so the game was a little slow.   I wasn't betting real money so it wasn't a big deal.  I just found it interesting that Japan has such little experience with the casino atmosphere.

If you happen to be in Tokyo and need to kill a couple hours, and you have already seen the temples/shrines/fish market, I would recommend the Maid Casino in Akihabara.  I can promise you'll be the coolest person there.