Akihabara, the Otaku Mecca
Akihabara on the Japan trip. Once a hub for electronics, it had transformed into the holy land of otaku. Like a mecca, it was ingrained in the collective mindset that any otaku worth their salt had to visit at least once. And so, the group of four (+1) set foot there.
The Akihabara station was choked with suffocating crowds. Salarymen, ordinary folks, otaku, and all sorts surging through, generating not just the summer heat but human heat as well.
"Why are there so many people?"
It was summer, of all times. Mid-morning with the sun blazing high. Not quite rush hour hell, but way more packed than peak Hongdae or Myeongdong. They took Japan's sweltering heat full in the face and somehow clawed their way out of the station.
"I'm dying. It's too damn hot."
"Feels like I'm gonna melt."
Iseo and Seoha grumbled nonstop. Even Hyein, who didn't show it, had faint lines creasing her brow. Among the group, the only ones making an effort to move were Myeongjeon—the mental old man thinking, "If you calm your mind, winter becomes summer and summer winter"—and Hyeona, whose joy at returning to her "soul's homeland" outweighed everything.
"Come on, come on! Let's move! We don't have time. So much to see!"
Watching Hyeona act the complete opposite of her usual self, Myeongjeon wondered just how thrilled she must be. Sure, the excitement of finally visiting a place she'd only dreamed about...
"Hm... yeah, about that much."
"Pardon?"
"Nah, nothing."
Myeongjeon brushed it off and strolled through Akihabara, eyes scanning the streets. Roads cordoned off, swarms of people—more Westerners and Chinese than Japanese. Strip away that, and it looked like any ordinary street, but the signs plastered with anime characters and game ads instead of regular commercials set it apart.
Back in the day, cartoons and such were things the government cracked down on hard... Seeing how big it's gotten feels kinda weird. Or was that just the Korean government?
Even in his childhood, Japanese comics had trickled in via smuggling. He'd thought they were all made in Korea back then.
After wandering and sightseeing amid the heat, they ducked into a spot at the pleading of the exhausted crew: a maid café.
The most famous, major chain with branches everywhere.
Wait, will these people even like this stuff? Might they hate it instead? Hyeona suddenly wondered, even as she led them in. Despite performing otaku songs at the school festival and getting cheers that eased her insecurities, that deep-boned emotion wasn't vanishing easily.
"How many in your party?"
"Five."
"Korean folks?"
"Y-Yes."
They reached a spacious table amid the lively maids' greetings, handed Korean menus. But Hyeona first snuck a peek at the group's faces, checking for displeasure at the choice.
"This place is wild. Like a tourist-specialty café?"
"Seems like it."
Fortunately, everyone looked fine. Iseo snapping photos of the novel maid café scene, Seoha poring over the menu. Suyeon and her mom chatting about the place. Hyeona sighed inwardly in relief and eyed her menu.
Entry fee: 770 yen. Full course: 3080 yen. Dessert course: 2860 yen. Drink course: 2310 yen. Premium full: 3960 yen.
Prices absurd for a restaurant. Suyeon was okay at first, but upon seeing them, she yelped, "What the hell, scammers! Why so expensive?" and suggested leaving.
But the others—when else would they try this?—piled on the maids' recommendations.
"Miss, how about the live option?"
"What's that mean?"
"She's asking if you want to watch a live show. They dance up front after ordering. 1320 yen."
"They charge for that too?"
Ignoring Suyeon's grumble, Hyein said, "We'll take that too, then."
Thus, five premium full courses plus live orders tallied over 150,000 won.
"The ladies at this table have ordered the premium full course!"
The maids rang handbells like Apple Store staff on Garosu-gil, announcing it. Hyeona's face flushed with embarrassment and shock.
But they didn't stop, showering praise that felt designed to suffocate with shame. Other patrons stared in bewilderment. Seoha bolted to the bathroom, Suyeon desperately stared out the window denying reality... while Iseo and Hyein beamed, waving to everyone like it was a parade.
The legendary omelet with drawings service. Excluding the two already half-broken (Seoha and Suyeon), the other three chanted along energetically with the maids.
"Oishiku nare~ Moe moe kyun!"
This is the authentic thing I've only heard about? As far as Hyeona could tell, Korean maid cafés and Japanese ones showed no stark differences. If anything, Korea had edges—like maids too busy for small talk, no drink art, pushing add-ons or gacha. Korea won there.
But it feels fundamentally different somehow...! She couldn't explain it, but that's how she felt. Not that the essence of a maid café mattered that much.
"Is this place for enjoying stuff like that?"
Once the traditional maid café rituals wrapped up, a seemingly recovered Suyeon asked. Hyeona nodded, pointing to the menu.
"See here—souvenirs... photo shoots. This is cheki, photos with the maids. And the live we ordered should start soon..."
"Why take pics with maids?"
"Uh... just for memories...?"
Suyeon's baffled look was fair, Hyeona thought. The nearby tables, maids' gestures and reactions... it was less Suyeon posing with maids, more maids dying to pose with her. They just stayed away because she radiated "I hate all this."
"Feeling dizzy."
"You okay?"
"Not like that, just..."
Seoha, spouting a trendy phrase, drew mom-worry. As they chatted, the café lights suddenly blacked out.
"What the—?"
"Oh, this... live show's starting."
"Live?"
"The one we ordered. Looks like they're performing up there..."
Hyeona waved her glow stick. Crack it, and it lit up like a fan light. A nearby maid shook hers, teaching the cheer with a smile.
"Everyone, shout 'Music start!' Then, thre—e!"
"Music start!"
A booming chorus from male patrons across the shop. With that, maids on the small stage setup danced. Cute voices, dancing, singing with gusto.
"Why am I paying my own money to torture myself?"
Amid the cheering, Seoha muttered absently. Silence blanketed the table.
* * *
"Japan's a country you shouldn't visit in summer. Can't even breathe it's so hot."
Iseo muttered. After Hyeona's Akihabara tour soaked everyone in sweat—shower at the hotel and all—the muggy discomfort lingered.
"The more you whine about the heat, the hotter it gets. Don't even think it, and it won't be hot."
"Quit talking nonsense."
Myeongjeon offered life-earned wisdom to Iseo, but she wasn't buying it. Well, she'd get it in 20 years or so: "Ah, Suyeon was right back then."
"This the Shimokitazawa you mentioned?"
"Yes."
Myeongjeon answered Hyein. Shimokitazawa. Like Hongdae in Korea, Tokyo's Shimokitazawa brimmed with live houses—the so-called "holy land of culture and art."
This was his pick. Despite Hyeona teasing if it was "pilgrimage 'cause it's in some anime?"—no such intent. Just wanted to show the band kids the path ahead.
"What's the world's biggest music market?"
"America."
Seoha's answer. Myeongjeon smiled faintly, following up.
"Second biggest?"
"Uh... UK or something?"
"Nope, Japan."
Hyeona corrected Seoha. Spot on. Japan held the world's second-largest music market.
"And Japan nurtures its own music scene on that scale. That's why I brought you here today."
Myeongjeon kept walking.
"Not saying Hongdae bands lack skill. Plenty could thrive in Japan—like those from Invasion from Seoul 2024, or Mystica who faced us. That's rare-level talent even here."
Yet Hongdae was declining. One reason: tiny music market. Korea's scene evolved excluding rock.
"That's why we're here. We're scoring big in Korea. But to grow more, earn more, do more... we gotta go beyond Korea. First stop: neighbor Japan. So, what's Japan's rock like? Not just records—live shows? I wanted you to experience it firsthand. Hence today."
He stopped before a live house. Not a specific pick—just one seeming to have a show soon, not sold out. Truly "any old place."
"Let's hear what Japanese bands sound like."
Myeongjeon descended the stairs, the faint pre-show tension they'd all felt wafting from the entrance.