JAPAN: At-Home Café, Japan’s largest maid café chain, is making waves in Akihabara with the introduction of AI-powered translation screens, creating a more inclusive and engaging environment for both foreign tourists and customers with hearing impairments.
According to the latest report from South China Morning Post, In a partnership with Pixie Dust Technologies and Tsukuba University, At-Home Café began testing the cutting-edge VUEVO Display at its Akihabara location in January. This sleek, transparent screen, bathed in a calming baby pink glow, is designed to provide real-time translations of the maids’ prompts in over 100 languages. The innovative technology allows customers seated opposite the maids to enjoy seamless communication, regardless of language barriers.
One of the café’s most popular maids, Hitomi, highlighted the screen’s transparency as a key feature, emphasizing that it allows patrons to still interact with the maids’ expressions and gestures, maintaining the personal touch for which the café is known.
The VUEVO Display, which is rented at a fee of 900,000 yen (about US$6,000 or S$8,000) per year, is currently being trialled at one of the chain’s four locations, with plans to assess its effectiveness until the end of March. Koki Fukazawa, CEO of Infinia (the company behind the chain), explained that while the staff has been trained to use English, this solution only partially addressed the needs of the diverse foreign customer base, with many visitors not speaking English.
The timing couldn’t be better, as Japan set a new record in 2024 by welcoming 36.9 million international visitors, a 47.1% jump from the previous year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. With tourists from countries like South Korea, China, Thailand, France, and Germany—where English is not widely spoken—the AI screen is seen as a much-needed solution to bridge language gaps and enhance the guest experience.
But the benefits extend beyond international visitors. The VUEVO Display also aims to assist Japanese customers with hearing impairments, ensuring that no one is left out of the experience. The device preserves unique aspects of Japanese otaku culture, such as “moe” (a word used to describe affection for cute characters), by transliterating it instead of offering a direct translation.
For At-Home Café, this is just the beginning. While only one location currently uses the system, the company is considering expanding its use depending on the feedback received. The café opened its doors in 2004 and is known for its charming maids and a 19-member maid idol group that performs live in Akihabara, a hotbed of otaku culture.
The AI translation service has been met with enthusiasm from international visitors. One guest shared their excitement on Instagram, saying, “Now I will not mess up putting the magical spell on my food!” Others echoed similar sentiments, praising the technology for bridging the language divide. Still, some guests preferred the charm of speaking in their own “broken” Japanese, highlighting the unique blend of high-tech and heartfelt interaction that defines At-home Café.
As the chain continues to innovate, the VUEVO Display is poised to become a key player in shaping the future of customer service in Japan’s maid café scene. Whether enhancing communication for tourists or making the experience more accessible, this AI-powered solution could set a new standard in hospitality.