As Thailand opens a maid cafe, Japan refines the trend

The popularity of manga reaches a new level in Thailand with the opening of Akiba, a shop that offers comics and DVDs -- and a cafe staffed by waitresses in frilly maids dresses.

The store is named after Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo, where the fetishy maid cafes have been all the rage for the past four years or so. There, the waitresses refer to male customers as "master," and some diners even offer grooming and ear-cleaning services.

However, Akiba has made some changes to the concept to better suit Thai society.

"In Japan, the maids pamper customers to the point of kneeling down to stir in the sugar and cream into their coffee," the store's managing director told Bangkok's The Nation. "They even write the client's name in ketchup on the omelette and rice. We haven't imported these customs."

Meanwhile, Japan is further refining the maid cafe trend with the addition of diners catering to a female clientele.

Mainichi Daily News reports that Le Salon Rever opened late last month in Sapporo, employing ikemen, or good-looking guys, as waiters (pictured above). The staff, aged 18 to 24, wear uniforms and serve "27 unique types of desserts."

No word yet on grooming services, though.