Danica Davidson
September 26, 2024 
Limited-time themed cafés are a popular thing in Japan, as are maid cafés or host or hostess clubs, where you’ll be served and coddled and listened to. The Batou Cafe Omokenashi is not that type of café. It’s a café customers go to if they want to be abused.
So, what kind of abuse are we talking about? The main thing seems to be dealing with ill-mannered waitresses, who are reported uttering things like, “Whatcha gonna order? Order quickly, pig” and “Don’t get cocky, that’s the kinda thing that makes you a pig.” The waitresses will mock customers for their food choices, their outfits, or if they do or don’t use chopsticks.
Not enough abuse for you? The café gives customers the opportunity to buy an insulting nickname at 1,100 yen (about $7.60), so the waitresses can call them by that.
Still not enough abuse for you? The café also gives customers the opportunity to pay for the V.I.P. experience, where a waitress dressed like a maid will smack them around with a slipper.
SoraNews24 explained that the “Batou” in the title translates as “abuse” and “omokenashi” comes from the Japanese word for hospitality, “omotenashi.” The unique nature of the place means word spread fast on social media, where it was quickly dubbed “The Abuse Café” by many English-speakers.
Nobuyuki Sakuma of the webseries Nobrock TV brought this place to life in Shibuya. The popular series, which has more than two million subscribers, includes women being verbally abusive to guests. So it appears Sakuma wanted to take the premise out of the series and put it in a real business. It is also possible for customers to choose to attend the café without being insulted, and only watch the other people being abused.
And if you’re wondering about exclusive merchandise — yes, you can get T-shirts and totes that say “Batou Arigato Gozaimasu” (translated as “Thank You for the Abuse”).
Source and Image: SoraNews24
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
