Trending: Japan's 'Abuse Café', Where Diners Were Served Humiliation With A Dash Of Profanities
A pop-up café in Tokyo gained attention for offering more than just food — it provided customers with a dose of humiliation. For the record, the diners voluntarily signed up for the experience.
Trending News: At first sight, the Tokyo restaurant looked like a normal eating joint, offering all kinds of food and beverages created and served under the supervision of Michelin chef Shuhei Sawada. But this pop-up café was different. Here, patrons signed up to be treated to humiliation.
Yes, you heard that right!
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the café, which was open from September 14 to 23, was a hit for the fans of Nobuyuki Sakuma, Japanese influencer whose online shows are known to feature abusive language. On his YouTube channel Nobrock TV, Sakuma invites "good-looking young women" to come and hurl verbal abuses at a group of comedians. Those who take less offence, or are able to laugh it off, are declared winners.
At the popup café, named Bato Cafe Omokenashi Café, there were at least 10 waitresses at a time who had been hired to verbally abuse customers who signed up for the special "service", according to the SCMP report.
“Bato” in Japanese means “abuse”, while “omokenashi” is said to be a play on the word “omotenashi”, which means “hospitality”. The waitresses at the café did not care for keigo, a system of honorific speech in the Japanese language, which is mandatory in many social situations, and required in customer service.
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'Pigs Don’t Use Chopsticks'
Japanese media outlet Soranews24 sent its "thickest-skinned" reporter to the café for a first-hand experience, and he came back adequately "humiliated".
To start with, the waitress serving him addressed him as "pig", sounding impatient from the word go.
As he ordered a pork rice dish costing 3,590 yen (around Rs 2,100), the waitress apparently said: “You will be eating your own kind.”
That was not all, she went on to swear at him with harsh comments on different aspects — from his "uncool" hairstyle to "tacky" T-shirt.
And then, she served his dish without chopsticks, saying “pigs don’t use chopsticks”.
There would be a different café manager every day, and they would be invariably women chosen from among those appearing on Sakuma’s shows.
The customers had to book the abusive service in advance, and could “enjoy” it for only for an hour. Also on the offer was a paid “VIP service” that included being spanked with slippers, albeit "playfully", according to the SCMP report. Some customers allowed them to be photographed while being "abused", and took the photos home as souvenirs.
The café also admitted customers who did not want to be abused but liked to watch others who had opted for the special service. They were given a “no abuse” card to wear.
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