Akiba Zettai Ryoiki's absolutely kawaii maid cafe zones

Akiba Zettai Ryoiki has made a name for itself with its super kawaii mood, its foreigner-friendly attitude, and of course, its energetic maids wearing cat ears and cute maid outfits. While the website explains that it's "a maid cafe where cats (cast members) who want to show their gratitude to humans can take on a human form and wait on customers within the confines of a zettai ryoiki 絶対領域 (meaning 'absolute zone')," the term zettai ryoiki is also a euphemism for the area between skirt and stocking, which is often visible in the maid look.

Buoyed by their success, Akiba Zettai Ryoiki has been busy expanding their operations, creating cafes with different themes. For example, Akiba Zettai Ryoiki +e has a pastel neon interior and is billed as a 2.5-dimensional space focused on gaming culture, and Akiba Zettai Ryoiki A.D. 1912 has an upscale gothic theme with classic maid outfits and an extensive wine menu available.

Akiba Zettai Ryoiki A.D. 2045

For their fourth and latest cafe, Akiba Zettai Ryoiki is taking a leap into the future with Akiba Zettai Ryoiki A.D. 2045.

Hoping to convey the cool image of Akihabara that foreign visitors love, they sought to create a design which would express the Akiba Zettai Ryoiki aesthetic while also taking hints from Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Super Dimension Fortress Macross.

No fewer than five different creators with strong connections to Akihabara are involved in the cafe's design.

To begin with, designer Kato of RaiRai Public Company, Ltd. 雷雷公社 added his unique touch to create the marking designs on the walls and the plates used to serve some of the items on their menu (see below).

Illustrator Ryosuke Fukai 深井涼介, famous for his work ARMS NOTE in which he portrays girls equipped with powerful weapons, created the cafe's appealing maid outfits, as well as the design for the cafe's original mascot character, Nia Shinomiya 四宮ニア.

Nia Shinomiya's likeness is featured not only in decorative accents for some of the unique menu items served in the cafe, but also in virtual form as a CG model thanks to popular character modeler Pompucho ぽんぷ長.

You'll have a great view of Nia dancing to original choreography on one of the cafe's seven screens.

Akihabara's First Hologram-Enhanced Sign

The cafe's second-floor sign, easy to spot with its pop design and manga-style onomatopoeia sound effects in neon katakana letters, features background art by popular creator Tatsumi Tsurushima つるしまたつみ and the cafe's neon-framed logo is designed by Ryo Hiiragi 柊涼, who also designed the logo for No Game No Life.

Also, in a first for the Akihabara area, an animated hologram projection of a computer-generated character performing a "moe" gesture greets passers-by, creating a startling cyberpunk effect.

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Menu

Here is a sample of the some of the menu items you'll be able to order:

'Summon Waifu' Cake 嫁召喚ケーキ (800 JPY)

Have your cake and your waifu, too. In homage to a certain summoning device, this cake is served on a plate printed with a magic summoning circle, so you can imagine summoning Nia to your table.

Omrice Plate (1,450 JPY)

A version of omrice from a maid cafe of the future. You can change the topping to cream croquettes if you wish.

Energy Rice Bowl エナジーどんぶり [Cream Croquette Curry Rice Bowl] (1,300 JPY)

Outdoor food stalls serving "junk food" are a staple of cyberpunk fiction, so here's a dish chock full of tasty junkiness.

Moe Culturing Parfait 萌え培養パフェ (JPY 1,000)

They've cultivated a potent strain of "moe-moe" in this parfait brimming over with strawberry goodness: strawberry shortcake, strawberry jelly cubes, strawberry syrup and more are inside.

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Cafe Information

• Name (EN): Maid Cafe and Bar Akiba Zettai Ryoiki A.D. 2045
• Name (JP): メイドカフェ＆バー アキバ絶対領域 A.D.2045
• Address (EN): 2F TIT Akihabara, 4-2-7 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Address (JP): 東京都千代田区外神田4-2-7TIT秋葉原2F
• Tel: 03-6882-4174
• Hours: 12:00 to 22:00 (Last order 21:30), open every day
• Website: Maid Cafe and Bar Akiba Zettai Ryoiki
• Twitter: @akibazettai