How much does a maid cafe cost in Japan? Real prices (2026)

"How much is a maid cafe?" is one of the most common questions from visitors, and the honest answer is: it depends on what kind of place you walk into. A daytime maid cafe and a late-night concept bar can differ by a factor of three or more for the same hour.

Below are real prices from cafes listed on MaidLink, taken from each shop's official website or official X account. We checked them between late August and late September 2026 (each cafe page shows the exact date). Prices change — menus get updated, events have special pricing — so treat these as a guide and always check the price board before you sit down.

The short version

• Classic maid cafe: about ¥330–¥880 per hour cover (or a one-time entry fee), plus at least one order. Budget ¥1,500–¥3,000 for an hour.
• Evening concept bar: about ¥2,000–¥4,000 for a 30- to 60-minute all-you-can-drink set, sometimes plus a 10–30% service charge. Budget ¥4,000–¥6,000 for an hour.
• Cheki (instant photo with a maid): about ¥600–¥2,000 each.

Classic maid cafes: hourly cover or entry fee

Daytime maid cafes usually charge a cover on top of what you order. Here's what five of them list:

• Maidreamin Akihabara Main Store — ¥880 per hour. Other Maidreamin branches list the same ¥880 per hour plus one order, and the same price again for each extra hour.
• Akiba Zettai Ryoiki A.D.2045 — ¥770 per hour.
• Cafe Mai:lish — no table charge, with 90-minute seatings.
• Maid Cafe CANDY Kyoto — ¥800 for general guests, ¥400 for students; free for children of elementary-school age and under.
• Cafe Andante in Osaka's Nipponbashi — ¥330 per hour.

On top of the cover you'll pay for your order. Drinks at the cafes we list typically start somewhere between ¥550 and ¥1,000, and themed dishes like omurice cost more than a normal cafe meal.

Concept bars: timed all-you-can-drink sets

In the evening, many concept cafes run as bars. Instead of an hourly cover, you buy a timed set, usually with drinks included:

• Sister Cafe Claris Veil, Akihabara — 60 minutes all-you-can-drink for ¥3,680 (¥4,048 with tax). A 30-minute extension is ¥1,850 (¥2,035 with tax), late-night hours add ¥100 per 10 minutes, and there's a separate 10% service charge.
• Kimi no Kanojo ni Naritai! Dokidoki, Akihabara — 40 minutes all-you-can-drink: ¥3,000 at the counter or ¥6,000 on a sofa. Extensions are the same price per 40 minutes, and nominating a specific cast member costs ¥1,000.
• Bunny's Guild, Akihabara — all-you-can-drink for ¥2,000 per 30 minutes or from ¥4,000 per hour, with no cover, tax or service charge.
• Gyaru Cafe 10sion, Shibuya — ¥2,200 for 60 minutes with a soft drink, or ¥4,950 for 60 minutes all-you-can-drink, plus a 20% service charge.
• Cafe and Bar Trace, Shibuya — a 60-minute set for ¥4,000; extensions are ¥3,000 for 30 minutes or ¥4,000 for 60, and there's a 30% service charge.

Bars are where you're most likely to spend more than you planned, because the extras add up: drinks for the cast, cheki, song requests, and automatic extensions at some shops. See concept bars in Shinjuku for more examples with published prices.

Cheki prices

A cheki — an instant photo with the maid of your choice, decorated by hand — is the souvenir most visitors want. Prices vary widely:

• Maid Bar Fairy Tale, Shinjuku — ¥600 solo, ¥1,000 for a two-shot. The cover here is ¥1,000, with drinks from ¥750.
• Aoharu Days, Sapporo — ¥2,000 per cheki. This bar also lists a set at ¥2,980 before tax, drinks from ¥1,000, and automatic extensions.

As a rule of thumb, classic maid cafes sit at the lower end and idol-style shops and late-night bars at the top.

Extensions, service charges and tax

Three things make a bill bigger than the headline price:

• Extensions. At hourly-cover cafes, staying a second hour usually means paying the cover again (and often another order). At bars, extensions are sold in blocks — see the examples above — and some shops extend automatically unless you say you're leaving.
• Service charge. Many concept bars add 10–30% on top of everything, as in three of the five bar examples above.
• Consumption tax. Japan's consumption tax is 10%. Some shops quote tax-inclusive prices, others quote before tax — Claris Veil shows both. If a price says "税別" or "+税", tax comes on top.

Sample budgets

Worked out from the prices above, per person:

• Quick daytime visit: ¥880 cover plus one drink — about ¥1,500–¥2,000.
• Full maid cafe experience: cover, a drink, a dish and one cheki — about ¥3,000–¥4,000.
• One hour at an evening concept bar: Claris Veil's 60-minute set is ¥4,048 with tax, about ¥4,450 once the 10% service charge is added. At 10sion, ¥4,950 plus 20% service comes to ¥5,940 before any tax.
• A long night out at a bar with extensions, cheki and drinks for the cast can easily pass ¥10,000.

How to avoid surprises

• Read the price board or menu before you sit, and ask about set length, extensions, service charge and tax.
• Ask the price of every extra before you say yes.
• Check your bill against the price list before you pay.
• Payment methods vary — some shops take cards or e-money, others are cash-only — so carry some yen.

For a full walkthrough of a visit, read how to visit a maid cafe. In Tokyo, maid cafes in Tokyo for foreigners has a shortlist with hours and prices, and you can compare every maid cafe in Akihabara.

Read next

• How maid cafes work: the system, cast and prices explained
• Are maid cafes safe? Street flyers, touts and how to avoid scams
• Maid cafe vs concept bar vs girls bar: what's the difference?
• How to visit a maid cafe in Japan: step-by-step for first-timers
• Maid cafe etiquette: 12 rules first-timers should know