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Hello! Thanks for visiting this blog.
Today I will tell you about one of the Maid experiences you can enjoy in Akihabara: AKIBA BROADWAY.
What is AKIBA BROADWAY?
Akiba Broadway is a show prepared by the famous maid cafe, at-home cafe, located in the otaku district of Akihabara, Tokyo.
If you don't know about the world of Japanese maid cafes, I invite you to read these posts :)
The show is made of a setlist of original songs that the maid café has produced during its 19-year history, always curated according to the theme of the season. During the show, the maids do not speak or sing live, but they dance and express themselves just like in musicals. This type of show also gives them the opportunity to interact much more with their audience. It is a show that you can also enjoy from a very short distance from the stage, so you can see the cast only a few meters away from your seat.
Shows are held every Wednesday at Akiba Cultures Theater, a small theater inside Akiba Cultures Zone building, where you can also find one of the three at-home cafes in the city. The show takes place each season for 11 weeks in a row and 2 performances each day.
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| Source: Akiba Cultures Zone website |
I'd love to go! How can I do it?
If you want to see Akiba Broadway, I recommend these two alternatives:
1. Buy the ticket when visiting at-home cafe
If you have already considered visiting at-home cafe in your travel itinerary, you can buy your ticket for Akiba Broadway right in the cafe. You just have to ask the maid who attends your table.
2. Buy same-day ticket at Akiba Cultures Theater
You can go buy the ticket the same day of the performance at the theater. You just have to make sure you go at least 1 hour in advance. The tickets are not numbered, so I recommend arriving at the opening of the doors to get a good seat.
Update 2/2024: Audience now enters to the theater according to what type of ticket they bought.
1st Group - People who bought the ticket online.
2nd Group - People who bought the ticket at the theater on the same day.
3rd Group - People who bought the ticket at the cafe.
If you want to sit very close to the stage, I recommend to buy tickets online or get the same-day ticket.
Update 2/2024: Audience now enters to the theater according to what type of ticket they bought.
1st Group - People who bought the ticket online.
2nd Group - People who bought the ticket at the theater on the same day.
3rd Group - People who bought the ticket at the cafe.
If you want to sit very close to the stage, I recommend to buy tickets online or get the same-day ticket.
About stage timetable and tickets
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| source: Visit Chiyoda city website |
As I mentioned before, the show takes place every Wednesday with 2 performances a day. These are referred to as 1st Stage and 2nd Stage. The content is the same, with the difference that the members can exchange roles between each performance.
1ST STAGE (OPEN: 16:30 / START: 17:00)
2ND STAGE (OPEN: 19:30/ START: 20:00)
The tickets are divided into a regular ticket, with which you only see the show, and a complete ticket. The latter includes the right to remain in the venue to listen to an "after talk", where the entire cast returns to the stage to talk for 15 minutes and interact a little more with the audience.
Prices:
Regular ticket: 3,100 yen
Complete ticket: 3600 yen
* Both tickets include a drink (non optional). This is required by law for small establishments such as Akiba Culture Theater, which function as a performance venue and a sort of cafe at the same time. Right next to the reception there is a refrigerator with drinks to choose from, so don't forget to ask for yours.
* IMPORTANT: The venue does not accept credit cards, so remember to bring cash with you if you buy the ticket at the theater.
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| Akiba Cultures Theater Entrance and ticket counter (source) |
Buying merchandising and "cheki"
Before each show starts, at-home cafe has at the theater entrance a small corner where you can buy official Akiba Broadway merchandise and tickets to take a "cheki" (polaroid) photo with the Akiba Broadway maid who you prefer. As in at-home café, the price of the photo depends on the rank of each maid (regular/premium/legend).
Additionally, there is the option to buy a large cheki with the entire cast.
The photographs are taken once the show and the after talk have finished. If you decide not to buy the after talk ticket, you can wait at the entrance until the photo taking session starts.
Prices:
Group Cheki (with all cast): 6,600 yen
Cheki Legend Maid: 1200 yen
Cheki Premium Maid: 1000 yen
Checki Regular Maid: 800 yen
* You can only buy up to 3 chekis for each maid, although if you want to buy more you can line up again.
My experience going to see AKIBA BROADWAY
On March this year, I was privileged to be able to attend 2 Akiba Broadway performances during my 2023 Japan trip. As a fan of maid culture, I felt that I could not miss this opportunity to see this show never before made by another maid cafe. Also, two of my favorite maids (Legend Maid hitomi and Premium Maid Mizukin) are part of the cast.
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| I was super close to the stage! |
Tickets don't have seat assignment, so I was able to sit in the second and third row. I saw all the maids up close and make eye contact with almost the entire cast during their performance!
At the time I visited Japan, there were still sanitary restrictions, so I couldn't get too agitated during the show, but I think now it is allowed to do wotagei and chant the name of the maids. (strongly recommended)
I was fascinated with the level of professionalism that the maids have when it comes to putting on the show. You really don't need to know Japanese to enjoy the show, so if you're a fan of at-home like me, you can't miss it.
After the show and the after talk, the people who bought the photo ticket line up to take a picture with their favorite maid and chat with her for a couple of minutes. In my case I bought tickets to have a photo with hitomi and Mizukin. It made me very happy to be able to talk with them and congratulate them on their incredible performance on stage.
After the show and the after talk, the people who bought the photo ticket line up to take a picture with their favorite maid and chat with her for a couple of minutes. In my case I bought tickets to have a photo with hitomi and Mizukin. It made me very happy to be able to talk with them and congratulate them on their incredible performance on stage.
The truth is that this experience has not yet been adapted so that foreign tourists can attend more easily, but that hasn't stopped fans from all over the world from going to see the show. In fact, I wasn't the only foreigner in the audience that day, I also met other Goshujinsama and Ojousama from outside Japan.
I hope this blog entry can help more tourists from overseas get interested in this show and enjoy it.
Thank you for reading!!
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