Inside the incredible Tokyo cafe where the food and drinks are served to customers by
Welcome to the cafe of the future, where the waiting staff are all robots.
And the location? No surprises there – Tokyo.
It’s called the Dawn Avatar Robot Café and travel content creator Maz Green dropped in for a juice and a green tea, with the short video she made of the visit garnering tens of thousands of views on Instagram.
Maz, who posts eye-catching photos and videos to Instagram and TikTok to hundreds of thousands of followers using the handle ‘Where To Find Me‘, explained to MailOnline Travel that all the food and drinks are served by robots – and that they’re controlled remotely ‘by people with medical or physical limitations who cannot come into work but want to stay connected to society’.
Maz, who is half Japanese though born and raised in London, was told there are 70 staff members who work as robot pilots.
Travel content creator Maz Green dropped in for a juice and a green tea at Dawn Avatar Robot Café in Tokyo. Maz explained to MailOnline Travel that all the food and drinks are served by robots – and that they’re controlled remotely ‘by people with medical or physical limitations who cannot come into work but want to stay connected to society’
Inside, she saw ‘about 10 avatar robot waiters, one barista robot, one robot behind the bar, and a few more tiny robots dotted around the cafe’.
Plus, humans were assisting with issues and helping customers place their orders, and making drinks and meals.
The robots, though, serve everything and customers can interact with them.
Maz, 31, said: ‘The robots can all speak. Each avatar features a camera on the robot’s forehead, a microphone and speaker, so that the pilots can communicate with customers as if they were standing right in front of them.
Inside, Maz saw ‘about 10 avatar robot waiters, one barista robot, one robot behind the bar, and a few more tiny robots dotted around the cafe’
‘The robots can perform simple movements, such as nodding their head or raising their hand, all through eye-tracking technology.
‘I interacted with so many of them. A robot greeted me at the entrance and explained how the cafe works, then I spoke to my robot waiter and with the mini robots by the bar.
‘Because I can speak Japanese, I was able to learn about the lives of many of the pilots.
‘It was fascinating to hear their stories and their appreciation for the job, which allows them to feel less isolated and more social during their week.
The robots can perform simple movements, such as nodding their head or raising their hand
The robots can all speak and each avatar features a camera on the robot’s forehead, a microphone and speaker, so that the pilots can communicate with customers as if they were standing right in front of them, Maz reveals
Maz, above at a cake-in-a-can vending machine in Tokyo, posts eye-catching photos and videos to Instagram and TikTok to hundreds of thousands of followers using the handle ‘Where To Find Me ‘
‘They are all lovely and are very keen to converse with their tables in English.
‘Most of the robots have iPads stationed beside them, so that you can see a photo of the person piloting the robot and where in the world they’re logging in from.’
And what was the service like?
Maz revealed that as you enter the cafe, which is in the Nihonbashi Honcho area of Tokyo, you make your order and pay on an iPad before being assigned to a table.
Her juice and green tea ‘came within minutes’ and none of the robots made a mistake.
Did the robots demand a tip?
Maz said: ‘No, because in Japan, it’s not the custom to tip. If you try, they’ll deny it and sometimes even chase you out of the restaurant to return your money.’
And what was Maz’s overall impression?
‘I loved it,’ she said. ‘It was pricier than your average cafe, but worthwhile knowing that you’re supporting a great initiative that provides opportunities for people with mobility or isolation issues.
‘It was very futuristic and as a result a quintessential Tokyo experience that I highly recommend.’
For more about the Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe visit dawn2021.orylab.com. Where To Find Me can be found on Instagram here and on TikTok here.
Maz said of the Avatar Robot Cafe: ‘I loved it. It was pricier than your average cafe, but worthwhile knowing that you’re supporting a great initiative that provides opportunities for people with mobility or isolation issues’