2013年2月22日金曜日 - 
Sarah B - Butlers Cafe in Shibuya
During the summer holidays, I took a trip to Tokyo to
visit some good friends from college. Because I had already visited many of
Tokyo's traditional sightseeing spots, my
friends and I wanted to do something a bit whimsical. After much deliberation, we decided to check out a "butler cafe".
Butlers Cafe, located in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district, is similar to a maid cafe except that
the staff are all young men from far
flung countries with good looks and charming accents. As my friends and I entered the
cafe, the "butlers", wearing chic suits,
greeted us in English with smiles and cheerful shouts: "Welcome!" Then they
whisked us to our seats at a dainty little table in the middle of the
cafe.
Alejandro, the butler serving our table, was handsome,
tall, and tan, and spoke with the rolled R of a native speaker of Spanish. He
asked us to guess which country he was from. "Argentina?" Nope. "Puerto Rico?" Try again. "Colombia?" Bingo!
With a pleased grin, he gave us all tiaras to wear and an elegant menu of teas and cakes to order
from.
The cafe was decorated in an old-fashioned style in the
Victorian era. Gleefully, my friends and I sipped the pricey muffins and milk tea we had
ordered. We enjoyed being doted on by the
butlers, just like princesses (or like a prince, in the case of the male member
of our group). It was a relaxing atmosphere. Because the service was all in
English, I thought it might be a great place for students to practice
speaking!
It was an amusing but odd experience, finding such an anachronistic cafe among the noise and neon of Shibuya. Although it was fun being treated like royalty for an hour or two, it
was a relief to step back outside into
the modern world... But maybe one day I'll miss my life as a "princess", and
return to Butlers Cafe for more pampering.
traditional
sightseeing spots＝ 昔ながらの観光地
whimsical＝ 一風変わった
deliberation＝ 熟考
butler cafe＝ 執事カフェ
trendy ＝ 流行の先端を行く
district＝ 地区
far flung ＝ 遠く離れた
charming accents＝ 可愛らしい外国訛
chic＝ シックな
whisked ＝ さっと案内する
dainty＝ 繊細で美しい
tall, and tan＝ 背が高く日焼けした
rolled R＝ 巻き舌のＲ
Nope＝ 「いいえ」の米口語
grin＝ にかっと(歯を見せた）笑い
tiaras＝ ティアラ
Victorian era＝ ビクトリア時代
gleefully＝ 陽気に
sipped＝ すする
doted on
＝ 溺愛される
amusing＝ おもしろい
odd＝ 変な
anachronistic＝ 時代錯誤の
neon＝ ネオン
being treated like
royalty ＝ 王侯貴族のように扱われる
a
relief ＝ ほっとする
pampering＝ 過保護に可愛がられること