Musuta Kusaka's Everyday Journey with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Japan

• Who would have thought a robot would capture my heart, right from the entrance?
• A stylish atmosphere without any mercy. “Snack Orihime” is also open to adults.
• I was excited by the table service robot. I was grateful later.

There was a spirit of service that surpassed technology.
The other day, I went to a place called an avatar robot cafe.

https://dawn2021.orylab.com/

The location is Shin-Nihonbashi, Tokyo. The word “shin” doesn’t really ring a bell.

There’s a cafe where robots serve you, would you like to go? Just that alone gets my 5-year-old daughter excited.
The punch line is that robots serve you.

“Robots?! Let’s go!”

I took my intrigued daughter (my wife was absent because she overslept) and we headed to Shin-Nihonbashi in Tokyo.

To be honest, I don’t know much about Shin-Nihonbashi. I know a little about Nihonbashi. I looked it up and it’s right next to Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi. It’s the place where the lion at the entrance scares poor people. Well, I guess I’ll walk from Mitsukoshimae Station.

However, Mitsukoshimae Station had completely changed from the streetscape I knew. When I left the subway ticket gates on the ground, I was like , “Huh? Where am I?”
“What’s COREDO? Did I take the wrong exit?” “Hmm? Where’s Mitsukoshi?” Yes. I was lost. A 43-year-old with a 5-year-old, lost.

Because there were no people walking around the streets at all. There were no veteran gentlemen or ladies to be seen shopping at Mitsukoshi. Is it because the number of infected people is increasing? Is it because it’s hot? Maybe both. It reminded me of a city after the extinction of humanity.

As a natural consequence, my daughter became cranky.

“It’s hot,”

“I’m thirsty,”

“Is it time yet?”

“I’m tired”

“I want to pee.”

There was no concept of a subject. I was looking at the map app on my smartphone, so I couldn’t even keep an eye on my daughter. I just had to carry her on my shoulders and we started walking. When you’ve never been on a road before, it feels so far away. By the time we got to the store, both mother and daughter were exhausted. I asked for a glass of water. I thought we were in the Sahara Desert.

Who would have thought that a robot would capture my heart? And right from the entrance. The wave of customer service starts here.

But the moment I looked inside the store from the entrance, I thought ,

“I’m glad I came. This is the right choice. No, it’s a success.” 

And this is it.

Yes. A robot welcomes you. A robot cafe. By the way, there is also a “eh-heh pose”. Naturally, my daughter rushed into the shop first. And. “Welcome!” it said!

No, it’s a robot, so it would talk, right? I didn’t think so. Something was different. “You can even shake hands with it.” my daughter stretched out her hand and shook hands with it, just like a new candidate on an election campaign.

There was something different about it! It knew how to make people happy. It smelled like a people-pleaser! Because it’s a robot, and in spite of it, all at once.

By the way. The pilot of this robot was a man called Ito. He was quite skilled. (Oh, robots are a service-minded augmentation technology.) That was the moment that captured my heart.

Here is the shop’s leaflet.

“Aiming to give everyone the choice to stay connected to society”

Of course, I knew that there were people operating the robots (I’ll say it again, they’re called pilots), and that they all had various physical and other circumstances.

I came here because I was very interested in how they were trying to overcome such challenges with technology and the robot interface. 

However. I don’t care about all that kind of logic. I overcame it with ease. The disability is just a part of the pilots. It would be a waste to see this shop if that’s all you see. Let’s enjoy it. Yes. We were firmly connected, right from the start. Both mother and daughter.

The interior of the store is stylish without any mercy. No, it’s stylish. It’s perfect for solo travelers, dates, families, or anyone. At the snack bar “Orihime,” adults can enjoy alcohol at night.

So. What’s great about this store is that they’re not satisfied with just the robot. The interior is very stylish, nice, and has a great atmosphere. I feel like I’m saying the same thing. But it can’t be helped. I usually only go to Renoir and Doutor. Since the robot is the store’s signboard, they’ve balanced it out by giving it a woody, warm interior design so that it doesn’t come across as too impersonal. Hmm, this place is relaxing.

So, there were people typing on their computers, and couples who seemed to be on dates. But about half of the customers were families with children. The clientele was all different . But what was impressive was that the design was designed to make every scene comfortable and relaxing.

It’s not in the photo, but there is a bar counter at the back of the store, and a neon sign for Snack Orihime is hanging from the ceiling (I think). And hard liquor bottles are lined up on the wall shelves. When I asked the staff, they said that there are days when they have a snack time. I’m sure it would be delicious and fun to drink here. It’s a robot, a precision machine though.

Each Orihime seat is accompanied by a robot. I was excited by the table service. Later, I was impressed by the service spirit of the pilot, Nao-san.

Check this out. Isn’t it amazing?

First up is rock! Rock, paper, scissors!

Actually, on the day I decided to go, I went to the avatar robot cafe. I made a reservation because I didn’t want it to be crowded. There was a service called Orihime seating, where one robot is assigned to each table.

To be honest , I couldn’t imagine it. A table with a robot.
Well, at best, I thought it would bring me a menu.

Yes. As expected, it exceeded my expectations. The robot at the Orihime seat doesn’t just introduce itself. It also tells you how to order and recommends menu items.
And it chats with you until the food arrives.The pilot who sat with us that day was a pilot named Nao. The pilot, or rather the captain’s service spirit, really attracted my 5-year-old daughter.

Because, to keep us entertained until the food arrives, they play rock-paper-scissors for us. And they always start with rock.

Furthermore, the robot’s hands and neck move. So it played rock-paper-scissors. Wow. My daughter kept asking for it to go again and again. The heat fatigue from a while ago was nowhere to be seen. It was so much fun. The robot’s neck was about to break off.

By the way, this photo shows the captain still looking happy for some reason. I don’t remember why he was happy, haha. I think he was probably happy that his daughter was happy.

So. When I was eating (the food was so good I forgot to take a picture. There are many other things I forgot to take pictures of, like the robot that makes coffee), it quietly left the table, or rather, it was considerate enough to turn it off. The robot was compact and cute, but behind it was a proper adult who was considerate of meticulous care. Cool.

This robot brought juice and water to the table. This was also done by a robot (the pilot was Satoko-san. She was remotely controlling it from Okinawa. Amazing). Yes! This! A robot does it, it’s a simple futuristic feeling! This was also the point where my 5-year-old daughter got super excited.

The pilots also cooperated with each other. The captain said, “Oh, that robot looks cute when you take a picture from above.””Satoko, stop for a moment and look up. “
Here is a photo I took of the robot looking up.

After this, my daughter, who was in high spirits, ordered a fairly expensive dessert. She devoured it, saying it was delicious (and it must have been delicious). The captain, who was kind enough to put up with the out-of-place parent and child, provided various services until the flight back. Many of them were full of wisdom and consideration, making full use of images and communication. Throughout, my daughter kept staring into the robot’s eyes (actually, the robot’s mole was the camera). As if trying to find the figure of someone who must be in those eyes.

The robot cafe made my 5-year-old daughter say, “I miss her. I want to come again.” It’s definitely a summer memory.

As the robot was being switched off, my daughter said,

“I miss her. I’ll come again.”

looked around and saw that there were families with children in the seats next to us, behind us, and even on the other side. And all the children were enjoying interacting with the robot. No, with the pilot.
I realized that robots really are an extension of the spirit of service.

On the way home from the subway (I was piggybacked to the station), I told my daughter about robots and pilots.
About all kinds of people. About technology. About the future and about humans.

My daughter said ,

“Next time, we’ll all come together, Su-chan, Set-chan and Ah-chan.” 

Yes. Let’s come again. I think the pilots will be happy too. The future begins where everyone gathers. I want you to be there, and I want you to know that technology can expand that. I’m sure there will be people out there. And that there will be encounters.

Next time, I’ll bring my mom too.
Even if she overslept, I’ll wake her up by waking her up.
That’s what I was planning.
…But I’m sure she’ll just wake me up by waking me up.