News in Easy English: Seniors welcome guests as maids at cafe in Gunma Pref.

KIRYU, Gunma -- In Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, seniors started working as cafe maids one year ago. They started this cafe to give older people a nice place to meet and relax. Now, the cafe has over 10 "maids" aged 65 or older. Many different kinds of people enjoy visiting this special place. The cafe even plans to do events to help older people find love and friendship.

Read the full English article

Read the original Japanese article

The name of the cafe is "Meido Cafe Shangri-La." ("Meido" is funny in Japanese, because it can mean both "maid" and "afterlife.")

Every workday, the senior maids gather before the cafe opens at 8 a.m. They say, "Let's be lively, cheerful and beautiful again today!"

One maid is Nene, 72, who started working last December. Before becoming a maid, she had only worked at home. At first, she worried about talking to many new people. Now, she enjoys her new role very much. She said her son noticed she looks happier now.

Popo, 75, started her first day as a maid when the Mainichi Shimbun visited. Popo said she loved visiting the cafe as a customer, so she wanted to become a maid herself. "Today is my first day, so I'm still learning," she said with a smile.

Meido Cafe Shangri-La opened in July last year. At first, it opened just two hours on one Saturday per month. But it got popular quickly, with many customers waiting to get in. Now, it opens four hours.

Deco, 67, and Coco, 66, started work at the cafe from its first day. Deco's mother (87 years old) sometimes does fun paper-folding (origami) lessons there. Deco's daughter (41 years old) also came one day to help. Deco's daughter said, "My mother really loves being a maid."

This cafe is special, and sometimes does funny events. Once, people could even try lying inside a coffin. Now, the cafe plans to hold senior "matchmaking" events, where older people can find love or new friends.

Customers like the cafe's friendly, happy feeling. One regular customer is a truck driver. He said, "After working all night, talking with the maids helps me relax. It feels really good."

A young university student, aged 21, said, "I came alone, but the maids were very friendly and kind." She liked the cafe very much, and plans to write about it in her school graduation thesis on local cafes.

(Japanese original by Kazuhiko Toyama, Kiryu Local Bureau)

Vocabulary

senior: an older person

customer: a person who visits a place like a cafe, restaurant, or shop

matchmaking: introducing people who want to find love and friendship

regular: doing something often; someone who visits the same place many times

coffin: a box that the body of a person goes into after they die

role: a person's job or position, what you do in a place or event

graduation thesis: the final essay a student needs to graduate from university