And that’s the way the owners like it, as they want to create a sense of pressure to help keep even the laziest writers on track. With no background music playing, and everyone buried deep in their work, typing away feverishly and eyes locked on their laptop screens, there was no relaxed, cafe-style ambience here. When he arrived, he was surprised to find there were a lot of other writers in need of help with motivation too, as nearly every seat inside was taken. Sanjun stopped by the cafe to find out if paying staff to look over his shoulder would improve his concentration and writing speed. This new cafe, called Genko Shippitsu Cafe (“Manuscript Writing Cafe”), is all about writing, and though you might be quick to think, “Isn’t any cafe primed for writing?” the drawcard here is that you have to be a writer on a deadline to enter, and what’s more, staff won’t let you leave until you meet your deadline.Īs writers ourselves, we know how hard it can be to stay on track with tight turnarounds, so our reporter P.K. “I don’t know what kind of work might be born, but I’m proud to be able to offer my support so that things written here can be published to the whole world,” he said.A place where you can pay staff to look over your shoulder to help you stop procrastinating.Įarlier this month, we got wind of a new weird cafe opening in Tokyo, and this time it had nothing to do with cats, maids or bathhouses. The cafe, originally a livestreaming space, was hit badly by the coronavirus pandemic, but Kawai is now hopeful as word of mouth spreads about its new format. “It’s good to be able to concentrate on writing,” she said, completing her goal of three blog articles in three hours. Though a few people have stayed past the official closing time, they have all eventually gotten their work done.Įmiko Sasaki, 37 and a blog writer, said she relished the chance to be free of pesky social media and phone calls. The cafe charges 130 yen ($1.01) for the first 30 minutes and then 300 yen ($2.34) every successive hour. “But actually instead of monitoring, I’m here to support them … As a result what they thought would take a day actually was completed in three hours, or tasks that usually take three hours were done in one.” “The cafe went viral on social media and people are saying the rules are scary or that it feels like being watched from behind,” the genial Kawai said, displaying a board with the names of customers who completed their tasks and left. Owner Takuya Kawai, 52 and a writer himself, said he hoped the strict rules would help people focus. Those choosing “hard” will feel silent pressure from staff standing frequently behind them. They can also ask for progress checks as they work, with “mild” just asking them if they have finished as they pay and “normal” being a check-in every hour. Coffee and tea are unlimited and self-serve, and high-speed Wi-Fi and docking ports are installed at every seat.Ĭustomers enter, write down their names, writing goals and the time they plan to finish. The clean, well-lit place in western Tokyo has 10 seats reserved for writers, editors, manga artists and anybody else grappling with the written word and deadlines. Oh, and there’s prodding thrown in to make sure they buckle down and finish. TOKYO: Writers facing deadlines go to Tokyo’s “Manuscript Writing Cafe” with an understanding - they can’t leave until their work is done.
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