This Tokyo cafe offers a peek at the future of humanity

The sole purpose of some tourist attractions is to entertain. Within the wellness industry, the aim is to pamper. But a cafe in Tokyo has a rather loftier goal: to eliminate loneliness from the human race.

DAWN Avatar Robot Cafe is an industrial-style eatery populated by androids. Robots, I hasten to add, not phones (a point of difference as many cafe patrons hunch over the latter).

The robots at Tokyo’s DAWN Avatar Robot Cafe are controlled by people living with disabilities, operating them from home or in hospital.Credit: Alamy

Gliding like ghosts across the polished concrete floor, the droids serve coffee, engage in conversation and are generally more hospitable than your average waitstaff.

At first, the experience is unnerving. I arrive at the Lifescience Building in Chuo City to find a metre-tall, gleaming white robot with shining pink eyes.

“Welcome to DAWN,” she says in a humanoid voice. “Please check in on the iPad.”

Images of the murderous Maschinenmensch from the classic movie Metropolis, or the eponymous AI star of horror film M3GAN, flash through my mind. But they dissipate as I read the sign on the counter: “This robot is remotely operated by a human, not an AI.”

The robots stick to a track that weaves around the room.Credit: Alamy

The idea is born of a very human experience: isolation. Creator Ory Yoshifuji was unable to go to school for medical reasons and eventually became a hikikomori – a social recluse – for more than three years.

At the age of 17, he began to research the building of a secondary body to interact with the world.

Known as OriHime, the avatar has a face inspired by a traditional Japanese theatre mask and is designed to reflect any expressions projected by the user’s imagination.

Each OriHime is operated remotely by a person at home or in hospital living with disabilities. These “pilots” are honoured as “bedridden veterans”.

While you can turn up unannounced and pay the small entry fee, it’s best to book a seat.Credit: Alamy

As someone who was confined to bed or a wheelchair for almost a year due to long COVID, this concept is close to my heart.

The cafe is designed with wheelchair-users in mind. Barrier-free toilets and assistive beds are also available.

Pictures displayed throughout the store are created by people with a progressive degeneration of nerve cells known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. They use a visual input system that manipulates the mouse on their computer.

I order a drink from the counter OriHime and sit at a table next to a tiny bot that is wearing a black dress and a natty beret.

An iPad on the table displays information about the pilot, including their location and interests – and sometimes their condition.

Suddenly, two fluorescent green, almond-shaped eyes light up. The bot’s head looks uncannily like that of a futuristic radioactive cat.

“Kon’nichiwa! I’m Usan,” the pilot says.

“Kon’nichiwa,” I reply.

We chat in a hodge-podge of Japanese and English about the cafe, the weather and how this job gives Usan a form of independence and companionship.

Within 10 minutes, a server bot designed to look like a maid from the 1950s quietly wheels over a tray.

The coffee is excellent – rich and creamy. You can also order food, or even operate an OriHime. For an extra 500 yen ($4.95), a pilot will pour you a beer at the bar.

While you can turn up unannounced and pay the small entry fee, it’s best to book a seat. Today, DAWN is full of tourists with school-aged children, learning about assistive technologies.

The space is quite full, but there’s no risk of “robots gone wild!” as appears in movies. Their rollers stick to a track that weaves around the room.

In addition to the cafe, OryLab – which was co-founded by Yoshifuji – conducts experiments with governments and corporations to expand the scope of these robots.

Do you know that quote about travel broadening the mind? Well, in the words of American author Elizabeth Drew, “Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation.”

DAWN is one of those golden exceptions. I leave the cafe with a heightened understanding of how tech tourism can help people who are unable to leave their homes.

It creates connection, builds understanding and provides employment.

Tourist attractions such as this are the perfect antidote to a society that still struggles with solitude, even years after a pandemic.

Who would have thought robots could be the key to improving humanity?

THE DETAILS

VISIT
An OriHime PASS, which includes one drink, is ¥1500 ($14.85) for adults (over the age of 12) and ¥1000 for kids aged four to 11. Under-threes visit free. The fee for the OriHime Diner is ¥4000 for adults and ¥2000 for children. This includes one dish, a drink and the full robot service experience. See dawn2021.orylab.com

FLY
Japan Airlines operates several daily flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Tokyo. See jal.co.jp

STAY
Mimaru Suites Tokyo Asakusa is a great choice for self-contained accommodation. These are traditional Japanese-style rooms, ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom apartments. See mimaruhotels.com

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