Anti-Procrastination Café In Tokyo Only Serves Customers With Looming Deadlines — And They Can’t Leave Until They Finish Their Work - 8days Skip to main content

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Anti-Procrastination Café In Tokyo Only Serves Customers With Looming Deadlines — And They Can’t Leave Until They Finish Their Work

Staff will even check on you to make sure you’re not slacking off.

Anti-Procrastination Café In Tokyo Only Serves Customers With Looming Deadlines — And They Can’t Leave Until They Finish Their Work

Tokyo has a café for every purpose you can (and can’t) imagine, from hedgehog cafes and micro pig cafes to, uh, maid cafes and anime themed cafes. Now here’s one more to add to the list: A café for writers struggling with deadlines or writer’s block.

Manuscript Writing Café in Tokyo's Koenji neighbourhood is a place where writers and creatives can work from, and the month-old 10-seater café has gone viral for being an “anti-procrastination” café. Come again?

Only people with a specific writing or illustrating task to complete — and have a deadline looming — are allowed entry at Manuscript Writing Café. Upon entry, customers are first given a card to indicate what writing tasks they are setting out to do at the café. Acceptable answers include “finish a 2,000-word manuscript” or “write a two-page paper”, the café website suggests, though translation work, copywriting, proofreading, planning project documents, and illustrating manga storyboards are also allowed.

Most importantly, customers cannot leave until they’ve accomplished their goals for the day, or until the café closes.

Customers have to fill out this card at the door and set out their goals for the day. The café even displays the cards of previous customers who’ve successfully completed their work, to motivate new guests.

To spur customers on to be even more productive, café staff will even gently remind/nag/prod customers not to slack off. Customers can choose how closely they want to be monitored by staff. With the mildest option, staff will ask customers of their progress at the end of the sesh. The second-tier of monitoring involves hourly check-ins, while the strictest level entitles customers to reminders every 10 minutes. Staff will even hover around you to ensure you’re truly productive.

The cosy 10-seater café is nestled in the Koenji neighbourhood in Tokyo, and just opened its doors in April.

If memories of your discipline teachers in school are flooding back right now, fret not. The reminders from staff are gentle and polite (this is in Japan, after all), and they come bearing snacks each time they check up on customers.

Charges start at 150 yen (S$1.62) for the first half hour, and 300 yen per subsequent hour (so the longer you take to finish your work, the more you’ll pay). Prices include unlimited self-service tea or coffee, and use of the café’s high-speed wifi, charging ports, and high bar stools (to prevent you from nodding off, apparently). No food is sold here, but customers are welcome to bring their own grub or purchase some from nearby convenience stores or food delivery services.

According to the café’s website, this co-working environment is “recommended for people who have the experience of trying to ‘write a manuscript’ at home or in an ordinary café…and have not proceeded”. It elaborates: “The atmosphere of the place is moderately tense and you can concentrate on your work.”

More info here.
Photos: Twitter/@TakuyaKawai

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