A café serving dementia patients opens in Tokyo where customers’ orders are often forgotten – and people think it’s ‘cute’ (although some fear it’s ‘dystopian’ to make them work)
A cafe in Japan has created a workplace for elderly dementia patients, but the seemingly sweet concept has divided viewers online.
At the Café of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo, customers can expect plates of food they never ordered, or no food at all – but mistakes are “embraced with compassion.”
On TikTok, a visitor named Myhlee shared footage of the cafe – where viewers can see clips of older workers with dementia bringing food and hot drinks to patients.
The concept is not new to Japan, and the city has witnessed restaurants of a similar nature popping up across the country.
The idea has fascinated viewers, and Myhlee’s video has since been viewed nearly two million times. But while many find the idea “sweet,” one rationalized it as “dystopian.”
The Café of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo, Japan has hired staff with dementia (pictured is a staff member outside the café)
Japan is currently struggling with a rapidly aging population, with seniors expected to make up as much as 40 percent of the population by 2060.
The country is eager to find ideas to support its aging population, including those with dementia and memory loss.
To tackle some of the problem, a cafe has hired workers with the disease to boost productivity in old age.
Myhlee shared images from the cafe, where workers can be seen with wide grins on their faces as they delivered food and hot drinks to customers.
She explained, “Mixups are common here; servers bring the wrong order to your table, or they don’t bring your order at all, but any confusion is embraced with compassion.”
‘This is a safe space where dementia patients can interact with new people and feel needed, which is important for slowing dementia, for which there is no cure.’
She added: ‘Japan is one of the oldest countries in the world and dementia is a healthcare challenge.
“So Japan is trying to keep dementia patients out of hospitals and nursing homes and extend their productive years with lots of support.”
In the café, mistakes are often made when ordering food and drinks, but every mistake is embraced by the customers
Social media users have taken to the comments section to share their thoughts on the concept, and the opinions are mixed.
One said: This is such a sweet idea! But extending their productive years sounds so dystopian.”
A second added: ‘Sounds like a great idea but what if you have dietary restrictions or can’t eat something for religious reasons, what then?’
A third said: ‘Not great if you have allergies or… hungry lol.’
However, others liked the idea. One said: ‘Thanks for sharing this! These kinds of things really slow down the effects of dementia!’
Social media users took to the comments section to share their thoughts on the idea, but opinions were divided
A second said: ‘This is really great for the owner to create such a safe space. It’s really inspiring and I hope to see more things like this.’
A third added: ‘This is so cute, I love this. Old people also need compassion and community.’
It comes after a restaurant branch launched with the same concept: the Restaurant of Mistaken Orders.
The restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, opens as a recurring pop-up spot in the city to raise awareness among its customer base about dementia.
The unusual concept was created by Japanese television director Shiro Oguni, who organized the first event in 2017 after being served a dumpling instead of a burger during a visit to a nursing home.
WHAT IS DEMENTIA?
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of neurological conditions
A GLOBAL CARE
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological conditions (affecting the brain) that affect memory, thinking and behavior.
There are many forms of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
Some people may have a combination of different forms of dementia.
Regardless of which type is diagnosed, each person will experience dementia in their own unique way.
Dementia is a global problem, but it is most common in wealthier countries, where people are likely to live to a very old age.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?
The Alzheimer’s Society reports that there are currently more than 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK. This number is expected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting between 50 and 75 percent of those diagnosed.
There are an estimated 5.5 million people in the US with Alzheimer’s disease. A similar percentage increase is expected in the coming years.
As a person’s age increases, so does the risk that he or she will develop dementia.
The number of diagnoses is increasing, but it is believed that many people with dementia are still undiagnosed.
IS THERE A TREATMENT?
There is currently no medicine against dementia.
But new medications can slow its progression and the sooner it is caught, the more effective treatments can be.
Source: Alzheimer’s Association
He initially planned to return the dumpling, but he chose not to and was then inspired to create a service where accuracy seems to be at the top of the agenda.
During one of the restaurant’s first openings, approximately 37% of orders were placed incorrectly, but this did not stop the restaurant from achieving a 99 percent customer satisfaction rate.
Mr Oguni has said that the idea behind the restaurant is not only to raise awareness about the effects dementia has on individuals but also to promote kindness among people even as they face difficult situations in their own personal lives .