This Cafe Won't Let Writers Leave Until They Hit Their Deadlines
The Manuscript Writing Cafe in Japan has everything a writer needs, from unlimited coffee to chargers.
It's a delicate balance, finding a good cafe to write in. It has to be noisy enough but not too loud, have good drinks and a bathroom open to the public, and, of course, have Good Wi-Fi. For any writers in Japan or with plans of heading there, there is a new cafe that won't let them leave until they hit their deadline.
The Manuscript Writing Cafe, which opened last week in Tokyo’s Koenji neighborhood, was created specifically for writers. To book time at the cafe, patrons must be doing some kind of writing, from novels and magazine articles to copywriters and even manga storyboarding, so long as the pen is virtually hitting paper. The other requirement for the cafe stay is an intended writing goal for your time there.
The shop provides writers with power and charger outlets, cooling stands, and Wi-Fi to make things as writer-friendly as possible. Writers also have access to unlimited refills of drip coffee to help them power through any writer's block.
Writers can also request different levels of verbal pressure from staff members to make sure progress is being made. Every 30 minutes, to give writers more of a sense of urgency and help them hit their deadline, writers are charged 150 yen or $1.20. Not only will patrons be charged every half hour, but customers also can't leave until they achieve the day's writing goal or the cafe closes for the night.
Unfortunately, the Manuscript Writing Cafe currently can't offer writers much more than coffee, but writers can bring their own food, briefly leave to stop by a convenience store, or have food delivered. The cafe is being operated out of a recording and broadcasting studio called Koenji Sankakuchitai, so it's only open on off days when the studio isn't being used to record a broadcast. The Manuscript Writing Cafe is usually open from 1 pm to 7 pm when the studio isn't operating.