New York, I love you! Thanks to everyone who came to see me at the Japanese maid cafe, and for participating in the cosplay contest. I was mega-impressed by the intricate costumes, which you can see in the photos below…

But first, here are some snaps from my home at the Paper Factory Hotel. This is, without doubt, the coolest place to stay in NY.

The hotel is located in Long Island City, right across the water from Manhattan (it only takes 15 min by subway to reach Times Square). The Paper Factory’s design pays tribute to its industrial past, and the vintage child cars in the lobby encourage guests to play.

I’m wearing a sports-Goth crop top c/o Teale Coco — brilliant, mixing sporty fabric with dark edge. The skeleton leggings are Hyoma (from Izzue Hong Kong) and the tank top is World Wide Love.

It’s obvious I loved staying at the Paper Factory Hotel — their creative, design-oriented approach is just my speed. I encourage you to check them out, especially when the restaurant Mundo opens up later this summer.

In June, my team and I filmed at Maid Cafe NY, located in New York’s Chinatown (150 Centre Street, NYC, 10013). It’s modeled after the Japanese maid cafes you’ll find in Tokyo, especially the Akihabara district.

I’ve been to maid cafes all over Japan (such as Angel & Demons, Cos Cha and more). This one may be located in NY, but the spirit is 100% Tokyo.

The girls dressed me up in one of their pink French maid outfits. For the show, I learned how to greet customers (by yelling “Welcome home, master!”) and how to be as anime-like as possible.

At Maid Cafe NY, it’s all innocent fun: the staff interacts with the customers in cute ways, and makes them smile by drawing on their drink cups.

The cafe serves Japanese food and sweets, like omelet rice with ketchup drawings. I helped the maids prepare sweets with cute faces on them. Cris digs into a matcha cheesecake, decorated with my Scottish Fold cat’s face in chocolate sauce.

Customers can pose with the maids for cheki, or souvenir Polaroid photos that we decorate (in kawaii ways, of course).

Maid Cafe NY was packed with customers. They’re doing an incredible job at bringing Jpop fans together. Many of them are young and dress up in Japanese street fashion.

My friend Jenny (a talented illustrator) dons a long turquoise wig, in a tip of the hat to Hatsune Miku.

Inside the cafe is Cosplay Shopper, a store that sells anime/manga costumes and accessories like cat ear headbands, or Sailor Moon outfits. These goods are also available through their online site.

Camila invited me to be a judge in their cosplay contest. I know New York has a big community of cosplayers, and that the turnout would be impressive.

Even so, the event was beyond expectations! Over a hundred contestants and spectators lined up in front of the cafe, dressed to the nines. We barely managed to pack everyone in, and it was standing room only.

How cool are these handmade cosplay designs? Can you recognize the characters they are representing?

We assigned the contestants a number, and they went inside to put on the finishing touches. Wigs teased up, and circle contacts in.

Some of these intricate costumes took months to complete, all by hand.

Everyone gathered in front of the stage, packed like sardines. Jenny and Hiten cooled off with bubble tea.

The winners would get passes to New York Comic Con and gift certificates for Cosplay Shopper. One by one, they went on stage and showed off their outfits with flair. We asked them questions, such as why they chose to be this character, or how they made the various pieces.

Camila announces the next contestant. What a parade of creativity: we saw armor constructed from cardboard, weapons from duct tape…

Many of the cosplayers were still in high school, and made these colorful DIY costumes in their spare time.

The contest brought together J-culture lovers, and celebrated their creativity — I say that’s a success! Thanks to everyone who showed up despite the rain; I always love meeting readers in person.

Maid Cafe NY and Cosplay Shopper have more special events coming up, which you can find on their sites. Hopefully you’ll get the opportunity to swing by the cafe for a cat-faced cappuccino sometime.

Have you ever tried cosplaying? Which character would you dress as?

Also check out my photoshoot at the Paper Factory, to see more of this art-hotel. One more NYC post to come… and with luck, I’ll be back here soon.