Photo/Illutration Toshio Morita carries sweets to customers at the Orange Day Sengawa cafe in Chofu in western Tokyo on March 13. (Manabu Ueda)

Shortly after a cafe in Chofu in western Tokyo opened on a recent day at noon, customers occupied all six tables.

"Welcome. What would you like to order?" an apron-clad Toshio Morita asked with an order pad in his hand.

The waiter relayed the order to the kitchen and carried drinks to the customers as he received advice from his colleagues.

When he served the items, he made sure to say, "Thank you for waiting. Please enjoy."

A female customer jokingly said, "It's great because he is cheerful and lively. I even found it disappointing that he didn't make the wrong orders."

Morita, 86, is one of four dementia patients working at the cafe.

His workplace is located near Sengawa Station on the Keio Line in Chofu.

Although the establishment operates as a restaurant, it has served as a dementia cafe called Orange Day Sengawa once a month from a year ago.

Its signboard reads, "This is a cafe of mistaken orders."

Morita became a staff member on referral from a local community support center in April 2023 when he was looking for a job in his area because he had no physical problems.

He has always been sociable as he served as head of a local neighborhood association.

"I had never served customers before, but I'm having so much fun," Morita said.

His wife, Masako, 81, added: "He looks forward to going to work, and he gets ready for work in the morning on his shift day. He even says he wants to work every day."

Although similar efforts are being made across the country, it is rare for dementia cafes to open on a continuous and regular basis.

Orange Day Sengawa is also often featured in stories by foreign media.

On the same day in March, Morita and his family were interviewed by German public radio broadcaster ARD.

Kathrin Erdmann, 53, the East Asia correspondent for ARD, said the cafe is a great idea that can be a useful reference for her country.

FUNDING CHALLENGES

Akiko Kanna, 52, a dietician, opened the cafe.

Her father, whose hobby was cooking, was diagnosed with dementia several years ago.

She was heartbroken to see him gradually losing the ability to do daily activities.

But when she learned that efforts were being made around Japan to operate "restaurants of mistaken orders," she decided to operate the cafe herself.

As a starter, she rented an existing eatery and compiled the menu.

The dietician opted for only drinks and sweets to make it easy for staffers to remember.

She also selected tableware and trays mainly made from plastic and wood because they are light, tough and easy to carry.

Order forms are slightly larger than regular ones, while they are color-coded for hot and cold drinks and sweets.

Origami flowers in yellow, green, blue and other colors are placed to identify each table.

Meanwhile, a key issue is securing operating funds.

Kanna started the business with subsidies from a private foundation. But now she relies on donations and sales.

"People with dementia say they want to work even with their symptoms, but there aren't many places where they can make themselves useful," said Yui Iwata, 38, a joint representative of Orange Day Sengawa. "We hope that similar efforts will be widespread and serve as a starting point for people to learn about dementia."

SPREADING EFFORTS

In a similar fashion, the Machigaetemo Maru Cafe (it's-fine-to-make-mistakes cafe) opened at a cafe in Ome, also in western Tokyo, in October 2023.

The operators plan to offer the dementia cafe once every six months.

Most recently, it operated on April 14-15.

Having won support from the local governments of Ome, Hamura and Okutama, the operators also intend to open the cafe in the western Tama region.

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