Bronze Membership
Make time in the Manor a monthly habit.
About Bronze Membership
Bronze is the membership for those beginning to visit The Salon regularly. For ¥110,000 a month (tax included) you pay for 16 hours in advance and use them in one-hour units. Requests are taken with priority from 14 days ahead, and an overnight stay, using 16 hours, may be chosen once a month. Membership is limited to 10.
- 16 hours a month, used in one-hour units
- Priority booking from 14 days ahead
- Overnight stay up to once a month, using 16 hours each time
- Membership limited to 10
- Attended by the butler on duty that day
- Overnight stay for one guest only
Even on a first visit, your butler attends you from the door to your farewell
Time as a Bronze member is time to find, visit by visit, the way of spending it and the distance from your butler that suit you. When you arrive at 2-7-4 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, a butler opens the door, takes your coat and belongings, and quietly asks your wishes for the day. There is no need to know any etiquette from the first visit.
A day opening a book in the study with a cup of tea; a day of conversation in the Lounge; a day admiring the silver and porcelain in the Dining Room. Your butler arranges everything, down to the lighting and the position of a chair, to the purpose of each visit. We have both male and female butlers, and you may state a preference when booking.
As the time to leave draws near, your butler brings your coat and asks what you would like to try next. With each visit, your own most comfortable rhythm of time comes into view.
See how a first visit unfolds
From booking to your next visit, in five steps
Tell us your wishes
From 14 days ahead, let us know your preferred date and time, number of guests and what you would like to do in the Manor. Several options make it easier for your butler to confirm the available times.
Confirm the date and time
We check the butlers' availability and the Manor's schedule and confirm the times we can offer. Hours and visits are upper limits; if your preferred day is not available, we suggest an alternative.
Shape the day
Reading, tea, a film, a commemorative photograph: there is no need to settle on one thing. Your butler asks your mood on the day and arranges the order.
Spend time in the Manor
Your time is used in one-hour units. The Manor is reserved for one party, but never left unattended; your butler keeps watch over the door and the furnishings while remaining at your side.
Check your remaining hours
To help plan your next visit, please check the hours remaining in the month. Accompanying you on outings and shopping, and your own outings, also count towards your hours.
Sixteen hours can be spread across short afternoons or an overnight stay
| Ways of spending | Allocation of hours | A guide to choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Four afternoons a month | 4 hours, four times | For those who wish to vary each visit: tea, reading, the theatre |
| Eight short visits a month | 2 hours, eight times | For those who wish for a quiet hour in the Manor on days they come to Aomi |
| Long days and short days | 6 hours twice, 2 hours twice | For those who wish to separate days savouring the whole Manor from days centred on tea |
| An overnight stay | 16 hours, once | For those who wish to experience the full flow from evening to morning, with a butler in attendance |
An overnight stay uses 16 hours each time, and for Bronze the limit is once a month. Preferred dates and times are confirmed against the butlers' availability.
Each visit reveals a different face of the Manor
In the Study, quiet for yourself
An English mahogany desk from the 1980s with a leather top, and a captain's chair in black leather. Your butler places your drink just so, and judges when to speak and when to withdraw.
Read more
In the Lounge, conversation and light
A room of wine-red rococo sofas and gold damask walls. Choose a day of conversation with your butler, or a day of quietly watching the flames.
Read moreIn the Dining Room, the gestures of silver
On an English yew table, your butler lays silver and porcelain. We do not serve meals, but you are welcome to bring food and drink, and your butler attends the table.
Read moreWhat the monthly fee includes
- 16 hours of attendance in the Manor each month
- Priority booking from 14 days ahead
- Attendance by your butler from welcome to farewell
- Time in the Study, the Lounge, the Dining Room and other rooms of the Manor
- Consultation on visits of up to six guests including yourself
What the monthly fee does not include
- Ordinary carry-over of unused hours to the following month
- Nominating a Buddy
- Butler visits away from the Manor, included from Gold upwards
- Use of the Manor unattended
- Meals
Unused hours
- Unused hours expire at the end of the month
- Only hours for which the Manor could not accept your booking may be carried over, once, to the following month only
- We first suggest an alternative date, then confirm the hours concerned
Five criteria to judge whether Bronze suits you
| Frequency of visits | Suited to those who wish to visit several times a month and try different rooms and ways of spending time. There is no need to settle on one from the start; you may consult your butler on each visit. |
|---|---|
| Your relationship with butlers | Suited to those who wish first to meet several butlers, male and female, and discover the manner of address and attendance that suits them. |
| Allocation of hours | For those who wish to combine visits of two to six hours into 16 hours a month, building short teatimes and longer stays in the Manor. |
| Timing of bookings | For those who can plan from 14 days ahead. Offering several candidate dates makes it easier for your butler to suggest alternatives. |
| The next step | If you come to wish for the same butler as your Buddy, Silver is there to compare. Use your time as a Bronze member to find the right match. |
| Operation and care of the Manor | Queen's Butler is operated by the Japan Butler Association, a general incorporated association. |
Your 16 hours can change with the season and the company
On a rainy day, move from room to room
A rainy day is time to set aside plans for going out and wander instead between the Study, the Lounge and the Dining Room.
Read more
Alone, silence is part of the service
Time alone is time in which no conversation is expected, and your butler steps forward only when needed.
Read more
With companions, seating and conversation arranged
Time with companions, up to six including yourself, is time in which your butler arranges the chairs, the order in which drinks are served and the moment for a photograph.
Read moreYour butler asks the purpose of the day before the hours remaining
Planning 16 hours a month is not a matter of filling in numbers; it is deciding first what you seek from the Manor. For a short visit, we shape door, tea, study and farewell into a single scene. For a long one, we leave space between rooms so nothing need be hurried.
When you book, your butler asks whether you wish for quiet, conversation or photographs. Should your mood change on the day, we rearrange what the Manor allows. Our service holds not only time for doing things, but time for doing nothing at all.
As the month draws to a close, we do not recommend booking simply to use up the hours. Unused hours expire as a rule, but they are a useful guide to how you might use the next month. Should 16 hours come to feel too few, that is the moment to compare Silver.
QCan unused hours be moved to the next month?
Ordinarily unused hours cannot be carried over and expire at the end of the month. Only hours for which the Manor could not accept your request may be carried over, once, to the following month only.
QIs a booking guaranteed 14 days ahead?
Requests are taken with priority from 14 days ahead. If a butler is not available, we suggest an alternative date.
QCan I have the same butler every time?
We note your preference and arrange it according to availability. If you wish to nominate a particular butler as your Buddy, please see Silver.
QCan I bring friends?
Up to six guests including yourself may be arranged. Please tell us the numbers and how you wish to spend the time when booking, and your butler will advise, including how the fee is handled.
QIs there a dress code or anything to bring?
Come in your everyday clothes. If there is anything you would enjoy in the Manor, such as a book, an item to photograph or food and drink, please bring it along.
QMay I ask for a female butler?
We have both male and female butlers. If you have a preference, please tell us when booking, and we will confirm availability.
About members' reservations
- Hours and visits are upper limits; depending on butlers' availability we may be unable to accept a reservation, in which case we will propose alternative dates
You may also wish to read
Begin 16 hours a month in the Manor
Tell your butler your preferred days, times and ways of spending them. We will confirm availability and suggest a date for your first visit.