You'll find that with many of these English cafes, entrance is free for native English speakers, but Japanese have to pay an hourly fee. You don't get paid, though often the cafes will hire a few native-English speakers just to have someone there for their Japanese customers to practice on, but you probably will get a free cup of coffee. The only other place I know of where you can get a free cup of coffee is at a car dealership.

Getting back to some earlier posts, it's not a bad idea when entering some of the more "Westernized" bars, especially the fancier looking ones, to ask about the cover charge. Or better yet, decide on the total charge before even walking in. It's better to find out before than after. A recent one I asked at wanted 15,000 Yen (about $140) just to sit down. (And no, it was not a hostess bar.) Some of the more "morally-challenged" places will attempt to scam those who don't know any better. I've heard stories of people being hit up for thousands of dollars after a few drinks. Usually these are the "hostess bar"-type.