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The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly! Animal Cafés in Japan

Animal Cafés Japan- Coffee with a Side of Love!

Most homes in Japan are tiny and either not suited for pets or pets just aren’t allowed. People love animals though, and not getting some kitty cuddles on occasion is hard. Japan has an answer for everything, however, so the Cat Café was born.

Because of their dedication and love for animals, the Japanese believe in taking good car of them and have strict animal laws. For example, most animal cafés will close by 8 PM since animals (even owls) aren’t allowed to work after that.

There are plenty of Tokyo animal cafes, cats, owls, capybaras, pigs, so no matter where you go in Japan you won’t be far from one.

Devon snuggling a pygmy owl.
Maybe might favorite little guy I met in all the animal cafés. This pygmy owl just snuggled right in and gave me some serious owl cuddles. I know which owl I’d pick if I went to Hogwarts.

Cat cafés were only the beginning, and things have gotten furry! Now Japan boasts dog cafés, rabbit cafés, lizard cafés, owl cafés, a goat café, and squirrel and fox parks!  I’m still working through the list but I wanted to share some of my experiences so far.

Cat Cafés

A cat comes for a treat.
This was the first animal café that we went to, and as you might remember, we went when my parents visited me.

Calico Cat Café – Shinjuku, Tokyo

Calico is a pretty famous cat cafe, and is home to lots of cats. I was most excited to see and touch a munchkin in real life! Calico costs 1000 Yen per hour on weekdays and 1200 Yen on weekends, plus 150 Yen for every additional 10 minutes though they have “set” menus for 90 minutes, 2 hours, 3 hours, and unlimited time.

Since they charge you on the way out, they will make sure you pay the cheapest rate! The menu (for human food) starts at 200 Yen for drinks. And you can buy chicken for the cats for 300 Yen.

I have cats and live in Japan, so we were only there for an hour. But it was an adventure. There were obvious tourists and obvious regulars mingled in the crowd, and cats were everywhere!! On the floor, on the walls, waiting to trip people on the stairs, and pointedly ignoring the humans from their perches.

It’s true, the cats couldn’t care less about the humans unless they had chicken. And they knew when the chicken was in play, they would mob you, then as soon as you were out – so were they. I will say that they were well taken care of, they were all healthy and so soft!

Rabbit Cafés 

Sign for a rabbit cafe in Tokyo.
Sometimes it’s difficult to really understand where the animal cafes are in Tokyo, but a good gps and some great observation skills will get you there. I love that the rabbit is “doing his thing” in this photo. Have you been to a rabbit cafe?

Ra.A.G.F (Rabbits And Grow Fat) Rabbit Café – Harajuku, Tokyo

The Ra.A.G.F. was a strange place; it was tiny, maybe 300 square feet and half of it was sectioned off by stacks of rabbit cages. Each rabbit had it’s own cage.

Behind the cages were the “kitchen” and cashier. Visitors were not allowed back there, but I assume it was a single-serve coffee/tea machine and a mini-fridge for juice and veggies.

The other half was the open seating area for visiting with the rabbits. The place is tiny, and they will only let up to two rabbits out at a time. So if there are other people there it may be better to come back later. You can make a “reservation” by talking to the ladies, they will give you a ticket with your name on it and a time. Easy-peasy!

Fluffy gray rabbit.
The fluffiest of fluffy, the snuggliest of snuggly this little girl wanted all kinds of rabbit love! If you like to get your snuggle on, rabbit cafés have the best hugs of all of the animal cafés!

We got there right as another couple was leaving and we had the place to ourselves. They did not let us get more than one rabbit out at a time, however. Apparently, we have a knack for picking the fighters. But we did get two different rabbits out during the time we spent there.

The first 30 minutes are Y700 (or one hour for Y1100) and each additional half hour is another Y550. These prices include drinks for humans. The apple juice was delicious! For Y150 you can get a cup of vegetables for the rabbits — carrot shavings and lettuce leaves, etc.

Carrots, apples, and more for rabbit food with a menu at the rabbit cafe in Tokyo.
This pleasing snack would be fit for any human, but it’s not for you. It’s for the spoiled rabbits at this amazing animal café in Tokyo.

The rabbits were even more aloof than the cats. Super adorable and super soft, but they really didn’t want anything to do with us. Even when we tempted them with treats, they didn’t even seem to see the treats. We still had a fun time attempting to get their attention.

The ladies will let you open the cages and pet the other rabbits as well, even if you have a rabbit on the floor already. Since they didn’t have an escape, they were much more likely to sit still and let us pet them.

Rabbit on Devon's lap as she feeds her treats.
The rabbits want their cuddles…and their treats at this rabbit café.

Final thought about rabbit cafés– if you are disturbed by a consistent and constant supply of poop, avoid them. I knew rabbits pooped a lot, but I had no idea it was never-ending!

I mean, they are like poop pez-dispensers. Everywhere, all the time.  Even the rabbit on the sign is pooping… they drew it that way. It was fun and cute, and I only got peed on a little, but we only stayed for 30 minutes and that was enough.

If you enjoy unique things you can only do in Japan, check out this podcast!

Owl Cafés

Fukuro Sabo-Owl Café – Kokubunji, Tokyo

Hands down, this is one of my favorite animal cafés in Tokyo! It is a bit of a jaunt out, and then a walk from the station, but it’s well worth it. Fukuro Sabo is also small, with just a few tables and some inside owls and some larger owls who remain outside all day.

The owls are amazing and really interact with people. They are interested in you and when you hold them they love to be petted and they give owl hugs and kisses!  There just is nothing better than owl kisses!

Owl and his owner in front of the Tokyo Owl Cafe.
One of the caretakers at the owl café in Tokyo. They take the care and well-being of their charges very seriously. Animal cafés are very strictly monitored by the Japanese government as well. No animal will work past 8 PM.

When you get to the café, you will be asked to sit and order from the menu. They will also give you directions about “skin-shipping” (contact with your skin) with the owls. I’m pretty sure they used Google Translate to make their English menu, and it translated whatever the Japanese were to “skinship” I think it’s a great word.

We spent some time taking pics of the owls and looking at the items they have for sale. Each visitor has to order something off the menu, we each ordered a drink and we shared a “snack” which was not told to us what the snack would be. It turned out to be delicious fried octopus. Drinks start at Y500.

Owl perched on Ernestine's shoulder.
My aunt, Ernestine, found a pal at the owl café as well. What a regal cutie!

Then one at a time we each skin-shipped with an owl. Each owl has its own price for holding them, and you only get to hold them for about three minutes.

It was long enough, but still so cool that we will be returning to skinship once again. Price ranges from Y300-1000, we think depending on size, but it may have something to do with whether the owl is owned or not.

You see, the “café” also sells the owls and apparently boards them for some owners. And the owls you hold may in fact belong to someone not really associated with the café. This also means that some owls have names and others don’t, which we also found very interesting.

Outside of owl cafe in Tokyo.
One of my absolute favorite animals cafés, the Fukuro Sabo-Owl Café – Kokubunji, Tokyo.

If you choose a smaller, inside owl, they will sit you on the wall side of the table and give you a towel (in case the owl has an accident) and a leather glove for the owl to perch on.

You will get some time holding them on your arm and then the workers will move the owl to your shoulder for a few minutes.

If you choose a bigger owl, you will have to go last of your group, and the group will pay before heading out to spend time with the big ones. The big ones are awesome, but they are too big to sit on your shoulder so you keep them on your arm the whole time.

Owl cafe menu and decoration!
Owl café menu and decoration!

We had a group of four and each picked a different owl, mine was the smallest. My owl was unowned and unnamed but the cutest nonetheless.

She really got into the petting, and when she was on my shoulder she would lean in to hug my face and give “kisses.” Best three minutes of my life.

Dave got the biggest owl, and she was beautiful! Her eyes were very interesting, they made her look like a muppet. She liked to nibble on his fingers. It didn’t hurt anyone – just love bites.

We were sad to leave, but next time I think we will go for lunch and spend a bit longer there.

All-in-One Animal Cafés – Japan!

Sign with animals that are in the cafe.
The sign outside of the Tenpozan Market Animal Café – Osaka

Tenpozan Market Animal Café – Osaka

This place is not a traditional café, they may have had drinks for sale but we were far too distracted by all the animals to notice.

The café is in the Tenpozan Market place mall in between the Osaka Aquarium and the big Ferris wheel. It is Y600, for what we think is unlimited time; no one told us differently anyway. You can get a 10% discount if you have tickets from the Aquarium or Ferris Wheel, too.

For other things to do, check out Day Trip to Himeji Castle from Osaka.

2 pigs cuddled up at the animal cafe in Osaka.
At this animal café Japan, you can snuggle bristling pigs. They are sooooo sweet!

The “café” is split into three rooms. The first houses guinea pigs, rabbits, and a few turtles. Cute, but normal, right?

The second room held tons of different sized dogs, a handful of cats, and two large pigs. Yup, pigs! The pigs didn’t do much other than sleep and snore, but they were super adorable.

Even though they didn’t have treats for the dogs and cats, they were all very loving and wanted to play. We spent a good amount of time in this room, but we were too excited about the last room to stay very long.

The third room was fantastic. It had llamas (a mama and a baby), a giant tortoise, an iguana, kangaroos, Patagonian Maras (which are like tiny deer), and, my favorite, Capybaras.

The llamas couldn’t care less about humans, and the Patagonian maras were a little skittish. You had to move sneakily to pet them. But the kangaroos and capybaras were all about the attention.

The capybaras followed us around and talked a lot. They were adorable, and are definitely fighting for my favorite animal now. There were also a few birds around the café, but you couldn’t touch them.

Devon petting three capybaras at the Osaka animal cafe.
This was the first time I’d ever gotten so close to a capybara. They all wanted attention and some pats. They didn’t even care if I had food for them. The Osaka animal cafe is my favorite in all of Japan. You can tell the animals are well cared for and love it there.

Best 540 Yen I’ve ever spent (we got a discount since we had done both the Aquarium and the Ferris Wheel). You should definitely visit if you go to the Aquarium in Osaka.

You know we love Japan, and we keep going back again and again. We’ve done so much there like finding the snow monkeys, eating some fantastic food, going to the Bunruku theater, watching the Sumo wrestling championships, enjoying the cherry blossom festivals, and then experiencing the themed restaurants, love hotels, and so much more but I have to say there is something about the animal cafés that really get you loving the country!

More Reading: If visiting all these Animal Cafes makes you hungry, why not stop for some sushi at the World Famous Toyosu Fish market?

Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.

Pin Animal Cafés Japan for later!

Missing your pet while you travel? go to an animal café Japan!
Missing your pet while you travel? Get cuddly with some sweet little guys at your nearest animal cafe.
Missing your pet while you travel? go to an animal café Japan!
Missing your pet while you travel? go to an animal café Japan!

2traveldads

Friday 10th of February 2017

Hands down: strangest travel blog post I've ever read. OMG. I don't know how I would feel about any of these places... but I'm also completely intrigued. I think the bunny cafe sounds really cute, but also strange. I'm torn. I want to go!!!

Corinne Vail

Friday 10th of February 2017

Rob, The animals are well taken care of; it's definitely an experience.

Jessica @ Independent Travel Cats

Tuesday 14th of July 2015

Hi Corinne, wow you guys sample a lot of animal cafes; I can't believe there are owl cafes! As you probably already know I would prefer the cat cafes and visited them in South Korea where as a whole pets like cats and dogs are sadly not as loved as in Japan. We are currently housesitting a rabbit and he is great but yes they do pee and poop as they wish:)

Corinne Vail

Wednesday 15th of July 2015

Jessica, We absolutely love all animals and search out animal experiences everywhere we go since we travel too much to own a pet or a farm!

Anda

Saturday 27th of June 2015

This is so interesting, Corinne. I've never heard of animal cafés so far, but then you learn new things as long as you live.

Corinne Vail

Sunday 28th of June 2015

Anda, Animal cafes are definitely a trend. I've even heard of a few European cities that are following suite.

Shobha

Saturday 27th of June 2015

I have never heard of the Owl cafes! We have a cat cafe here in London and we tried to get into the one in Paris. My kids love all animals. But they are seriously booked up weeks in advance and I am just too disorganised as to what I will do in 3 months time to book something.

Corinne Vail

Sunday 28th of June 2015

Shobha, Really...booked up three months ahead of time. Wow! Sounds like a good winter activity for you and the kids!

Vlad

Saturday 27th of June 2015

Never been to an animal cafe, but I'd love to! The rabbit ones are too cute, I probably wouldn't want to leave, haha

Corinne Vail

Saturday 27th of June 2015

Vlad, Animal cafes are so nice for those of us that would love to have a pet, but we can't because we travel too much. We get a little fix!