(Tokyo, Japan)

One of the interesting Japanese trends lately, which has been going on for the last couple of years, is the rise in animal-petting cafes. Yes it’s exactly what it sounds like! Usually these cafes specialize in one specific animal but we did pass by some in more touristy areas that feature a menagerie of different animals. This concept comes out of the “themed cafe” idea and started with cat petting cafes and have expanded from there. By the way, there are robot themed cafes, where you are served by robot waiters, to most anything from french maid cafes and anime cafes.

Before Grant and I came to Japan on this trip, we wanted to come up with things to do that were specific to Japan. This was an idea from me but we did sit and discuss which type of cafe we wanted to visit. For us, bunnies and hedgehogs sounded cute. So we researched some options in our area… or more honestly, we had Cousin M research different ones (ok I admit we outsourced this task). Cousin M made a reservation for one near our Air B & B in Asakusa.

A reservation is required as they only allow your party or group in for an allotted time. This keeps the animals from getting stressed out from over-touching and noise as they rotate them out. We really didn’t know what to expect but the environment was pretty clean and the animals were friendly. We were each assigned our own hedgehog for an hour and unlimited hot beverages, which included coffees and teas.

Grant’s hedgehog wanted to be left alone so we just observed him. “My hedgehog” was curious and wanted to play with his toys and then he cuddled up next to Grant’s hedgehog and fell asleep. Cousin M’s hedgehog was super cuddly and ended up falling asleep in her hands.

In some ways, I can see why these cafes are popular. In a city where there is not so much interaction with animals, it’s a great way to see and experience certain types of animals up close. Also, it’s a great way to “audition” a pet before getting one yourself. A lot of these cafes will let you take an animal home as a pet if you really want it (and pay for it) as well as providing you with the proper equipment and information on how to properly care for it. I do like the educational aspects of it and I think it can be fun to observe how the animals interact. On the flip side, I can see how these animals could get stressed out if they don’t want to be touched too much. If you plan to visit a pet cafe, it may be best to research the right place that takes good care of their animals.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018