Not only cats: the Japanese animal-cafes

By now, we are very used to cat-cafes, to the point that some of them have sprung up in Italy. Cats, however, are not the only animals to keep company to the clients of Japanese cafe. In Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan, in fact, there are diners for virtually everyone.

Among the most cute there are undoubtedly bunny-cafes (or usagi-cafes), coffee bars dedicated to bunnies that have become increasingly popular in recent years. As in cat-cafes, in this type of diners animal safety and hygiene is very important. One of the most well-known is Ra.a.g.f (Rabbit and grow fat), in the district of Harajuku. Inside, there are rabbits of different breeds that jump onto the floor of the room or in their cages. Ms. Bunny, in Roppongi, is a sort of bunny-café without the café: it is possible to spend time with the animals, but food and drinks are to be brought from home. In short, you can do a sort of indoors picnic in the company of bunnies. Other popular cafe for rodents lovers is Wonderland, in Akihabara, which combines a store that specializes in rabbits with a colorful bar with themed food and the chance to play with the animals.

If you like birds instead, in Japan there is a wide choice of bird-cafes. Fukuro no Mise, for example, is entirely devoted to owls. The restaurant is located in Tokyo and has an entry system that makes it unique (and always very busy): you have to show up at the entrance and hope that there is a free spot in that time slot, no advance reservations. Once inside, you can have your drink and cherish the beautiful owls that inhabit the place. Also, in Asakusa there’s Tori Cafe, for lovers of owls and parrots, with cute themed food and drinks and even a hotel. Finally, in Mitaka, not far from the Ghibli Museum, there’s the Falconer’s Cafe, a bird of prey themed coffee bar.

Staying with birds, in Ikebukuro you can have a coffee in the company of some nice penguins in the Penguin Bar (an experience that you can replicate in Okinawa or Kobe). In Yokohama there is instead the Reptiles Cafe, needless to say a place for reptiles lovers, from turtles to snakes, while in Shibuya there is Sakuragaoka, a restaurant that has two sweet little goats. And what about dogs? There are also dog-cafes, but they offer an experience slightly different from the other places we have mentioned. In these coffee bars you can come accompanied by your four-legged friend and you can order themed food for humans and cute specialties for dogs as well. Some of this type of diners are Deco’s Dog Cafe in Daikanyama and che chain Dog Dept Cafe.

What is your favourite animal-café? Do you know any others? Let us know in the comments 😀