If Korea has a cat café, which later triggered the debut of dog, raccoon, and even meerkat cafés, Tokyo, which is known for having things that are “out there”, has all kinds of animal cafés that you must visit.
1. Cat Café (Temari no Ouchi)
There are at least 39 cat cafés in Japan, and Temari no Ouchi might be the most whimsical of them all. What make this café stands out is the decor, which has a Studio Ghibli anime vibe with a massive space for all the cats to play around. It’s located in Kichijoji and the entrance fee for weekdays is ¥1,200/hour and ¥1,600/hour for weekends. Though this might be a bit steep, this café is spacious compared to other cat cafés and if you’re looking for a deal, you can come after 7 pm as the entrance fee goes down to ¥700.
2. Dog Café (Dog Heart from Aquamarine)
Unlike cats who tend to play on their own in the cafés without really intruding your space, you shouldn’t visit a dog café if you aren’t into dogs licking your phones, sitting down on your lap, or even seeing the dogs doing number two in front of you. However, the cute toy poodles will make your heart melt. To stay for 15 minutes, you need to pay ¥500, ¥1,000 for 30 minutes, and ¥2,000 for an hour. To play with certain dogs that you fancy for an hour, you’d have to spare a little more, around ¥3,600.
3. Bunny Café (With Bunny)
If you’re a super bunny lover with a little extra room in your pocket, With Bunny, offers five floors and a rooftop terrace for you to play with 26 bunnies. It bills from ¥1,500 up to ¥7,500, but this place doesn’t only let you pet the bunnies but also play in the room with the bunnies, feed them, take pictures, and even educate you about bunnies, so you’re definitely getting the full experience for the high-end price.
4. Bird Café (Kotori Café Omotesando)
This café might not be located on a main street, but as soon as you turn to the side street, you can see the entire front window of the café filled with colorful birds. Kotori Café presents a large variety of technicolored birds from large white cockatoos to tiny little canaries. For the bird lovers who want to pet a bird, you need to pay ¥500 for a one-on-one session. Unlike most cafés that charge you an entrance fee, you only need to order at least one drink to stay for an hour. The drinks aren’t that expensive either. With only ¥800, all drinks come with a bird-shaped cookie.
5. Owl Café (Fukurou Sabou)
In the small suburb of Kokubunji, Fukurou Sabou offers you the chance to drink your coffee while having an owl perched on your hand. Though this café is a little small with four tables that can only accommodate small groups, this place gives off a friendly and nice atmosphere because of the owls. Just like Kotori Café, you don’t need to pay an entrance fee, but you need to order a drink and pay for a session with the owl. Most drinks cost around ¥500 and the sessions with owls range from ¥300 to ¥1,000 depending on how rare they are.
6. Snake Café (Tokyo Snake Center)
Last but not least is a café that probably most people don’t want to go to, unless they’re a fan of snakes. Located in the 8th floor of a Harajuku multi-use building, Snake Center is a home for a collection of snakes that are well trained and not poisonous. To enter, you need to spare ¥1,000 and you will get a drink and the chance to pick a snake (in a cage) to watch you drink your selected beverage. If having a snake up close isn’t enough for you, you can pet one by paying an extra ¥540.
7. Goat Café (Sakuragaoka Café)
This one is a little out there and the animals are probably not the cutest, but yes, the Shibuya area has a goat café. Housing two friendly goats, Sakura and Chocolate, this place offers a different restaurant and café experience as you can pet the goats as they walk around as you eat. Just like the previous two cafés, you don’t need to pay an entrance fee for Sakuragaoka, but only need to order some food or drinks. If you don’t have time to come to this café after work, don’t worry because Sakuragaoka closes at 4am.
