7 Animal Cafes You Can Visit in Japan

Many people must have heard about cat cafes since some have opened in the United States, Australia, and around Europe. Now there are cafes where you can mingle with other animals! 

1. Cat Cafe

In Japan, often apartments do not allow pets. Or maybe the apartment allows pets, but you are too busy to care for one or a family member is allergic. If your favorite animal is cats, then that's when cat cafes come in handy because you can go and play with them as much as you want. Usually there's an hourly charge and you can often order soft drinks or coffee. Some cat cafes are open 24 hours a day so people who are working late or have irregular working hours can also enjoy relaxing with cats. 

2. Dog Cafe

Unfortunately for dog lovers who do not own dogs, a dog cafe in Japan usually means a cafe where you can bring your pet dog with you. However, there are some cafes where you can play with the cafe owners' dogs. Luckily for those who live in Osaka or visiting Osaka, there is a dog cafe called DogTail, which is the only dog cafe that is like a cat cafe. There might not be as many dogs as cats at a cat cafe but at least you will still get to play with dogs. These dogs tend to be small dogs, so those who want to play with big dogs will have to wait until they can get their own. 

3. Owl Cafe

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Yes, there really is a cafe where you can interact with owls. Most of the owl cafes have a time limit of an hour. You get to play with the owls for an hour with one drink included for about 1500 Yen. Owls are very friendly and if you are lucky, they will come and chill on your shoulder. There are quite a few in Tokyo and Osaka, so if you are visiting these cities, it could be a unique and memorable experience to have a cup of coffee with owls. 

4. Reptile Cafe

Definitely not a cafe for everyone but if you are interested, you can see iguanas, snakes, turtles, lizards, and many other reptiles close up. There is only one reptile cafe in Japan and it is located in Yokohama. At Yokohama Anettai Sakan, you get to interact with reptiles while drinking Chinese tea. You do not have to worry since reptiles are not freely roaming around the cafe. In fact, most of them are enclosed in glass cases and only those which are friendly are released in the petting corner. 

5. Falcon Cafe

Falconer's Cafe is a cafe run by a falconer and therefore, if you have a question or would like to bring your own falcon, you can. It is important to note that unlike other animal cafes, visitors are not allowed to touch or feed the birds. Visitors can admire the birds from the distance while enjoying their meal. However, if you are interested in getting a bird of prey as a pet, you can from the end of December to June when the chicks hatch. 

6. Goat Cafe

Sakuragaoka Cafe is a cafe with goats. It has attracted a lot of attention since it t is only a 4-minute walk from Shibuya Station and is located right in the middle of downtown Tokyo. It is a normal cafe offering food but has two goats as pets to attract customers. On Monday and Wednesday, you can go for a walk with one of the goats for 20-30 minutes under the supervision of the restaurant staff. 

7. Bird Cafe

There are quite a few cafes where you can interact with parakeets, parrots, java sparrows, etc in Japan. Due to hygiene reasons, most of the places have a separate section where customers can interact with birds and the rest of the time, customers can enjoy drinks and food while admiring the birds through the glass.