This BBC article on a cat cafe in the Akihabara district of Japan spurred me to blog about our experiences last year. We didn’t go to a cat cafe (just the usual maid cafe), but we did go to Nekobukuro, at the Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro.
I found out about this place from Leo and Adrienne’s Facebook photos of their trip earlier in the year. It’s a section on the top floor of the store where you can pay admission (we bought a ¥1000 couple’s pass – I guess it’s a popular destination for dates) to spend time with various cats. I guess the lack of space, and OCD cleanliness makes owning cats prohibitive for most Japanese; because this is either a intensely weird or stupid idea from a North American viewpoint.
The cats themselves weren’t particularly social or crowd friendly, and typically ignored the crowds of people petting and fawning over them – until the trainers bring out the catnip.
There isn’t much to do in Nekobukuro, you can walk through a couple of rooms where cats are sitting around, watch, and pet cats. How do Japanese people find that amazing is beyond me.
Hi! and welcome to the eclectic personal blog of Kevin Quan. Come in, stay awhile, peek into the nooks & crannies, and learn a bit about me and my interests.