SOCIAL MEDIA

6.15.2014

Japan Adventures // Cat Cafe


Hi. Here are a bunch of photos of cats in a cafe to soothe your soul. You're welcome.

So, yeah. This is a real place! There are cafes throughout Japan that you can visit to hang out with cats. Now, I am a dog girl through and through, but as history has shown on this trip, I will jump at the chance to hang out with some animals. At this particular cafe, we paid a flat fee that included one hour of cat enjoyment, as well as drinks and snacks from a vending machine inside the cafe. It was actually quite remarkable how clean this place was. With about a dozen or so cats, you would think that it would be in shambles or at the very least smell strange. I loved that they had little books with profiles of each cat that included their background and what their personalities are like. There was also wifi, an iPad, a computer, a TV, and a Wii that we could freely use while we were there. But really, people just come for the cats.

The cats just kind of run around and do their thing. People sit and watch them, petting them when they can, or if you are like me, also trying to pick them up for some cuddles. I managed to pick up just one or two, but of course they would only tolerate being locked in my arms for about twenty seconds before the fought to be freed. The main person who ran the cafe told us that this one was unique because they actually let you pick up the cats, whereas most others do not let you, so I was definitely going to take advantage of it haha.

It is quite fascinating to see how enamored all these people are by the cats. I mean, they are cats. Just cats, running around, largely ignoring the humans that are there to see them. I suppose it is a sort of stress reliever for them. Some people say that Japanese people are very stressed with work and responsibilities, so they like to do silly, mindless, and relaxing things to take their mind off of things. I never really considered that, but it makes sense after seeing first-hand the kind of things they like to do for entertainment.

I hope that all the iPhone photos weren't too bad! It was dimly lit in here and I just didn't really feel like putting in the effort to use my real camera. Edited them with VSCO though, so hopefully they are alright!

Would you go to a place like this? Have you ever seen something like it?

Hope your weekend was purrr-ty great!

Meow.

Britt @ One&20 said...

Wow. Who would've thought there would even be a large enough market to have one, let alone multiple cat cafes!

Jess said...

oh my goodness. i remember reading about one of these places on another blog and wondered why they haven't caught on in america? i would pay money to hang with cats for a little while and then be able to go home and not have to clean up the mess. haha :)

Jess // Foreign Room said...

I know, right?! Kind of crazy, really.

Jess // Foreign Room said...

Dai told me that it was rumored that there is one opening up here in San Francisco! I haven't researched it, but I will definitely be visiting if that's the case. Haha so true! Cats can be messy, so it is definitely nice to just hang with them for a while and then leave.