Visiting a Cat Café in Tokyo
Okay, so if you know me at all, you probably know that I'm a cat person. Big time. Let's be clear though when I say I'm a cat person because I only have ONE cat at the moment. I used to foster cats and kittens back in Wisconsin and would sometimes have up to six at a time in my small studio apartment, but still, to this day, I only have ONE cat. So there. I don't think I'm crazy per say, but my dad would probably love to tell you otherwise...
So anyway, yes, cats. Even though there's a cat café in Seattle now, Japan is where the craze started, so I knew I had to scope one out while we were there. There are a ton of cat cafés scattered around Tokyo, but since Adam and I stayed in Shinjuku for a few nights, Calico Cat Café was only a 20-minute walk from our apartment, so that's the one we decided on.
We just happened to be walking around the neighborhood one afternoon when we saw a sign for the café, so we (mostly I) immediately bolted inside to check it out. Sadly, they told us we would need to make reservations for a later time. They opened at 10 AM the next morning and two spots were available at that time, so we snagged them. I could see the cats through the windows and it was sad leaving them, but it was so great being the first ones there in the morning and having all of them to ourselves for a while! (Yeah, I know how that sounds. Stop judging me!)
At this particular café, it costs about $10 per person to enter, and you get 1 hour with the kitties. You have to wash your hands thoroughly and take your shoes off before entering. (They give you a pair of house slippers to wear.) I was guest #1, obviously.
I had a few favorites. There was a little black and white one that looked like a sausage. I squealed with joy when I saw him, but then I started to feel bad for him. I can't imagine it's easy being a cat without having the ability to jump up high or do other bendy cat things. He's probably the laughingstock of the café. Poor kitty.
Another favorite was the cat wearing the Snoopy sweater. I don't know why she was wearing the sweater, but she was owning it. Adam had a little mini-photoshoot with her.
I also liked this very pretty, lanky cat who just stayed up high on this ledge the entire time, peering down at us with pure hatred in her eyes.
The place started to fill up quickly. More and more people started to trickle in, including this older Japanese man who happily sat with his eyes closed the majority of the time while his feline friends purred all around him.
You had the option to buy snacks and coffee for yourself at the café, but you could also buy chicken for the cats to eat. The cats obviously favored those who had the treats.
After watching the way they clung to this woman, I decided to buy some. For about $3, they give you a little container full of small stringy pieces.
Yeah, I have a lot of photos. I think I walked out of there with over 200 on my camera. These are the ones I've narrowed it down to. I'm not sorry about it! (Thanks to Adam for also snapping a lot of these!)
As expected, I had a great time at the café. :) I think Adam did, too... Something about it that I really appreciated was how clean it was. It didn't smell like cat litter at all and everything was super clean. I wasn't too surprised about that though since everything in Japan was that way. I would have loved to visit all of the cafés since I'm sure they vary greatly, but I didn't think that'd be a smart way to spend our time with so many other things to see, haha. Maybe in the future if/when we ever go back. Oh, Japan. I just love you! Have you ever been to a cat café?? Do tell! As always, thanks for reading. xo