猫カフェ (Cat Cafe)

The area around Akihabara in Tokyo has numerous specialty cafes that cater to all sorts of tastes. The most famous, by far, are maid cafes, where customers pay a premium to be served by cute girls in the Japanese reimagining of a french maid outfit. Since I was in the area I felt pressured to visit such a cafe, but when I thought about it, I wasn't too crazy about the idea of spending $10 for likely mediocre drinks while paying an additional $10 for "maid treatment." 

I was walking down a side street when I suddenly noticed this cat looking out at me. I had stumbled upon a 猫カフェ or "cat cafe."

Much like a maid cafe, a cat cafe offers drinks though the real attraction is the atmosphere. The rather small building was absolutely full of cats, running around and playing on the various scratching posts that lined the walls. Though there are many stray cats in Japan, kittens from pet stores typically cost over $800. Such a fine collection of cats was not likely cheap. 

Before I could sit down and play with the cats I was instructed to wash my hands while I received a rundown on the proper way to interact with the cats so as to not interrupt the relaxed atmosphere in the cafe. Once my preparations were complete, I ordered a drink and sat down on the floor as there were very few chairs which makes sense given the nature of the establishment. I was also given a booklet listing the cats in the cafe and there likes and dislikes. 

The cats had differing personalities. Some seemed to avoid people while others were more friendly. The cats mostly interacted with each other though some were interested in the many toys provided for customers to use.

Somewhat surprisingly, the customers at the cafe were entirely male. I've heard that there is growing "comfort" industry in Japan where men pay for very basic human, or in this case, animal contact. It is my understanding that the popularity of these services comes from the fact that Japanese society generally does not encourage physical contact. Even the members of my host family never hugged. 

In any case, it was refreshing to see a group of Tokyoites, who are often though to be very up tight and cold, taking a break from their likely hectic lives to enjoy the company of some adorable cats and of each other. 

I was legitimately saddened when my time was up, but I had a lot more of the city to see so I said goodbye to my cafe-mates and walked out the door, returning to the much less comforting streets of Tokyo. I'm quite glad I decided to stop at the JaLaLa cat cafe for an excellent break from the ordinary.