Japanese city dwellers visit cat cafes to spend quiet time with the cats, touching, stroking and playing with the cute creatures. The cat café I visited was in Ikebukuro, a large-traffic hub in northwest Tokyo.
Upon taking an elevator to the sixth floor and paying at the counter, I made my way deeper into the store.
The inside of the café is dotted with sofas (where cats have priority), structures for cats to play with and bookshelves filled with mangas and novels.
I chose a seat near the bookshelf, right next to a beautiful black-and-white cat. Since it was the afternoon, most of the cute kitties were asleep and not very active.
I tried rubbing some of the bellies but alas, no response.
I ended up settling down with a manga that I got from the bookshelves and enjoyed the rest of my afternoon in the relaxing atmosphere of the café.
Just as I was about to leave, some of the patrons decided to buy food from the store to feed the cats.
Almost immediately, most of them awoke from their seeming deep slumber.
The change was so sudden that I almost felt betrayed by the cats. Haha!
I left the café with a mental note to come back again in the morning or late evenings, when the cats would be most active.
If all else fails, at least I now know food will wake them up!
Here are some tips for you to be successful at attracting cats!
1) Find a toy – cat cafes often have toys for you and cats to play with.
Pick up one, and an adventurous cat should start edging towards you! Try new toys if the cat gets bored.
2) Be patient – cats work at their own pace.
They will eventually come around so don’t try to force them near you.
The cat café culture has been exported to Taiwan, Austria and other countries; however, in none of these places are cat cafes as commonplace as in Tokyo, so why not try it out? The best time to visit these cafes in the mornings when the cats are most active. Prices: 1200¥ for 60 minutes or 1500¥ for 90 minutes. Link: http://www.nya-n.jp/299/
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