Cat Cafe

Japan is a country with many wondrous, exciting, and strange things. It is a land of (mostly) cute creatures that magically disappear into balls, where a man made of bread rips parts of his own face off to feed to children*, and 14-year-old school girls transform into planetary heroines after school. It is also a place where you can pay to play with cats and drink coffee at the same time.

Cozy~

I wanted to meet up with an old buddy from Sophia days and I half-jokingly suggested we go to a cat cafe. I did not think in a million years she'd take me up on the offer, partly because I wasn't sure what kind of person goes to a cat cafe. Is this the sort of thing "normal" people do? It's not going to be like a maid cafe where some girl in a French maid outfit uses all sorts of fancy keigo I can't understand? Or one of those cafes where girls dress up as male anime characters and flirt with female customers? It's not some strange cover for a snack bar (not what it implies in English) but with cats, is it?

He knocked that box over twice in the hour we were there.

KITTIES EVERYWHERE.

Thankfully it was none of those things. The staff seemed normal, not crazy cat lady types; most of the people there were couples and toward the end of our visit a little girl came in with her grandmother. They had a nice little set up going: the "cafe" was like a big living room filled with stuffed animals, boxes, and cat toys, with some couches at the back and a counter with chairs at the window. You could pay for non-alcoholic vending machine nomihoudai and order from a menu of pasta and sandwiches (they'd give you lids for your drinks or big glass cake covers to put over your food). They were playing some sort of baby Disney instrumental CD and had a TV on low volume showing a variety show. It was a very homey and I would've loved to curl up on a couch with a few kitties next to me.

I thought he and his male friend were there on their own.

"Man, I totally wanna go to that cat cafe..."

My cat cafe date~

Most of the cats were full-grown, but even though they weren't cute little kittens like how you see on Cute Overload, they were all gorgeous and well-groomed. The "mama-san" of the cat cafe could shout at any of the cats and they'd take her seriously - if she called a cat's name, it would respond in some way. Before we officially entered the cafe, the staff did warn us about one problem cat who has been known to bite, but he didn't act up while we were there. Overall it was a nice experience and if I were SUPER ENTHUSIASTIC about cats maybe I'd pay for a membership card.

And of COURSE, I managed to get at least one potential lolcat:

Maybe the Rubik's Cube one on FB is funnier...

*I was told Anpanman does this. And mother thought Ren and Stimpy was bad.