document.write("

This is the best thing I've ever heard of! I miss having a pet.
Ann | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 1:47 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I've heard of Cat cafes and always wanted to go to one...I hear there's dog cafes too. Like, not just cafes where you bring your dog...but cafes where you can pay to play with them. 600 yen seems a bit pricey, no? Especially if you have to pay for coffee on top of that.

I go to the pet store down the street and play with the dogs for free... : )
Reannon | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 2:46 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Oh Sarah!! Thank you so much for this wondeful report on Cat cafe in Osaka!!! It looks so much fun! i think it is better than the one in Kyoto for sure!! next time I will go there for sure!!! Nice pictures and everything!! I really enjoyed it!!
sachie | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 6:02 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I am in love with this post. I need to go back to Japan now if only to spend the weekend in Osaka's famous Cat Cafe. Ii na~

Actually, I went to something similar at the base of Mt. Fuji once. But when you've just gone through the safari and seen lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!) it doesn't seem quite as exceptional.

I am a major cat lover and Hiro and I were so disappointed when we couldn't adopt a cat of our own (damn strict J-apaatos). If I ever get back to Osaka for one last romantic weekend with my lovah, we'll have to include some heavy petting time at the Cat Cafe. :)

(P.S. I adore those cat cookies. Kawaisugiru!!
Kathleen | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 8:07 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I am sending this link into Cute With Chris. You certainly qualify as the Crazy Cat Lady of the month. Cat Cafe? Freaky!!
;p)
Don | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 12:33 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Oh my god that is just heaven! If only they had this kind of thing in Australia! I miss having a kitty and always harass any I catch in the street - so this would definitely ease my addiction. Awesome! The kitties are so cute.
Esz | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 2:28 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ It was awesome and if anyone is in Osaka, I highly recommend it. I don't understand why this concept hasn't caught on outside of Japan. It's such a great idea for people who need to get a cat fix. I'm tempted to open a cat cafe back in Canada!!

A few people thought going to a cat cafe was a waste of money. \"You can just go to a temple and pet the stray cats for free,\" they said. But I have tried petting the stray cats and they always run away. I thought 600 yen was a pretty good deal for one hour of heavy petting. Way cheaper than a movie and much more rewarding.
Sarah | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 3:22 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ You can find some cat cafes in Kyoto.

http://www.nekokazoku.jp/map.html
http://www.nekokaigi.com/map.html
http://homepage2.nifty.com/etura...ko/contact.html

Enjoy.
Satoshi | 02.24.09 - 3:47 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Thank you! Thank you! Subarashii!
Sarah | Homepage | 02.24.09 - 4:59 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I will so open a Canadian Cat Cafe with you!! Just say the word, and I'm in. :)
本当に！！

(One of the few kanji I know...)
Kathleen | Homepage | 02.25.09 - 8:11 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Sydney needs one of these so badly. I suppose I could add another dozen or so cats to my household and buy a fancy espresso machine to get started?
David | Homepage | 02.25.09 - 1:40 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ That's awesome. I should give up this marketing stuff and open a cat cafe in Yaletown.
Darren | Homepage | 02.25.09 - 5:04 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I'm seriously thinking about doing the same thing! I think it could be very lucrative. Especially in a place like Vancouver where very few landlords allow you to have pets.
Sarah | Homepage | 02.25.09 - 5:18 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Wow, you've made my trip to kyoto way more exciting now. going to a short study abroad in the summer. going to see if i can find any in kyoto when i'm there. and following your blog now to see what other kyoto secrets you have. :D
adrian | Homepage | 02.25.09 - 9:34 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ A few comments up, Satoshi posted three links to cat cafes in Kyoto. I'm going to try them out next month.
Sarah | Homepage | 02.26.09 - 3:55 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ This is great. I will have to forward this to a friend who lived there years ago.
Jen | Homepage | 02.27.09 - 6:43 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Isn´t that sick? There are thousands of children starving to death and on the other side people are paying 5$ for playing with cats. How decadent must you be?
Fritz | 03.01.09 - 4:12 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ This is awesome. I moved to Japan, Kansai area half a year ago and this looks great.

I'm totally going next weekend. Needed an excuse to go to Osaka anyways! (besides denden town... hehe)
James | Homepage | 03.01.09 - 7:35 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Wish we had a cat cafe here ! I would definitely go OFTEN!
Better than dying teeney dogs blue and pink and wearing clothes and rhinestone collars on them...and a whole lot of other foolish things...but, this is fun and not too over the top! Also, petting cats is therapeutic so it's like paying for a health treatment : )
Julie | Homepage | 03.01.09 - 8:09 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Oops! I don't know why the wrong homepages keep getting attached to my messages!!
Julie | Homepage | 03.01.09 - 8:15 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ The most interesting part of cat cafes, which unfortunately was left out, is WHY there are cat cafes. For Americans this seems like such a strange situation, but makes perfect sense in Japan.

Since Japan is so overcrowded, and most apartments are so small, and most people work long hours, it's not sensible for people to have cats of their own. But since cats have scientifically been proven to lower blood pressure and stress levels in humans, cat cafes allows everyone to be able to benefit from these creatures on a daily basis.

:)
kristin | 03.01.09 - 12:50 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Thanks for your post. Going to link to you! I love this idea, but I doubt it would go over well in America. Darn, will have to think of another reason to have 25 cats.
Peggy | Homepage | 03.01.09 - 7:13 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ SPCA have cats for you to pet and play with. Please spread the word, volunteer and love the animals. Thanks!
Michelle | 03.01.09 - 9:19 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Fritz, no more sick than spending money on any other non-essentials - entertainment, fashionable clothes, holidays, etc.
Anonymous | 03.02.09 - 9:39 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Fritz, your idea of having a cafe where people pet starving children is sick, sick, sick. Better that well fed cats get some loving rather than the malnurished and dying get taunted by strangers. Shame on you.
jd | 03.02.09 - 10:45 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Lovely story, Sarah.

Why do you have to disinfect your hands first and then hand over the money? Shouldn't it be the other way round, given that bills and coins (or your wallet) can be contaminated with all sorts of nasty bugs?
Zeno | 03.03.09 - 2:13 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Good point! Never thought about that...
Sarah | Homepage | 03.03.09 - 4:25 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ You know... This would be an interesting solution to the homeless cat problem, too. It would be a great way to configure homeless cat shelters. I think I would want a large building where part of it was a bigger coffeehouse with wifi, then have the other part where the cats could hang out. So they'd have something like a real home instead of having to be in cages all the time. It wouldn't work as well for ferals and other hand-shy cats but for the ones who were given up by previous owners or found as kittens? Oh yeah.
Dana | 03.03.09 - 1:42 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Where I live, we are having a problem with the Mspca closing down centers due to lack of funding. A cat cafe might be a good option for them. This way the funds of the cafe could help. I would happily serve coffee and treats and spend time with kitties in a nice cat cafe as a volunteer. If I win the lottery I am opening a bunch!
Janine | Homepage | 03.04.09 - 8:32 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ What a nice article! Cats're so adorable.
And then I also want to read a story of a dog cafe.
Anonymous | 03.05.09 - 5:04 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ my daughter would love this! there is one here in Korea in Daegu, we'll try to find it at some point....BTW we noticed Sony Gawley on your bloglist and knew him when he was here in Seoul...small world :)
ginny | 03.07.09 - 2:09 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I don't know whether this is true in this city in Japan, but in San Francisco the animal shelter is *begging* people to come in for a few hours a day to spend time with the cats and dogs, which is highly therapeutic for them. If any catless person here wants some fur time, they probably need look no further than their local shelter.
Tom Geller | Homepage | 03.07.09 - 7:23 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ When you love a cat and a cat loves you there is no other experience that will compare to that bond.
Anne Adamson | Homepage | 03.08.09 - 4:57 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ What an interesting idea - but everyone knows that a cat likes its own, personal human slave or attendant.
Cattina | 03.08.09 - 5:19 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ This site is a very informative site. You'll like the content of this site. If you have some time, please feel free to visit and read the content of this site. Thank you for your time and good day.

MIRAGANA
Mark Lester A. Iragana | 03.08.09 - 11:04 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ hmmmmmm....at first I thought \"GOOD GRIEF\"...then I thought...hey maybe it is great. It keeps city folk from coming to my rural area and invading it with their PETA ideas. If they can pay to pet a few cats and stay put...well then it's less riff raff where I live. Bravo
brlracer | 03.09.09 - 10:54 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ This article was decent until you said that dogs love \"stupidly and blindly\". Kindly back off and realize that dogs are not stupid simply because they aren't generally assholes like cats are.
Stephanie | 03.10.09 - 7:39 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ The reason for spraying disinfectant is to keep the cats healthy. There are serious and even deadly diseases that can be spread and the cafe owners don't want them brought in from outside. At cat shows, judges will spray their hands and the judging area after every cat they handle.
northern | 03.10.09 - 7:56 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ OH MY GOD!!! WHAT an awesome place! We've got 5 cats and it just simply isn't enough! Yes, this \"cat cafe\" concept needs to catch on here in the US. Everyone should be made to wash their hands with soap and water first, before petting the cats.
Holly | 03.12.09 - 6:12 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ HOW COOL IS THIS?!! Ok, my husband and I are going to save up money to take a trip to Japan in the near future just to go to this café. I wish there was something like this in the U.S., too!
Cat Luvah | 03.12.09 - 11:33 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ OMG! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!
caddy | Homepage | 03.12.09 - 12:47 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ These cafes are a great idea. But you can bet your boots that the Health & Safety people would step on the idea smartly if we started them up in the UK, unfortunately.
Cattina | 03.12.09 - 3:01 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ ..cat cafe idea is fantastic*~*love all the cute kitties helping humans to relax..just adorable*~*
Erika Morrison Bunda | Homepage | 03.12.09 - 5:18 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ 600 yen translates to just under $8 Canadian. Great time to send money home!
Sean | 03.13.09 - 12:45 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ yeah,, nice blog....
doctor info | Homepage | 03.20.09 - 9:14 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ thanks u r information
website design nyc | Homepage | 04.10.09 - 11:49 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I love Japan! This type of thing may catch on because of your post.
brian from nodebtworldtravel.c | Homepage | 04.16.09 - 10:10 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ thanks for sharing - I am so jealous we don't have these in America! I blame the lawyers.

Oh yeah, and dog people. ;)
Sam888 | 04.21.09 - 7:12 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ These are very nice places with the cute cat. I'm looking for some food here.
Dazy | Homepage | 07.06.09 - 5:03 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ ****Hello People!**** We don't need cat cafes in the United States because we already have them!! Not to mention ours are FREE!

Call you're local Humane Society or animal shelter and I'm sure they would love to have you stop by to socialize and play with the cats. :)

A particular favorite of mine is The Monadnock Humane Society in Keene NH. The have four big rooms filled with beds, food and adorable kitties. Some of the rooms even have playgrounds and walkways that go up the walls and around the room for the kitties to climb on. They have everything they need except for your love.

The best thing about humane societies instead of cat cafes is that should you fall in love with a particular cat you can always adopt it and bring it home as your new kitty. :)

It's a great way to spend an afternoon because it doesn't cost a cent and it feels good to know you have helped them by giving them love and attention.

Plus it makes for an original, cheap and super fun date!

P.S. There's an animal for everyone. You can also take dogs on walks, or play with bunnies, ferrets, or hamsters!! :)
Ariel | 07.23.09 - 12:04 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ humans love \"stupidly and blindly\" as well. it's the kind of love parents have (typically, there are the sick people out there that don't feel that way) for their children. it means loving someone despite their faults. that's what they mean when they say \"love is blind\" you love someone inspite of what they consider wrong with them.
on another note, i'm gonna have to go if my fiance and i go to Japan on our honeymoon. i have three cats, and so do his parents, and we've had cats my entire life. so i feel \"deprived\" when i don't see kitties. i am, always have been, and always will be a cat person.
Anonymous | 09.12.09 - 8:05 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ They should use this concept in pet shelters! It would be a great way to provide much-needed attention for the kitties while raising some money to help with their expenses.
Curly | Homepage | 09.13.09 - 9:43 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ this is just so amazing!!! i could go pick up OTHER CAT SCENTS there (long trip!!) & COME HOME MIGHT PISS OFF MY TWO.
allen in asheville | 10.05.09 - 3:19 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ not only do these japanese have an affinity to cats, but we are fortunate enough to have a clever american who knew the report was needed. i'm currently teaching our oldest (black)to talk, but i will have to read the article to her.(in english)
allen in asheville | 10.07.09 - 8:52 am | #

Commenting by HaloScan

$\"\"$ ");