While cat cafes are just starting to become a hype in our local scene, Japan has brought pet-themed cafe to another level! Have dog and cat cafes became too mainstream? Am I catching up too slowly? While I was doing my research before leaving for Japan, I chanced upon one site which shared a very interesting article on the latest craze in Japan (dated October 2013 though):
Forget about cat cafes. Black cat cafes (which sound interesting enough to me already). Penguin bars (REALLY?!). Japan's latest novelty cafe is the "fukurou cafe" (フクロウカフェ), or the "owl cafe."
Before I start, I have a confession to make. I've never seen an owl in my entire life. I thought owls are angry birds -.- Yes, I am that shallow. Ok they might not look as much like angry birds however I don't think they look friendly either. But... I feel sincerely sorry for the owls now. For making such shallow assumptions about their temper, judging them solely based on their faces. I was so wrong.
OWLS ARE IN FACT SO ADORABLE!!!
There are so many different owls! TOO CUTE!!!
The wide awaken owl.
The smiley face. The owl with friendliest face.
The forever-stoning owl.
The peaceful owl. It's also the fluffiest! And it stays as peaceful when I pat its head...
The sleepy head. Well I guess it's the normal owl in fact. Owls sleeping time is actually during the day. So after I left, I did question myself - are we not respecting the owls? :(
The curious owl.
Introducing the boss - Teana. I call it the boss because it's TOO HARD to get its response.
And it's actually very big in size... I've tried at least 10 minutes in calling its name but...
boss being boss. It didn't bother me that much -.-
The very good looking owl, my favourite! It's so huge and fluffy but it's completely fine to touch it (gently of course)... and when I talked to it, it actually stared back at me. So it kinda feels like it's listening to me :D
and... the grumpy owl. If I remember correctly it's still a baby owl. It looks very adorable, like a fur ball but really... its face is like forever grumpy. I'm not sure if it's temperamental but it did flap its wings quite often when one's near so I didn't really touch it...
This cafe has a restriction whereby every person has to order a drink and the time is limited to an hour. If you wish to stay longer you'll have to order another drink. If I'm not mistaken it's 1000-1200yen for one drink. It's pretty pricey actually -.-
It's definitely an eye opening experience visiting this owl cafe because I don't think I'll be seeing it anywhere else. But please bear in mind... follow whatever rules the owner has set. The rules are there for reasons. For example, sanitize your hand before touching the owls. Do not wave your hands in front of the owls because owls won't know if you're trying to attack them or what. The cafe staffs really care for the owls... from what I observed in that one hour, all of them were really taking care of the owls like their babies.
So...it's the owls' home. When you enter other's home, respect them like how you want to be respected. And don't make them angry birds. Then you'll share an enjoyable time with these fluffy furry friends. :)
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