Last Sunday, Ben and I visited a cat café in Takasaki, Gunma. This was the second cat café we’ve been to that is located outside of Tokyo.
I liked this one because instead of the café area and cat space being in the same room, the cats here have their own, clean room that is set apart from the café.
We entered through a red door with a door handle that was actually a bronze cat with a tiny bell around its neck - way too cute. It's the little details like these that make a cat café worth visiting. Later, we would find that the money plate next to the cash register was actually a cat carved out of wood.
The walls in the café were decorated with a few vertical hanging film strips containing pictures of the cats. We were served ice water in cute glasses shaped like cat paws. Even better, the cat cups had black paw prints painted on their bottoms. These cups, along with Cat’s Planet bags, pens, and other souvenirs were for sale on a shelf near the front door. While we didn’t eat anything, I was surprised to see that food, like omurice (a Japanese omelet), was offered here, too. Most of the other cafes we’ve been to have only offered drinks, and sometimes light snacks.
After removing our shoes and washing and sanitizing our hands, we entered the cat room. It was small and the walls that faced the inside of the café were glass windows. There were ten cats in the room, and all were resting when we came in. The room was spotless and the cats were really clean. They didn’t respond to our touch, but I’ve learned that that’s to be expected at these cafes. The level of attention the cats receive is enough to make any normal house cat jealous. There was a humidifier in the room and a UV sanitizer/sterilizer cabinet that contained all the tools used to groom the cats. You could tell that the owner of this café takes pride in his cats and his café.
Not long after we entered, an older slightly balding Japanese man (perhaps the owner) came into the room. One of the cats was immediately drawn to him, and you could tell that the man had developed a special relationship with these cats that no guest could ever achieve.
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| The Cat Staff |
He took out a toothpaste like tube, squeezed a little dab of brown stuff on his finger, and suddenly all the cats woke up and crowded around him. After their snack, most of them returned to their beds, except for a few that were intrigued by the red laser the man pulled out next. One cat chased it with obvious frustration while another cat, that had been curled up in a mounted glass bowl since we arrived, jumped out to join the chase. It was the perfect entertainment for a little Japanese boy who had come to the café with his parents, clearly in search of some cat entertainment. Two middle aged women watched the cats through the window as they sipped drinks at a small bar right outside the room, probably just as entertained by the cats as by the foreigners in the room.
By the time we left, the game was just about over and the cats were back in their beds again.
