Sunday, March 18, 2012

Hello everyone! I have been very busy these past couple weeks traveling around to Tokyo and Kyoto! While I was in Tokyo I got to try the unique experience of going to a cat café. Now when I say cat café I don’t mean a café decorated with images of cats. A cat café is a place where, for a fee of roughly ten dollars an hour you can gain entrance into a small café full of living, breathing felines! All while enjoying the beverage of your choice of course (which you are forced to buy at least one of on top of your entrance fee).

Now for someone like me, a student who is studying abroad and misses spending time with her pet cats, a cat café is the perfect concept. Spending an hour with some cute cuddly kitties was definitely a good way to help ward off homesickness! However, homesick study abroad students are not exactly their target audience. So who is? Although to foreigners a cat café might seem like a weird concept which probably has a niche audience of only the most cat-obsessed, the cat cafes patrons are actually just your average Japanese citizen.

Tokyo is a large city with a lot of people, but not a lot of space. This means most people end up living in small apartments, where they either do not have space to keep a pet, or they are banned outright by their landlords. And thus, the popularity of the cat cafes. It’s for those people who want to own a pet, but don’t have the means too. And business is booming! We had to wait a half hour in order to gain entrance to the café since they were full when we arrived. They have a book with all the cats’ names so people can get to know them and feel a connection with them. This way they can feel as if the cats are their own pets. I have heard that these cafes get a lot of regulars! And considering they don’t have to pay for the cats’ food and vet bills, or change their kitty litter, these people may actually be getting a pretty good deal.