Somehow while searching for restaurants to check out I stumbled upon a list of Tokyo's 'cat cafes'. Here 1000 yen will buy an hour's worth of petting with the cafe's kitties. Since 2008 more than a dozen of these cat cafes have opened in Tokyo. Some of these cafes have as many as twenty five cats on staff. One of these cafes stays open until 5:30 AM.
I felt that our trip would not be complete without paying a visit to one of the cat cafes….so yesterday my mom, her friend Beth, my friend Ronnie, and I went to go meet the kitties of the Chamamo Cat Room in Harajuku.
As per cat cafe protocol, we removed our shoes, washed and sanitized our hands, and paid for our session. Cat toys are provided to play with. You may not wake up sleeping kitties, by the way. The atmosphere of the cat room was extremely hushed and peaceful.
Patrons of the cat room are encouraged to write about their experience with the cats in the cafe's guest book. I loved seeing everyone's drawings of the cats in here!
The idea of a 'cat cafe' sounded pretty freaky and maybe even a little perverted to me at first. Now that I've experienced a cat cafe for myself, I can honestly say that I totally get it. It was so relaxing to watch these magnificent cats nap and frolic. ..and if you were a regular customer I'm sure you'd become very attached to the staff. In one of the most chaotic cities in the world, I can see how these peaceful kitty sanctuaries are becoming such a phenomenon.
