Who came for a drink?

Shortly after moving to Japan, I heard about animal cafes.  There are cat, dog, hedgehog, and other various animal cafes dotted around Tokyo.  I was immediately intrigued.  But there was a catch.  Most of these little cafes have age limits and if my kid can't go cuddle the animals, I am not going to cuddle the animals. 

Living in Tokyo, we miss our chickens and bunny desperately.  There are hard days where it would just be so very nice to cuddle a friendly pet.  But we don't have a little furry or feathery pal to console us.  That's the whole purpose behind many of these cafes, giving a person who doesn't have the opportunity to own a pet to get some quality snuggle time.

I have been in need of some quality animal time, so when I was in Ikebukuro my son and I popped over to Ikefukurou Café to see if they had age restrictions.  It was really easy to find since it is close to the train station and practically right across the street from a fantastic bookstore.  We took the tiny elevator up to the 6th floor and asked at the front desk. 

The café was very busy, but we were told that my 5 year old was welcome.  However, we needed to come back in a half an hour. 

We ducked over to the aforementioned bookstore to spend the time before we could meet the animals.  Right at 2:30, we arrived back at the café.  We paid ¥1,600 ($15) each to enter and be allowed to hold an owl or two.  That's right.  I said owl.  Ikefukurou Café is an owl café.  Heavy on the owls and light on the café.  (The only food and drink is a bottle of water or tea.)

The small room had a tree like structure in the center of the room.  The rest of it was crowded with shelves for customer's bags, several roosts, and at least 6 cages.  There were owls everywhere.  Big ones.  Little ones.  So many different kinds.  I have never seen anything like it. 

We slowly walked the perimeter of the room to look at all the owls.  My son looked at me and said "Momma, I am ready to hold an owl.  I want to hold that one."  He indicated a small one high on the tree.  He told the employee and she helped get in down for him.  After a little bit, the owl went back to it's perch on the tree. 

After enjoying the company of a small owl, he informed me he was ready for a big one.  I didn't know if I was ready for that.  But he was confident he could handle it.  He put on the glove, as instructed, and they brought the owl that he said he wanted to hold.  Although he thought it was a bit heavy, it was really only about 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs). 

He was so proud to be holding that big owl and I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride myself.  He's so grown up and sure of himself.  It was great to see.

After holding the two owls, he was ready to hold some of their other animals.  They have hedgehogs, a sugar glider, and a meerkat.  For an extra ¥200, you can snuggle with any of these guys. 

I have to admit, snuggling with the meerkat was my favorite.  It was so snuggly.  It investigated my son's mouth, practically giving him kisses.  The cute little one also rolled onto it's back so I could rub it's belly. 

The owl café was a lot of fun.  We had a great time.  But I also think it is a bit like a drug.  We walked out of there wanting more snuggles and affection.  So I came home and started researching other cafes.  I'm worried that I might have opened a can of worms.  I need to make a friend who has a dog because my pocketbook can't handle the fees that some of these cafes charge!