Posted December 26, 2011 by Jonelle Patrick Animals

Gateway to Kitty Nirvana

This cat café is in the Decks entertainment complex in Odaiba

In a country where many people live in places too small for pets, cat cafés are a booming business. For about $10 an hour, anyone (over the age of 12) can sip a latte and pet herds of cats for as long as their wallets hold out or until their allergies kick in. The most famous of these, the Kaliko Cat Café – with branches in Shinjuku and Kichijōji – has around 50 cats. Most of them are purebred – Maine Coon, Abyssinian, Munchkin, Persian, Scottish Fold, Tabby, etc. plus a few typical Japanese calicos with half-length tails. At any time, 25 of them are off duty in the back room sleeping, and the other 25 are on duty at the café…well, sleeping.

Cat cafés draw a mixed clientele of lonely singles and couples on dates. There are always a few regulars, who just like to sit and read their papers with a latte, pretending they’re at home being snubbed by their very own cats.

P1090060 — Fat cats, skinny cats, longhaired cats, short-tailed cats, even cats wearing t-shirts are available to be petted and adored

cat cafe latte — Lattes are served upside down, with the coffee on top and the milk at the bottom, lest all the cats descend upon your drink like a flock of seagulls

P1060728 — Cat toy stations are strategically placed around the room, promising that if you’re really skillful, you might tempt a cat to acknowledge your existence.

cat cafe — The hardworking cats on duty at the Shinjuku Kaliko Café

P1090071 — The obliging Kichijōji Kaliko Café cats will happily disdain to acknowledge your existence, just as if they were your own!

P1090065 — A somewhat chubby example of a typical Japanese alley cat: calico tri-color with a short tail. This one’s tail is longer than most – usually they’re about half-length.

P1060738 — A Munchkin, sort of the Dachshund of cats

If you’d like to visit the Calico Cat Cafe the next time you’re in Tokyo, directions & a map are on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

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Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!