Out on the town with pets in Tokyo’s animal cafes

The Hapineko (Happy Cat) cafe in Tokyo’s Shibuya district is so well maintained that one may be inclined to think, for a moment, that harboring more than a dozen felines in about 500 square feet is a reasonable proposition. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

March 18, 2015 5 AM PT

Tokyo has dozens of animal cafes, harboring species from falcons to iguanas, and these businesses aim to inject a bit of Mother Nature into one of the world’s biggest concrete jungles.

At the Hapineko (Happy Cat) cafe in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, customers pay about $13 an hour to hang out with felines. The place is kept spotless and odor-free by several attendants. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Two of the residents at the Hapineko (Happy Cat) cafe in Tokyo. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

At Cafe Baron in Tokyo’s Koenji district, customers can have coffee in the company of owls. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

At Cafe Baron in Tokyo’s Koenji district, owls are the attraction. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

At the Sakuragaoka Cafe in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood, resident goats Chocolate and Sakura live in a pen by the patio. Two days a week customers can make a reservation to walk the goats in the neighborhood. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

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Out on the town with pets in Tokyo’s animal cafes

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