I love animals!   This is P→★ from TEMPURA KIDZ and welcome to the first entry of my brand new series. I’ll be updating occasionally. What’s a better way to start a series than to make friends with some otters and hedgehogs in Harajuku? Today, I went to HARRY Harajuku Terrace café to do just that!   It’s not just what’s inside the café, but its location is also worthy of note – it’s just an 8-minute walk from JR Harajuku station and a 5-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Meiji-Jingu station, so it’s easy to drop by after a busy day of being a tourist. The wow-factor of this café is the three very sociable otters. This highly successful café draws in customers that come day after day, seeking the ultimate soothing feeling of bonding with their new friends.   All their faces look the same, but you can tell them apart by looking at their tails. The otter called Miku has a thin tail, whereas San has a thick one and Kirara has a flat one. Particularly Kirara is brimming with curiosity and is the one with whom you are mostly likely to interact, if you should pop by!   Full of excitement, the otters reached through the small hole in the tank to ask for food and toys. It was overwhelmingly cute. When they want a treat, they call out with their peculiar squeal. You can purchase snacks for them within the café. If you give them food, your friendship will grow increasingly stronger.   Otter snack prices: First-time customers: ￥330 (price including tax) Standard price: ￥540 (price including tax)   As the café name “HARRY” implies, the café has hedgehogs (harinezumi). The hedgehogs heal the tired hearts of all the café visitors. All the hedgehogs are friendly and rarely ever raise their quills at anyone, so you can touch them safely.   Even I can handle a hedgehog! Even though hedgehogs are rather timid, they can still open their hearts to you! I can’t believe that we even touched noses to communicate! It’s amazing!   The café was once a pet shop that sold rabbits and other small animals. This is it’s first time running business as a café, and that’s why you can not only interact with the animals here, but also buy one to keep. The staff also provide important information on how to properly care for the animals and diseases to which they are prone. If you are interested, then please feel free to ask them any kind of question.   There are many other animals in the shop. This is a large French Lop rabbit. 3 months after birth, their bodyweight can even reach up to 7kg. Their droopy ears were so cute and their fur was so fluffy! I was filled with happiness.   ...and there were even chinchillas.  They have fluffy tails and look so cute!   I approached them with some grass for them to snack on, and as soon as they saw me, they ran at me full of energy – we even got a photo together! As all the animals at this café are used to people, it’s easy to take pictures with them to upload on SNS websites!   The café has such a large variety of food for small animals that was quickly noticed by customers who were interested in buying a pet. You can ask the staff what type of food is appropriate for which animal.   I spent a lot of time surrounded by my favourite animals. I was particularly captured by the otters’ cute behaviour! HARRY Harajuku Terrace gives you the opportunity to freely interact with small animals – something that you can’t really do at a zoo or anywhere else. If you’re in Harajuku, how about stopping by? You may have to wait 30 minutes to enter the café if the store is closed. The café is very popular so I recommend that you reserve in advance!  

Animal cafés are gaining popularity these days. Many new kinds of animal cafes other than the most popular cat cafes are opening. In this article, I will introduce to you some standard and some unusual animal cafes.     Cat café “MoCHA” (Shibuya) This café that has many sofas. You can get a good night view of Shibuya from this café so it is known as good date spot. And ther are cats, cats, cats everywhere! Some cats snuggle up to customers but some are just lying around lazilily on a swing.   Detailed information：http://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/72122           Hedgehog café HARRY (Roppongi / Harajuku)

ハリネズミカフェ 六本木本店さん(@hedgehogcafe_roppongi)がシェアした投稿 - 2017 10月 14 3:16午前 PDT

Such small eyes, hands and legs. Hedgehogs, what a cute animal! Although they have needles on their back, they are very friendly to humans. They also sell some hedgehogs so you can take one of them home if you find your favorite hedgehog.           Owl café “Owl no Mori” (Asakusa / Akihabara)

s.onozawaさん(@s_re07)がシェアした投稿 - 2017 10月 25 5:33午前 PDT

“Owl no Mori” is an owl café which was created under the theme of “the most dangerous/fun animal café in Japan where many owls live.” Many owl cafes chain their owls, but this café does not, so you can see owls living freely. Another good point of this café is that there is no time limit.           Rabbit café “Usabibi” (Ikebukuro)

Salassa / さらりん@デザフェス両日G-126さん(@salassa0227)がシェアした投稿 - 2017 8月 14 8:18午前 PDT

A café where you can play with rabbits. All drinks served in this café are free. Some people get carried away adoring the cute rabbits and forget to drink their drinks. You can put them on your lap by giving them snacks.           >>next page       Squirrel monkey restaurant “Monkey no Iru Restaurant & BAR” (Ueno) “Common Squirrel Monkeys” are very energetic and curious. I am sure that you will be carried away by their emotional faces and small fingers. You can give them a snack if the timing is right.   Detailed information：http://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/24471           Short-legged cat specialized café “Mofunyan” (Nerima)

猫カフェ もふにゃんさん(@catcafe_mofunyan)がシェアした投稿 - 2017 10月 22 5:18午後 PDT

“Mofunyan” is the first short-legged cat specialzed café in Japan. They collect rare shot-legged cats such as Munchikin, Minuet, Kinkalow and Lambkins. You will be allured by their cuteness for sure! The café welcomes both single customers and groups.             Reptile café “Hachu Café” (Kichijoji)

はちゅカフェさん(@turbo_rep)がシェアした投稿 - 2017 10月 20 12:51午前 PDT

A café where you can meet with turtles, lizards, iguanas and snakes. The facial expression of reptiles changes all the time and their movement/life style is very slow which makes us forget about our busy daily lives. You might become spellbound by their magic.           Bird cafe "Kotori Café " (Kichijoji)

ことりカフェさん(@kotoricafe)がシェアした投稿 - 2017 6月 14 7:00午後 PDT

In this café, you can enjoy “bird sweets” items and teas while watching parakeets. They also have a general merchandise corner beside the café and they sell many kinds of bird-related goods. You can also enjoy meeting with birds that are familiar with humans.         I am sure that you will be healed just by looking at cute animals. Why don’t you visit one of the cafes noted above?    

Our cute model Yutaro finally found some time in his busy schedule to go on a date with me! Today we’re heading to a spot where you can cure your fatigue after a long day at work. Our destination for today is a cat café! Today Yutaro took me out to Café MoCHA in Shibuya. This cat café is filled with many sofa seats, from which you can gaze at the scenery of Shibuya at nighttime.   This was my first time at this cat café, but Yutaro’s second time. Yutaro quickly proceeded as if he was very familiar with it. We ended up on the second floor of Cat Café MoCHA Shibuya. First, we spent time on the upper floor to meet the cats.   Cats, cats and more cats in so many different places - they were here, there and everywhere! Some stayed sprawled out on the swinging seats whilst some came to cosy up with the humans. This was a great opportunity to get to know them.   All of a sudden…   …When did Yutaro get those cat ears?! Did he do this to get into the cat café mood? With a bushy cat toy in one hand, he got closer to the cats. Notice Yutaro is wearing a sweater with a cat character on it in this photo! I wonder if he decided to wear this because of the cat café… anyhow, it’s so cute!   “Caaaaaaats!”   “I’ve got them all!”   I wonder if it’s Yutaro’s cat ears that attracted all the cats to gather around him? Yutaro waved the bushy cat toy about with one hand, triggering the playful cats. The sight of it healed my tired heart. ♡ Afterwards, we chilled with some cats on a sofa, purring. The sofa was a great spot to look over the beautiful nighttime scenery of Shibuya. It was very…romantic...   After our break, we went straight back to play mode! It was time to play with the cats! The cats seemed to gradually get tired after all that playing and then it was back to relaxation mode. Why does this cat choose to sit right behind Yutaro?!     And here’s one sitting just like Yutaro!   Little by little, Yutaro and the cats became better friends.    

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Since all the cats on the top floor were tired out from all that playing, we headed to the bottom floor. Shibuya’s Cat Café MoCHA has “Oyatsu Time” which runs from 11:00 to 18:00. During “Oyatsu time”, visitors can give snacks to the cats. We chose ice candy! The ice candy smelt like fish. It cost ￥500 (+tax). The cats gradually drew near, sniffing out the delicious smell… At first they approached slowly, but then they became more daring! One eventually jumped onto Yutaro’s lap and then licked the candy! "Here kitty, kitty〜"   Isn’t this just the cutest photo? Both cat and human in perfect harmony! A photo of Yutaro and a cat makes for the ultimate shot! At 19:00, it’s time for all the cats to line up for dinner! Just watching them all gobble up every single bite was the highlight of the night. Once they were full, they started to doze off into a deep slumber. Finally, Yutaro took one last photo with one of his new friends before bidding farewell. Returning back to the entrance, Yutaro took one of MoCHA’s original cat Mikuji fortunes (￥100). This was where the date ended. Incase you’re wondering what kind of blessing Yutaro got from the fortune slip, he got a “middle blessing”! According to the slip of paper, Yutaro must work his hardest with a meow! Watching Yutaro tire from all that exercise with the cats was very relaxing for me, so the person who was the most relaxed by the end was probably me?! I want to go on another date with Yutaro, so I’ll be working hard everyday with a meow!   ※ At MoCHA, you are not allowed to forcibly hug the cats or force them to sit on your lap. If the cat jumps up onto your lap at its own will, then it’s ok. However, there are many timid cats so if one jumps on you, please leave them in peace.