Did you know there are a lot of animal cafés in Harajuku? From lovable Shiba Inu and owls to rabbits and more, here are 5 animal cafés you should visit during your next trip to Japan's fashion central.   HARRY Harajuku Terrace At HARRY Harajuku Terrace you can come into contact with otters, hedgehogs and more. Their 3 otters are extremely friendly with humans; they rarely bring their claws out and are no threat so you can rest assured you'll be safe to sit with them. Customers can buy snacks for them to enjoy so you're sure to become best friends in no time. The café also has a extremely adorable French Flop bunny with cute droopy ears and fluffy fur that you can stroke♡   All the animals in this café are accustomed to humans so it's easy to snap some photos. This one's a must-visit!   Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/86972       Owl's Garden Owl's Garden is located behind Tokyu Plaza. They don't just have owls either―they even have hawks. The café interior is styled on an English garden. There are 12 owls and hawks that live there. There are several price plans. The standard plan is ¥1,500 which gets you 60 minutes inside where you're free to touch the birds, take pictures and have them sit on your arm as much as you like. They also have a Harris's Hawk which are known for their intelligence. Hawks are often perceived as scary but they’re actually very friendly to humans.   You can enjoy a drink at this café while playing with the owls and hawks. If you make a reservation you get a drink on the house, otherwise it’s ¥100. We recommend making a reservation if you’re planning a visit.   Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/119977       Ra.a.g.f At this café you will come into contact with cute bunnies. 15 rabbits live in one room of this apartment. You pick one that wants to play at let them roam around the room. It costs ¥800 for 30 minutes and ¥1,100 for 60 minutes – and both options come with a drink. If you want to stay longer, it’s ¥550 for 30 minutes extensions. Purittsu-kun is the most popular rabbit because he looks just like Peter Rabbit. All the rabbits also know their own names, so try calling out to them!   Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/129775     Harajuku Mame-Shiba Café Harajuku Mame-Shiba Café is Tokyo’s first animal café for Mame-Shiba Inu. Upon stepping your paws into the Harajuku Mame-Shiba Café you are met by Mame-Shiba dogs wearing bandanas around their necks. The café itself has retro style decor with Showa music providing your soundtrack. Tickets can only be bought at the café. It’s ¥880 for an adult for for 30 minutes. Once you have your ticket you wait until your designated time. It’s not uncommon for tickets to be sold out on the day so we recommend buying yours early in the day. Customers are prohibited from picking up and embracing the dogs but you may receive a hug from one of them! Stroking and interacting with the energetic pups however is fine. When noon draws in the dogs start going into nap mode. You’ll see the number of them tumbling over for a sleep increase one by one. This makes it easy to snap some photos, so if you’re looking to take lots of photos with them you should go at midday!   Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/168087       Harajuku Kawaii Zoo Land You will meet many different animals at this café. The main colour seen inside is pink which elicits cuteness, friendliness and happiness. The animals all live together like one big family. It's a chance to see a range of animals you normally wouldn't come into contact with like capybara and meerkats.       Did you enjoy this list? Which one will you be visiting when you're next in Harajuku?

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!  

P→★ from TEMPURA KIDZ loves animals. This is his featured series in which he visits animal cafés in the city.   In this second entry, he made a trip to Owl’s Garden in Harajuku which houses not only owls, but hawks too! The café can be found behind Tokyu Plaza, a very favourable location since you can stop by after shopping in Harajuku. It’s a 6-minute walk from Harajuku Station or a 2-minute walk from Meiji-Jingumae Station. Today, P→★ is wearing an outfit inspired by Harry Potter! The café interior is styled on an English garden. There are 12 owls and hawks that live there. It’s full of natural light and greenery, making it a nice and comfortable place to relax. There are several price plans. The Standard Plan is ¥1,500 which gets you 60 minutes inside. During that time, you’re free to touch the birds, take photos of them and sit them on your arm as much as you like. P→★ met with the owls first. You can gently touch the top of their head down to their back as well as their chest. This owl is a Chaco Owl. If you want to hold the birds just ask the staff. You’ll be given a glove to wear for the bird to sit on. P→★ is now holding an American kestrel. This is the only falcon in the café. If you’re careful not to move your hand it will stay relaxed on your hand. This is a barn owl. Apparently lots of customers are captivated by its striking face. “This one’s so fluffy!” commented P→★. P→★ was particularly interested in this Little Owl (that’s the actual name of the species!) Its tiny size is enough to tug your heartstrings♡ Owls save energy and don’t move around much, so they’re perfect for snapping photos of. That goes for selfies too. Next is to try out being a falconer. There’s a number of cafés where you can come into contact with hawks but not that many where you can actually have one fly over to you, so some customers can spend several hours here. You begin with your back against the wall and bring your hand up to the same height as your shoulders at the count of 3. The hawk responded to the signal several meters way and flew right onto P→★’s hand.   It costs ¥500 for one turn which consists of two flights. “It’s like I’ve become a wizard!” The bird that flew to P→★ is the Harris’s hawk. They are known for their intelligence. Hawks are often perceived as scary but they’re actually very friendly to humans. You can enjoy a drink at this café while playing with the owls and hawks. If you make a reservation you get a drink on the house, otherwise it’s ¥100. It’s better to make a reservation if you’re planning to go there. The earrings they sell there are popular. They’re made from feathers that have fallen from the owls at the café. Be sure to find the feather of the bird you like there the most. They also sell a range of other merchandise including a photo collection of the owls. P→★ was very satisfied with his experience. It was his first time coming into contact with them, and his first time having a hawk fly to him.   “After watching Harry Potter, I wanted to own my own owl. It was a lot of fun interacting with them today. My image of hawks has changed too! If I’m rich in the future I want to have my own pet owl. Until then, I’ll be sure to come back here!” P→★ sure enjoyed Owl’s Garden. The café is arranged in a way that makes it easy to take photos. The natural lighting and greenery make it a great choice for Instagram. Be sure to make a reservation if you’re interested.   Check out the time P→★ went to Harajuku Terrace Café in his first Animal Diary Café entry here.