First of all, this is the land of cats. There are cat things everywhere. Cat faces on dishes, cat faces on shop windows, cat backpacks, bumper stickers, trinkets, clothes, shoes, toys, purses, bags, statues. Cats everywhere. And it is awesome. The Japanese love cats. They even have several legends about cats. One legend that I see evidence of everywhere is the Maneki Neko, which is a good luck cat. Supposedly, some cat waved a paw at a Japanese man and he walked towards it. Seconds later, a lighting bolt struck where the man had been. The legend stuck and since then, cats have been a good luck charm. Businesses have it in their shops to draw in money. The hand of the cat is beckoning customers to come inside.
Oh hi there!
Another amazing, wonderful thing about this place: cat cafes!!!! My friend, Alicia, introduced me to one. Basically, you pay for however long you want to spend with the cats and then you go sit on the floor with all the cats. This particular place probably had about 20 cats. They were so sweet and playful. They sat on our laps and we pet them and just hung out with them.
These two kissing kitties were overlooking a view of the city and ocean.
I was super obsessed with this cat. He had teeny short legs and tail, probably about half the size they should normally be. I could be wrong, but I think his breed was the elegant exotic shorthair or the mini munchkin. I've never seen one before and he was simply heart meltingly adorable.
The cafe was perfectly set up for their little friends. They had cat runs and shelves above the customers so that if a cat wanted to be left alone and go above everyone he could. There was even a section in the back of the shop where the cats could go if they wanted to be left alone. There were boxes and scratch posts and spots all over for the kitties to hang out. There was even a heated section of the floor for the cats to sit on. So fun!
Jojo was not amused by my afternoon with her Japanese cousins.
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