WAKABAYASHI カワウソ — Attraction in Tokyo

I wanted to visit the place in Ikebukuro, but as it is currently closed I went instead to the one in Harajuku, as suggested on the door.

You go down the stairs and the friendly staff gives you a slide explaining what you should and shouldn’t do when dealing with the animals or preparing to enter. Currently there are only otters available due to Covid restrictions regarding rabbits, but it’s absolutely not an issue and it’s good for safety measure.

You get given a jacket and a special skirt to protect your clothes, as the amiable devil critters can steal and hurt themselves on tiny things in your pockets.

The room itself is small but well planned: it is essentially a secluded otter heaven with a few seats and many otters either sleeping, playing, eating food or wandering around.

I can’t stress enough how good and kind the two girls were: the handler with the otters was making sure that shy people or those that weren’t yet petting or playing with the otters would get their time worth, and give you either food in a bottle for the otter to play with on your lap, or just directly putting them on you. She also helps you take pictures rather than just selfies, and as I couldn’t get my phone out of the protective vest (should’ve taken it out beforehand) she offered to airdrop the pics instead, which was very kind and thoughtful.

The otters mostly alternate to sleep and play and eat like the amiable food-fueled demons they are. When it’s crowded you get timed for 25 minutes, which pass quickly but are also full, thanks to the efforts of the staff wanting you to play with the otters and have your pay worth.

The girl outside also replied patiently to my question while two more customers were preparing themselves, which I really appreciated. Overall a lovely experience with lovely (but demonic) otters and lovely staff to make it even better. Will recommend it to friends needing a smile and surely come...

This place is just dopamine city basically. What a great time. Queue only took around 5-10 mins on a busy day. Due to the busy nature we were only allowed to choose the 25 minute option (which we were contemplating anyway so wasn't a massive let down, it might be for some others looking for 50 minutes. Be careful of when you go).

Staff were super informative, had great English (which isn't EXPECTED as a tourist but it is VERY much appreciated). I really hope the staff are made aware and praised for how easy they made everything. They explained everything step by step, in English, thoroughly and without sounding angry/aggressive or blunt like some tend to do (probably not on purpose). But we felt welcomed and not like we're intruding on their day in any way. They seemed like they really enjoyed working there and that energy is felt.

The otters were amazingly energetic and super cute. The staff inside the otter area where you sit do an incredible job or sharing the attention around. They hand you treats sporadically and randomly places otters onto your laps / make them crawl up on your shoulders/head for some play too. They made sure everyone sat down was constantly given ways and chances to interact hands on with the otters. My partner even got "chosen" by an otter and became the otters bed. Slept soundly on her lap and was twitching in their sleep! Only 1 other person seemed to get this lucky whilst we were in there.

For the last 5 mins or so you're moved to another small room with younger and more playful otters where my lap was then chosen by 2 of them to lie in! The staff member in there just places all of the otters onto you for a bit before your time Is up.

Great experience all round and some of the best minutes of the day spent in this town. Well worth the money and well done to the staff. Kudos all round. Would go...

I was really happy with my experience at Wakayabashi. My wife and I love otters and visiting an otter cafe was at the top of our list of things to do while in Japan. The staff at this particular location were very friendly and able to communicate with us in basic English. They’re clearly al l love what they do and have established good rapports with the many otters they have! You can pay for a 25 or 50 minute session. For us the 25 minute session was a good amount of time. They provide you with a shirt and protective long skirt to wear over top your regular clothes. The staff we had with us was super attentive and would actively encourage otters to play with everyone, so we all had an otter on our laps at all times basically. The otters all look healthy and happy. We had no issues with them biting at all. You’re allowed to bring in your camera or phone with you. They will provide lockers for your bags to stow them away securely. They don’t accept card, cash only. Overall an absolutely...