Anitouch Minato Mirai — Attraction in Yokohama

Let me begin this review by having you know the most important part of it:

YOU CAN SEE CAPYBARAS AND YOU CAN PET THE CAPYBARAS

While this review would already be self-explanatory and able to be finished just like this, I would like to add a few more consideration:

The place is cramped, I felt I was lucky there weren’t too many people, because it was already difficult for me to be able to find the space to do the petting. With kids there the parents let the kids a long time with the animals, and while this is understandable, in the long run you can feel like you don’t get the typical I’ve had my fill, I will let the other person enjoy it now” that most Japanese places have.

The staff will sometimes seem weird or very direct: if you do something wrong they won’t ask you to stop, they will stop you right away, which I found good when I saw, as it’s done for the sake of the animals.

They will also notify you if there are activities in one of the two zones (one has chicks, mice, Guinea pigs, a budgie, rabbits, meerkats and owls; the other has the capybaras, tucano, a sloth constantly scratching himself, tamarinds that look outside and jump around, and a family of lemurs).

The staff had different approaches with me (foreigner) compared to other locals, or foreigners that were made of a family / had small kids. I felt a mixture of wanting the parents to pay for the extra food, and kind of awkwardness in interacting with a lone male foreigner. The fact that I asked if owls and the other animals could be pet clearly put them off with the wrong foot, because it was not possible and they mentioned it was obvious, but I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know what to do while amidst many animals to pet, I wanted to be sure I didn’t do something wrong; it’s supposed to be taken as consideration, not weird/evil behavior.

Besides this kind of attitude I felt (emphasis on felt as maybe I was thinking myself about it in the wrong way), I listened to the suggestions they gave to the others, like letting the capys be pet more forcibly as they like it, or checking out the cub lemur held by the rest of the family on the shelf.

The animals however seemed somehow stressed, which I think is due to many people interacting differently in that limited space: the tamarinds were jumping to look outside the windows, which I found a bit sad. The tucan seemed alright but then scratched very often its beak. The fur on the capys was thin or patches of even thinner fur were visible. The sloth was a scratching Guinness world champion. The budgie just went to bite me before I did anything, which I wasn’t sure if it depended by the foreign woman just picking him up earlier, but it does denote the different reaction with people.

You pay to give food to the animals, about 200 yen. I briefly saw people saying you pay more to pet the other animals like the toucan, but I think this is a misunderstanding, or the different behavior with me was confirmed.

As the food for the chicks was a lot I gave it to two other people there to share in the petting blessing.

One girl kept checking the red iguana to see if something was wrong, which I found ok. However the fact something seemed to be wrong after seeing the rest made me wonder if it was yet again stress.

The owls seemed sad to be there amid the ruckus, and if it’s not possible to interact with them I would recommend to maybe change them with something else. They’re nice and cute to see, but they probably need something else themselves.

Overall I would recommend maybe to have closed days to let the animals rest, and ensure they get some deserved recharged.

I rate highly for the experience, the time allowance and the dedication to explain in English to families and Japanese to locals, but the place isn’t without some qualms in my opinion, which I hope is something limited to my experience.

ps: there is a shop right on the opposite side related to the place. I would recommend the cashier to mention this, as some people might just move forward without seeing it (like the American...

Our family initially had plans to visit a different capybara cafe as it was the main animal we wanted to see but that cafe was closed for the holidays for the entire duration for our trip. We happened to stumble upon this place as passersby and the kids got attracted instantly as you can peek at all the animals they have through the window. I usually like to research prior if the animals are well taken care of as I wouldn't want to unknowingly support a place that is unethical, but unfortunately the spontaneity of this visit did not allow that. After reading the reviews now, it seems a little mixed. However, what I observed during my experience were staff that took gentle care of the animals - taking care when picking them up, ensuring animals stayed safe in their areas (e.g. the chicks frequently jump onto the ledge on their own, roaming injury), and bathing the capybaras as well. All in all, there was nothing I saw that led me to believe the animals were being maltreated, though I know I'm only there for a short time.

Animals that are allowed to be held (e.g. hamsters, chicks) or touched (e.g. Guinea pigs, rabbits) have clear signage. Others are only allowed to be fed (e.g. prairie dogs, fox) or viewed (e.g. Chinchilla). The most unique experience was the room with 5 capybaras (they're very well behaved and active, walking around), toucans (one of them was a real jokester, flying fast and low above your head, giving you a scare), lemurs, monkeys, and a sloth (cannot be touched).

It was really nice that your one-time entry has no time limit so there was no rush and everyone got to enjoy it at their own pace.

Again, because we were just passing by, we didn't buy tickets in advance. Thankfully, they had space for us to enter with no wait times. The place also wasn't crowded with other guests, so there was tons of...

Went here primarily to see, and pet, the capybaras. There are four of them on site and all are friendly and love to be fed. Near the capybaras are howler monkeys, toucans, sloth, and ringed lemurs. The lemurs can be petted, but please leave them alone if they are sleeping. The monkeys were locked up when I was there, but apparently they have times when they are allowed out. The sloth and toucans are off limits for petting.

There is another section of the site where you can see and pet many other animals. Some of the animals look overwhelmed. I would hope the company running the business would consider limiting the number of people who come through each day.

Overall, it was great to see all the animals, just would like to see things slightly improved for the...