수달 카페 — Local services in Tokyo

I was enticed to come in by a man who had an otter on his head out on Takeshita St. When I went down the stairs the awful smell is the first thing I noticed and it kept getting stronger the farther I went into the facility. It was about 1600 yen for 25 minutes and before entering, they had us sanitize our hands and put on slippers, an apron and a zip up jacket before we went into the room. They also advised that we take dangly jewelry off, tie back long hair, and only bring our phones in with us. The rest of our belongings were stored in a locker. Upon entering the room, I noticed it was very small and the conditions were not very good. There was a cage in the corner with urine and feces coating the bottom, the floor was wet and a bit slippery in some places, the towels on the floor looked like they needed to be washed, the seats were torn up and repaired with lots of duct tape and there were only a few actual toys for the otters. The rest of the “toys” were pieces of string the otters were chewing on and swallowing, empty water bottles and mangled toothbrushes. The otters seemed healthy and looked to be enjoying themselves but I definitely think the living conditions and cleaning habits could be better. I also think the staff member in the room with us could use some training on how to properly deal with the otters when they’re being too rambunctious instead of (lightly, but nonetheless) flicking or hitting them in the face. The otters were divided into ones who wanted to play and ones who wanted to sleep. The ones who wanted to sleep all dogpiled into someone’s lap and it was quite adorable. The ones who wanted to play were high energy and quite funny. They’re very smart animals and will do tricks for treats too. I had a water bottle toy the staff member put treats into and the otters stuck their arms inside to dig out the treats which made me laugh. Overall it was an okay experience, I felt a little guilty when leaving and probably wouldn’t come back unless some...

I visited this café thinking it would be a fun, animal-friendly experience, but what I saw was deeply troubling. I left feeling heartbroken and honestly ashamed I went.

The otters were unusually sleepy—so much so that they barely reacted when passed from person to person. They didn’t move, didn’t squirm, didn’t even seem to notice they were being handled. Otters are naturally energetic, curious animals, and this level of passivity felt really off. After talking to the people I visited with; we agreed it seemed like the otters had been drugged in some way to be sleepy.

The environment itself raised a lot of red flags. The rooms were cramped, and the entire place smelled strongly of otter waste. Staff would hold out small treats to the otters, and when the otters reached out to grab the food, the staff would quickly lift them up—mid-bite—and plop them into guests’ laps. It was clear the otters weren’t choosing to interact; they were just being baited, grabbed, and passed around. Several were scratching constantly at the doors, and it seemed like they’re being kept in a basement or back room when not “on display.” I think it’s the staircase visible going downstairs from the front of the entrance.

After some research, I aleo found evidence that many otter cafés like this one are supplied through illegal wildlife trafficking. That means these otters may have been taken from the wild, separated from their families, and sold into captivity for entertainment.

I genuinely thought I was supporting something harmless. I didn’t know any of this at the time—but now that I do, I can’t unsee what I saw. Please, if you’re thinking of going, take the time to do some research first. These animals deserve so much better, and the less that naive tourists...

Loved it, the otters were cute funny and silly. Very unique and fun experience with the otters climbing on ur head and jumping onto you. You get to watch them play and it’s very entertaining. I would recommend the 25 minute one over the longer one as it was enough for us. The only 2 things that we could think of that wasn’t great was that the only time the otters would interact with you was when the person that worked there would give them treats, they are trained to sit on u and do other things for food like dogs but they usually only interact if you have food or are being given food, this is okay though as they are otters after all. The other thing is the environment they are living in, they look happy and clean but the petting place itself is tiny, I’m pretty sure they have a downstairs building where the otters sleep and etc but this tiny place is in the middle of tokyo Takeshita street and I can’t imagine they’re comfortable and in a big enough environment. Some otters needed help drinking water, all they do is eat all day and I’m quite worried now that I think about it! Also, this might be just because I’m a foreigner and don’t understand all of the Japanese adequate, but I thought it was strange that you couldn’t take videos or photos from out on the street of the place, you couldn’t take photos of the posters they had up out front, as well as the guy that would come down the stairs with an otter on his shoulder. Overall though, this was a very fun and interesting experience that I recommend, I have my doubts about a few things but overall I loved it. I would recommend just going...