Yadorigi Cafe

I've been to a few cat/animal cafes in the past, but this was by far the best one! Here's why:

1. You can pick up and hold the cats! This was the only place I've been to that allowed that. When you come for the first time, they show you a video that explains how to handle them carefully, which is nice.

2. It's not time-based. Most other places operate on a "pay X per hour" model, but here you just pay to enter and spend however long you want!* They do ask that you buy one food and drink per person, but you should so that anyways, because...

3. The food is great! This is a cat cafe that really deserves the "cafe" title in its name. The food and drink are not just afterthoughts here. It's a cafe first, that just happens to have cats that you can play with.

4. The cats are rescued from the streets. They are not purchased for the sake of entertainment, and appear to be well-taken care of. Many have even found loving homes for themselves.

5. It's not too crowded. At most, they appear to accept 8 parties of people (so like 16 customers max), which means that there's at least one cat per person available (there were 24 cats when we went). They are all quite calm and friendly too, so they won't just run away.

6. The staff is really friendly! It's easy to mix up who is a staff member and who is a customer, because of how relaxed they are, and how much fun they're having. It's a nice breath of fresh air compared to the usual "formal" Japanese customer service that can be a bit stifling at times. Also, one of the co-owners is Italian and speaks English, so rest assured that you'll be able to communicate easily.

*One comment I would make though is that the rules are a bit difficult to understand, especially since they appear to have changed throughout the pandemic. For example, I saw one place (the Q&A page) on the website that said that reservations are not being taken, but another place said that you can make reservations. Also, it was explained to us that there was no time limit, but there also appears to be 2-hour time slots that are available? So we were confused as to whether we needed to leave soon or not. Maybe we could stay as long as we wanted unless it started to become crowded outside? I'm not sure. I think they're doing their best to let customers relax freely without worrying about time, especially when it's not crowded, but at the same time, I do want to make sure that I'm not inconveniencing anyone. So maybe removing some of the old rules and clearly explaining the time limit could have made things a little better. But that's all!

I wish I could keep this place a secret all to myself, but they really do deserve all the business they can get, especially as they try to recover from 2 years of pandemic restrictions. Please just remember to be courteous so that we can keep this pleasant experience for years to come!