We’d always hesitated. People said some denizens of this café could be haughty and unwelcoming. Others said you might be rolled for a pretty penny buying food. Friends asked why we’d go there while knowing we could do the same things at home. We decided that with the possibility of a decent cup of coffee in good company on offer, we’d take the risk.
We were instructed to wash our hands carefully and then place all of our belongings in cotton sacks after we took off our shoes and entered the café. From under a printed Japanese version of “House Rules,” a young woman pulled a perfectly translated list of do’s and don’ts. Were we wearing perfume? No. We promised not to chew gum and that we were not drunk. Did we realize that we were responsible for any injuries caused while we were inside, including to our clothes? Yes, we’d also pick up the hospital bill if there were one. Our feelings would not be hurt if we were given a warning about inappropriate behavior. We would not spank any of the workers, nor talk loudly to them. Final assurances were made, including that we did not have cat odor on our skin or clothes.
Two cute females, Momo and Jiji, came by soon after our coffee arrived. They blinked at us and cocked their heads. We rolled the small tidbits we’d ordered, one by one, out of the small case and into a plastic dish. The next thing we knew, our two new friends had consumed all our food and taken off for toys being proffered across the room. We ordered up another round and soon enough Milk and Moka became our new best friends.
We were at Hapineko (Happy Cat), a cat café in Shibuya. Walk up Dogenzaka Street in Shibuya. Pass the Hooters and the Royal Host and start looking up to find signs for Hapineko Cafe with pictures of cats. For a nominal fee, guests are invited to hang out with close to a dozen cats in the playroom. The fee begins with 30 minutes and goes up to two hours. It is slightly higher on weekends. Guests receive one drink with the basic $10, 30-minute entrance fee. In addition to coffee there are the usual soft drinks and yogurt drinks for the health-conscious. Guests are welcome to purchase small snacks, not for themselves, but for the cats. Small toys and strings can also be rented.
The coffee is excellent. All drinks come with covers so that the cats can’t get into them. On the side is a sweet cookie and a chocolate for the human is a welcome reward.
The playroom is surrounded by cozy sitting areas where people can sit and wait for a cat to choose them. Guests check their emails and messages. Others scroll through their Facebook newsfeed, waiting.
A food purchase pretty much guarantees that you’ll be a popular guest. We ultimately wrapped ourselves in fleece and were chosen by a little gray cat for a nap.
The cats are cute. When they want to be, they’re cuddly. If cats have collars it means that it’s basically their day off and they won’t be very accommodating. It’s easy to pass 30 minutes without noticing the time. The sweetness and simplicity are endearing, the coffee fresh and good.
The guests are a mix of people who love cats but aren’t able to keep one at home and lonely people wanting simple companionship. The atmosphere is all cats, all the time. There are cat pillows, cat artwork and cat-themed knickknacks lining the walls. The cats are extremely clean. It seems logical that they have a separate area for “private” acts. The café opens at 11 a.m. and closes sometime between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., depending on the day of the week and basically if the cats become tired, the place closes down.
Published on May 07, 2015
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