Gallery Alice's Tearoom Cheshire Cat Forest

Yufu, Oita · 1.5 mi / 2.5 km

Waraneko no Yado is a small hot spring inn on the hillside of Kawaminami in Yufuin, about 10 minutes by taxi from Yufuin Station, with its own cat cafe, Waraneko Cafe. The cafe is home to a group of about seven resident cats, and staff explain each cat's likes and dislikes before guests go in. Overnight guests can use the cat cafe for a flat fee in the evening after check-in and again in the early morning, and the inn's private open-air and indoor baths can be reserved for exclusive use. Visitors who are not staying can book a one-hour daytime cat cafe session, currently held on Sundays only and requiring a reservation by the previous day. Children under junior high school age are not admitted, and payment is cash only. The inn itself is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the cats stay inside the cat cafe room.

• Booking required

Yufu, Oita · 4.6 mi / 7.4 km

Yufuin Hogoneko Forest, known as Neko-Fore, is a rescue cat complex in a large oak wood inside Aso-Kuju National Park in Kawanishi, Yufuin, about 10 minutes by car from the Yufuin interchange. Opened in June 2024, it combines the rescue cat cafe Catete, cottages where guests can stay overnight with a rescue cat, a restaurant, a cat goods and jewellery shop and a camping and barbecue area. In the cafe, visitors spend time with rescued cats who are all looking for new homes, and adoption can be arranged on site. Visits are priced by length, from 30 minutes to four hours, each with a drink, and a free-time plan includes lunch. Young children need an accompanying adult. Car navigation does not show the forest road, so the facility advises searching for "Yuyu Life no Mori". The cafe opens Friday to Sunday and on public holidays.

• Adoptable cats

Usa, Oita · 6 mi / 10 km

The Cat Salon is a cat room in the petting zone of African Safari, the drive-through safari park in Ajimu, Usa, in the hills between Beppu and Usa. It houses a large collection of pedigree and unusual cat breeds, with a petting room and a grooming room built for the cats, and each cat has its own bed. Visitors can stroke the cats marked as happy to be touched, but cats cannot be picked up or fed, and notices explain which cats prefer to be left alone. The salon charges a small separate fee, and park admission is required, since the shops and salons cannot be visited on their own. Visits last about 20 minutes, and entry can close early on busy days. Children under 4 need an accompanying adult. The park is open every day, and the cafe Catnip is next door.

Beppu, Oita · 8 mi / 13 km

Aratama Ryokan is a small hot spring inn in the old Hamawaki onsen district of Beppu, about five minutes on foot from JR Higashi-Beppu Station. Founded in 1923, it is now home to around 80 rescued cats taken in by the owners, many of them with health conditions that mean they cannot be rehomed. The cats live in their own rooms, and guests meet them during set cat sessions in a dedicated cat room, changing into clothes provided for the room and following strict hygiene rules. Overnight guests get cat time as part of their stay, and day visitors can book an early-afternoon cat session together with a private bath in the inn's own spring. One of the cat rooms is streamed live on YouTube around the clock. Booking by phone or online is advised. The inn puts the cats' welfare first and keeps firm house rules.

Oita · 15 mi / 25 km

Hogo Neko Curry-ya 299 (read "nikukyu", paw pad) is a soup curry restaurant and adoption-style rescue cat cafe in Oshino, Oita City, about five minutes on foot from JR Shikido Station. Opened in April 2024, it serves soup curry with cat-shaped rice, desserts and drinks on the ground floor, alongside a corner of cat goods, and some of the cats often wander through. Upstairs is the cat room, where rescued cats waiting for adoption live and visitors can stroke and hold them; many are very used to people. The cat room is charged in short timed blocks, with extra time for diners. The shop also hosts adoption events. It is open Thursday to Sunday and on public holidays, and payment is cash only. Parking in front is very tight, so staff can point visitors to nearby spaces.

• Adoptable cats

Oita · 19 mi / 30 km

ANELLA CAFE Oita is a rescue dog and cat cafe in Kei, in the south-east of Oita City, a minute's walk from the Kei bus stop and about 14 minutes by car from Nakahanda Station. Opened in November 2025 as the first Oita branch of the ANELLA chain, it houses rescued dogs and cats waiting for new families, with separate areas for the dogs and the cats. Anyone can visit, whether or not they are thinking of adopting, and no booking is needed. Visits are charged per 30 minutes with 15-minute extensions, with lower rates for elementary school children, seniors and visitors with disabilities, and preschoolers enter free. Adoptions are arranged through ANELLA's own process. The cafe is open every day, has free parking for ten cars, offers dog grooming, and also runs as a welfare workplace for staff with disabilities.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome