Neko no Heya

Nakatsu, Oita · 9 mi / 14 km

Cat Cafe C.F.D is a rescue cat cafe in the Shinhakatamachi shopping street in central Nakatsu, about 10 minutes on foot from JR Nakatsu Station. Opened in January 2018 by a former airport fire chief, it is home to a large group of locally rescued cats in a playful interior themed on a fire station and police station, and many of the cats are happy to sit on laps. Visits are charged in 15-minute steps, with 30- and 60-minute options, a free-time plan, discounts for children and students, and sets that include a drink. Socks are required in the cat room and are sold on site, along with treats and toys. Booking by phone or LINE is recommended, and same-day bookings are accepted. Cafe C.P.S on the ground floor serves lunch without a cat room charge. The cafe is closed on Mondays.

Usa, Oita · 14 mi / 23 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.

Yufu, Oita · 19 mi / 30 km

Gallery Alice's Tearoom Cheshire Cat Forest is a cat cafe themed on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, on the ground floor of Yufuin Floral Village, the European-style shopping village near the Yunotsubo street in Yufuin. Every cat here is a Bengal, chosen for their leopard-like spotted coats, and each is named after an Alice character. Entry is a flat fee per person with a lower rate for children aged 6 to 12, who must come with an adult; children under 6 are not admitted. A visit is about 30 minutes and includes one drink from the self-service machine. Tickets are sold at the door for the same day only, and outside food and drink are not allowed. It is run by the same company as the Owl Forest and Mameshiba Cafe in the same village, and closes half an hour earlier from December to February.

• Walk-ins welcome

Yufu, Oita · 20 mi / 32 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 · 21 mi / 34 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

Beppu, Oita · 21 mi / 35 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.