Cat Cafes in Ami, Ibaraki

Ami, Ibaraki

Curry & Sweets Cafe Nekodango is a gluten-free curry and sweets cafe with a rescue cat room in a residential area of Ami, about five minutes by car from the Ushiku-Ami interchange of the Ken-O Expressway and ten minutes from Ami Premium Outlets and the Ushiku Daibutsu. Spice curries are made without wheat flour and the tarts and baked goods use rice flour. A separate cat room, fully divided from the dining area by walls and a door, is home to rescued cats waiting for new families, and diners can use it free of charge after their meal; socks are required. The staff give advice on adopting, and an adoption event is held on the second Sunday of each month. Reservations are taken only for the 11 AM opening, with later guests seated in order of arrival. The cafe is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and has five parking spaces.

• Adoptable cats

Ami, Ibaraki

Neko Cafe Nekodamari is a small, handmade cat cafe in Nakago, Ami, that opened on February 22, 2011, Japan's cat day, and calls itself a cat cafe for grown-ups. About ten cats live there, many of them large, calm and happy to be stroked, though picking them up is not allowed. Visits are by reservation, with at most four guests in the room at a time, and only visitors of junior high school age and older are admitted. Visits are charged per hour, with extensions in 10-minute blocks; drinks are not currently served, and toys are not provided, although new toys may be brought. The owner knows each cat's personality well and is happy to introduce them. The cafe is open in the afternoon from Wednesday to Sunday and on public holidays, with last entry before 5 PM, and closures are announced on X. There is free parking.

• Booking required