Cat Cafes in Japan

Anjo, Aichi

Shiawase ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌⁠no Kagishippo is a volunteer-run rescue cat shelter in Akamatsucho, Anjo, set inside a car care shop. It is an adoption space where anyone can drop in to play with cats looking for homes, from friendly adults to shy cats still learning to trust people, and every cat is available for adoption subject to the shelter's conditions. The shelter takes in more than a hundred cats a year. Entry works on a donation basis with a suggested minimum for adults and a smaller amount for children, and there is no time limit. The cat room is compact, holding around ten cats and ten visitors at a time, so it feels more like visiting a friend's home than a commercial cafe. Young children are welcome with a guardian. Handmade cat goods are sold to fund the shelter. It is closed on Wednesdays.

• Adoptable cats

Okazaki, Aichi

Aelu ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌⁠is an adoption-style rescue cat cafe in Higashiodomocho, Okazaki, about a kilometre from Yahagibashi Station on the Meitetsu Nagoya Line. The cats are rescued strays and kittens looking for permanent homes, and trial adoptions are possible. Visitors can hold and photograph the cats, and staff give beginners and young children a careful introduction. Visits are charged for the first 30 minutes and then in 15-minute extensions, with half price for children accompanied by a guardian and free entry for toddlers. One drink is included on weekdays. Light meals such as hot sandwiches and desserts are served, some with cat treats included. Visitors must wear socks. The cafe opens on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month; booking is recommended at weekends. It also offers cat boarding and a rentable room, and there is free parking.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Toyota, Aichi

NEKOTAMA-minimum ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌⁠is a small adoption-style rescue cat cafe in a residential part of Shigacho, Toyota, about 13 minutes by car from Toyotashi Station. It continues the work of NEKO-TAMA, which opened in 2016 as Toyota's first adoption cat cafe and moved to this house in 2022. The cats are former strays rescued in Aichi, of varied ages and characters, and they live on the upper floor with cat towers and catwalks while waiting for new families. A black Labrador named Lulu greets visitors at the door. Visits are charged per hour with one drink included, at a slightly higher rate on weekends and holidays, with extensions in 30-minute units. Booking by phone, email or the official LINE account is required before visiting. Last entry is 6 PM, and the cafe is closed on Tuesdays.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking required

Toyota, Aichi

Toyoneko ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​⁠is a cat rescue and TNR support group in Nishidacho, southern Toyota, near the Kamigo Smart Interchange. The second floor of its building is a rescue cat room where visitors can spend time with cats as in a cat cafe; the cats, around 25 at a time, come from multi-cat hoarding cases and the animal protection centre, and all of them are up for adoption. The cats are well socialised, and staff show first-time visitors how to approach them. Visits are charged per hour with 30-minute extensions, and a free-time ticket is available on weekdays; cat toys and treats are sold as options. Booking is not required, though booking the day before is recommended for weekends and holidays. The group also sells handmade cat goods and gives free advice on cat care. Last entry is 6 PM, and it is closed on Fridays. Parking is behind the building.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Toyota, Aichi

Cats ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​⁠Smile is a small rescue-cat support shop in Kotobukicho, Toyota, run from the owner's home. The ground floor sells handmade work, cat goods and chocolate, and upstairs is a cat room where visitors can play with the shop's resident cats, which are well used to people. The room can also be booked for private use by a single visitor or group. Spending time in the cat room and shopping both fund the owner's TNR work and help find homes for cats fostered by volunteers, though the shop does not take in cats itself. A booking is required for the cat room, and visits may be cancelled when the cats are unwell or rescue work takes priority. Opening days are irregular and posted monthly on Instagram. There is parking for two or three cars, so visitors are asked to share cars.

Mihama, Aichi

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌⁠Cafe Nago Nago is one of the oldest cat cafes in the Tokai region, first opened in Nagoya in September 2006 and run for about ten years in an old house in Nagakute before moving in October 2026 to Noma in Mihama, on the western coast of the Chita Peninsula. The resident cats moved with the cafe, and many of them are long-time residents around ten years old that are friendly with visitors. Over the years the cafe has also found homes for around a hundred kittens through its adoption appeals. In past locations the cat room was kept separate from a cafe space where drinks could be ordered without entering, and the cafe streams a live camera of the cat room on YouTube. During the October 2026 pre-opening it opens on irregular days, mostly weekends, in the afternoon and evening, with the schedule posted on X.

Okazaki, Aichi

Anuenue ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌⁠Cafe is a Hawaiian-style cafe on Koseidori-nishi in central Okazaki, next to the Libra library and civic centre and about five minutes by car from Higashi-Okazaki Station. The ground floor serves Hawaiian dishes such as loco moco, poke bowls and garlic shrimp, as well as acai bowls, pho, smoothies and shakes, ordered from a ticket machine, and there is a space where dogs are allowed. Upstairs is a small room with rescued cats, opened in 2023, where visitors can play with them after making a small donation to the cafe's rescue fund; cat treats are sold on site. The cat room is a small, quiet space rather than a large cat cafe. The cafe opens at lunchtime only, with last orders at 2:30 PM, and is closed on Wednesdays and the second and fourth Thursdays. Parking is available at the Libra car park.

Toyokawa, Aichi

Neko ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌⁠Love Cafe Neko Freak is a rescue cat cafe in Shukucho, Toyokawa, about 18 minutes on foot from Odabuchi Station on the Meitetsu Nagoya Line, with parking for around eight cars. The cafe began in 2020 and moved to its current building in May 2023. Rescued cats live in two separate rooms, one for adult cats and one for younger cats, and visitors may move between them. The cats are looking for new homes, and the cafe also holds a free evening adoption meeting once a month. Visits are charged by time with one drink included, from one hour up to unlimited free time, and the cafe space can be used on its own. Children must be of elementary school age or older to enter the cat rooms. Payment is cash or Inarin Pay only. It opens Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome

Gamagori, Aichi

Nekoyado ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​⁠Hanahana is a cat room at Nishiura Onsen in Gamagori, run by the women-only ryokan Hime-yado Hanakazashi and housed in the neighbouring building, about three minutes on foot from the Nishiura Onsen-mae bus stop. It opened in 2019 after the ryokan's proprietress took in a family of stray cats found around the inn, and around a dozen rescued cats, mostly related tabbies, now live in a converted lounge of about 200 square metres with sofas and handmade climbing furniture. The cats are permanent residents rather than adoption candidates, and most are very friendly. Visitors check in with hotel staff and then spend time with the cats unattended, paying per hour with one drink from a vending machine included. Guests of Hanakazashi use the room free of charge. No food is served, and the room occasionally closes on irregular days, so calling ahead is advisable.

Hashima, Gifu

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​‌​⁠Cafe Gorounya is a small cat cafe in Takehana, central Hashima, close to Meitetsu Takehana Station. Opened in October 2016 as the first cat cafe in Hashima, it is run by a married couple and has around 10 resident cats, including Munchkins, Scottish Folds, Russian Blues and rescued mixed-breed cats. The cat room has a warm wooden interior with cat towers, and visitors can buy treats to feed the cats. Children are welcome from elementary school age, preschoolers cannot enter, and socks must be worn. Reservations are accepted but not required, and the last entry is at 5 PM. Food is not currently served. There are two parking spaces in front of the cafe and free spaces in the parking lot by Takehana Station. Card, QR code and e-money payments are accepted.

• Booking recommended

Hashima, Gifu

NyanCampanella ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​‌​​​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌⁠is an antique-style cafe and cat cafe in Ajika, Hashima, in a building with a red roof and yellow walls. Opened on Cat Day, 22 February 2020, it is split into two rooms: a restaurant room serving lunch, homemade cakes and afternoon tea sets, and a separate cat room with about 17 cats. Cat room visitors check in at the restaurant, are charged by time and get a drink served in a lidded tumbler, and treats can be bought for the cats. The cat room takes no reservations and admits visitors in order of arrival until one hour before closing, while lunch tables and the afternoon tea set can be booked. Normal-thickness socks are required in the cat room. Payment is cash only. The resident cats are not up for adoption, though volunteer groups hold adoption events at the cafe. It is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

• Walk-ins welcome

Kakamigahara, Gifu

Koneko ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​⁠Cafe Sanctuary is a rescue cat cafe in Unuma, Kakamigahara, near Meitetsu Unuma-juku Station and next to Coffee Lamp off National Route 21. Opened in July 2015, it takes in kittens and adult cats from public health centres that would otherwise be euthanised, as well as injured and abandoned cats and cats from hoarding cases. Around 100 cats are in its care at any time, with 30 to 50 kittens and adults in the main cafe room. Most are looking for new homes, and around 20 cats are adopted each month. Visitors who cannot adopt are welcome to come and play, which helps fund medical and care costs. Drink refills are available, and socks are requested. The cafe is open weekday afternoons and longer hours on weekends and holidays, and is closed on Fridays. It also runs a welfare workplace for people with disabilities.

• Adoptable cats