Cat Cafes in Japan

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi

Nekonowa ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌⁠is a rescue cat cafe in Yamanota Higashimachi, Shimonoseki, near JR Hatabu Station. Opened in August 2025, it is combined with a Type B continuous employment support office, so people with disabilities help care for the cats and make the handmade cat goods sold in the shop, and admission fees go towards their wages. The cafe has a calm, old-house style interior where kittens and adult cats rescued with partner groups wait for new homes, and staff explain each cat's personality and how to handle them. Visits are charged by time, with lower rates for elementary and junior high school students, and families and first-time visitors are welcome. Adoptions are arranged on request through the cafe. It is closed on Tuesdays, and is busiest around midday and at weekends. Parking is available in front and nearby.

• Adoptable cats

Yamaguchi

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​​​​​​⁠Cafe GATO is a small cat cafe in Miyanokami, in the Miyano area of eastern Yamaguchi City, opened about ten years ago. Its resident cats are mostly pedigree breeds, including Minuets, Exotic Shorthairs, a LaPerm, a Scottish Fold, a Ragdoll and a Bengal, and they are free to roam, nap or play as they please. Visits are charged per hour with a one-drink order, with lower prices on weekdays and for junior high school students and younger. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and a beef curry are served, and a limited feeding experience is available. Children must be at least five years old, and elementary school children need an adult with them. Socks are required. Since July 2026 the cafe opens only from Saturday to Tuesday, and reservations are taken by phone.

• Booking recommended

Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi

hinacafe ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​⁠is an adoption-focused rescue cat cafe in an old farmhouse surrounded by countryside in Kudatani, in the hills of northern Kudamatsu. Opened in February 2023, it works with a rescue shelter and has around 15 cats, the number changing as cats leave for trial stays with new families. The house is split into a cat room, where free drinks are included, and a dining space where meals can be eaten while watching the cats through a partition, so visitors who prefer not to touch cats can still come. The cats are friendly and varied in personality, and handmade goods are sold. Visits are by reservation. The cafe opens on Tuesdays, Thursdays, weekends and holidays, and the cat room and meals can also be booked on closed days with a day's notice. Parking is below the cafe, with more a short walk away.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking required

Hagi, Yamaguchi

Hogonyan ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌⁠Dolce Room Kawaii is a rescue cat cafe in a renovated house about 100 years old in Hamasaki, Hagi's preserved historic port district near the sea, about four minutes by car from Higashi-Hagi Station. It has two separate rooms: the cat room, where visitors play with friendly rescue cats that often sit on laps and shoulders, and the dolce room, where homemade sweets and drinks made with gentle ingredients are served while watching the cats through glass. Cat room visits are charged per person, with lower rates for children, and cat treats can be bought. There is no age limit, so families with babies are welcome, and the building is wheelchair accessible. The cats are up for adoption, and the cafe also runs a pet hotel for cats and dogs. Evening visits can be booked in advance. It is closed on Thursdays, and has its own car park.

• Adoptable cats

Yanai, Yamaguchi

Meru ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​⁠to Iu Na no Neko ("A Cat Named Meru") is a rescue cat cafe in Kogaisaku, Yanai, run single-handedly by its owner since 2024. Many cats live here, most of them former strays, and all of them are looking for new homes. The clean, stylish space is divided into three sections. Some cats are friendly and climb onto laps, while others are shy or carry scars from life outside, and regular visitors tend to get closer to them over time. Visits are charged per 30 minutes with one drink included, and toys are lent to play with the cats. The cafe does not sell cat treats, so the cats come to visitors for attention rather than food. Socks are required. It opens in the afternoon and is closed on Fridays.

• Adoptable cats

Sanyo Onoda, Yamaguchi

Neko ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌⁠to Ocha is a small rescue cat cafe in a residential area of Asa, Sanyo-Onoda, opened in August 2026 by a local cat lover in her grandparents' house, a building more than 60 years old. It is split by a glass wall into a cafe room with six counter seats, where drinks such as coffee, rooibos tea and regional fruit sodas are served, and a cat room where about eight rescued cats, many of them young and playful, live together. The cat room is charged by time with one drink included, with extensions in 20-minute steps, and holds six to eight people at once. Visitors must be at least ten years old, and elementary school children need a guardian. Cafe sales pay for the cats' food and medical care. The cafe opens only on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, with last entry an hour before closing.

Mine, Yamaguchi

Neko-mura ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌⁠(Cat Village) is a cat area in the animal contact square of Akiyoshidai Safari Land, the safari park in Mitocho, Mine, opened in March 2026. Sixteen cats, eleven Japanese cats and five Western breeds, live in a house with a fenced garden, and visitors step into their space rather than the other way round. Indoors there are cat walks, cat towers and air conditioning, and the netted garden has a tree to climb, a small island and a patch of cat grass, with the cats free to go in and out. Cats cannot be picked up, but they can be stroked when they come over. Entry to the village is free with park admission, though a fee, a 15-minute limit or entry caps may apply at busy times. The village is open daily with a lunch break, and can be watched through the netting until 4 PM.

Tsuwano, Shimane

Kissa ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌⁠Dambowl is a coffee shop and cat cafe in the Machida area of Tsuwano, the old castle town in western Shimane, about 1.7 km from JR Tsuwano Station. It opened on the first day of the Reiwa era in May 2019 in a spacious old building with a wood stove and a carefully chosen music system. The cat room is separate from the cafe space, so visitors can come just for coffee, crepes or drinks, or pay to spend unlimited time with the cats, which are rescued cats living as the owner's family, with around 14 at a time. Treats can be bought for the cats. Socks must be worn in the cat room and are sold at the counter. The cafe serves specialty coffee in deep and light roasts, and Kitchen Dambowl upstairs serves lunches made with local naturally grown vegetables. It is closed on Tuesdays.

Yonago, Tottori

NEKO ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​⁠CAFE Kuro is a rescue cat cafe in the Kaike Onsen hot spring area of Yonago, about 2 minutes on foot from the Kaike Onsen Kanko Center bus stop. The cat room is separate from the cafe space, so the cafe can also be used on its own, and cat-themed goods are sold there. Up to about 15 rescued cats of varied breeds and temperaments live in the cat room, and the cafe looks for adoptive homes for them. Visits are paid in advance, with a 60-minute course that includes one drink, a cheaper 20-minute trial course and extensions in 15-minute steps; children and weekdays have lower rates. A limited number of treats can be bought each day. Socks must be worn in the cat room. Reservations are not taken, and there are two parking spaces near the shop. The cafe is closed on Thursdays.

• Adoptable cats

Yonago, Tottori

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌⁠Cafe Odd Eye is a cat cafe in the Kawasaki district of northern Yonago, about 13 minutes on foot from Kawasakiguchi Station. More than 20 pedigree cats live there, including Munchkins, British Shorthairs, Minuets and long-haired breeds, and every cat gets a yearly health check and shampoo, with claws trimmed twice a month. Visits are charged per hour with an unlimited drink bar, with a lower rate for children aged 4 to high school age, and there is also a free-time option with no time limit. Treats come from a capsule machine and are given with a spoon. No reservation is needed. The cafe also runs a cat hotel, with stays outside opening hours possible by arrangement, and visitors can ask about buying or taking home one of the cats. The same owners run Chiisana Neko Cafe in Yodoe. It is closed on Wednesdays.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome

Yonago, Tottori

Chiisana ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌⁠Neko Cafe is a small breeder-run cat cafe in Sada, in the Yodoe area of eastern Yonago, where the cats on duty are kittens under one year old. The room is booked by a single group at a time, so visitors have the kittens to themselves. Breeds have included Minuets, Munchkins, British and Persian cats and Scottish Folds, and the manager is an odd-eyed Minuet. The business is registered as a cat breeder, and the kittens are sold to new homes. Visits are charged by the hour with a drink included, with a higher rate at weekends and on holidays. Bookings are taken by phone only, and the cafe is closed on Wednesdays. It also offers cat boarding and is run by the same owners as Cat Cafe Odd Eye in Kawasaki.

• Booking required

Tottori

WaldBaden ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌⁠is a rescue cat cafe in Tomiyasu, Tottori, about 8 minutes on foot from JR Tottori Station and 3 minutes from the Tomiyasu bus stop, in a former convenience store building next to an au shop. It is also a type B employment support workplace, where people with disabilities look after the cats and clean the rooms. The rescued cats roam freely in a large room with sofas and mats and can retreat to a back room to rest. The cats are available for adoption, with a two-week trial period before a cat joins its new family. Visits are charged per hour with a free drink bar, with lower rates for students and children, and treats can be bought. Children under 4 are not admitted. Booking is recommended for weekends, holidays and groups of four or more. Last entry is at 6 PM, and closing days are irregular.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended