Cat Cafes in Japan

Tokamachi, Niigata

Guest ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​⁠House Yamaneko is a small guest house in an old farmhouse in Funasaka, a tiny village in the heavy-snow hills of Tokamachi, run by a couple working to keep the village alive. It invites guests to spend slow days with its resident cats, five cats including a black cat, a ginger tabby, a tortoiseshell, a white cat and a shy brown tabby, which wander the shared rooms and often climb onto futons at night. It offers simple dormitory accommodation without meals, with separate shared rooms for women and men, and a communal living room where guests, neighbours and hosts often share a potluck dinner. Visits are by overnight stay only and must be booked in advance; the house closes on some days in summer for farm work and village events, and snow covers the area from mid-December for about five months.

Nagano

Wanekohonpo ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌⁠is a rescue cat cafe and small guesthouse in a renovated old house on a hillside in Wakaho-Hoshina, eastern Nagano City, with wide views over the Nagano basin. It is run single-handedly by an owner who moved from Aichi Prefecture. About ten rescued cats live in an enclosed courtyard, a former dry-stone garden, where visitors can go in to stroke and play with them, and the cats are available for adoption. There is no charge for the cats; visitors order from the cafe menu, which offers a Nagoya-style morning set all day along with dishes such as udon napolitan, and the first ten groups each day get a cat treat to give. The cafe opens Friday to Monday, with hours on Fridays and Mondays sometimes changing, and closes for winter from December to March, when the guest rooms stay open.

• Adoptable cats

Nagano

Shinshu ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌⁠Nekobiyori is a rescue cat house run by a non-profit group in a small white building next to the Nagano Central Post Office in Minamiagatamachi, a short walk from JR Nagano Station. Opened in 2017, it has a shop selling handmade cat goods on the ground floor, while the second and third floors are open spaces where visitors spend time with rescued cats and kittens, all of them looking for adoptive homes. There is no fixed fee: visitors make a donation on entry, which pays for food, veterinary care and running costs, and there is no time limit. Adoption follows the group's own screening. The group also carries out trap-neuter-return work with the Doubutsu Kikin foundation and holds events through the year. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and opening days can change around rescue work.

• Adoptable cats

Nagano

Pochi ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌⁠to Tama is a combined cat and dog cafe on the second floor of a building in Yoshida, northern Nagano City, run single-handedly by its owner. Cats and small dogs share the main room, where they wander freely and often climb onto visitors' laps, and there is a separate room for larger dogs. Entry is a flat free-time fee with no time limit, and it includes a drink for each visitor and treats to give the cats and dogs. Food, water and litter are in the same room as visitors, so there can be some animal smell. The business also offers cat and dog boarding and grooming, which open an hour earlier than the cafe. Last entry is at 7 PM, and the cafe is closed on Thursdays.

Suzaka, Nagano

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌⁠Cafe MOFF AEON Mall Suzaka is a cat cafe on the third floor of AEON Mall Suzaka in Fukujima, Suzaka, run by MOFF, a company that operates animal and cat cafes across Japan. Visitors spend time with a variety of cats in the same room while having drinks from the cafe menu, and can try feeding them treats. Entry is charged per 30 minutes with one drink order required, then in 10-minute steps, with a daily maximum that is higher at weekends and on holidays. No booking is needed, children aged three and under enter free, and children of elementary school age or younger must come with a paying adult, up to three children per adult. Visitors with a disability certificate get a discount. Re-entry is not allowed, and the cafe follows the mall's opening days with last entry at 7:30 PM.

• Walk-ins welcome

Nagano

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌⁠Cafe Coorikuya Watahan Gondo is a branch of the Coorikuya cat cafe chain on the ground floor of the Watahan Super Center in Gondo, central Nagano, two minutes on foot from Gondo Station on the Nagano Electric Railway. It adjoins a Coo&RIKU pet shop and has a small room designed to keep visitors close to the resident cats, which are mostly pedigree breeds. Visits are charged per 30 minutes, per hour or as a free-time pass, and the fee includes an all-you-can-drink drink bar; Wi-Fi and power outlets are free, and cat treats can be bought. Children aged under three enter free, and children below junior high school age must come with an adult relative. The pet shop next door sells puppies and kittens. The cafe is open every day, with last entry at 7:30 PM.

Nagano

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌⁠Cafe Coorikuya Nagano is a branch of the Coorikuya cat cafe chain attached to the Coo&RIKU pet shop in Kitaowaribe, in the east of Nagano City, about 27 minutes on foot from Kita-Nagano Station; most visitors come by car. The cafe has an athletic area with climbing structures where the cats play and a sofa area for relaxing with them, and the resident cats are mostly pedigree breeds. Visits are charged per 30 minutes, per hour or as a free-time pass, with an all-you-can-drink drink bar included; Wi-Fi and power outlets are free, and treats can be bought for the cats. Children under three enter free, and children below junior high school age must come with an adult relative. The pet shop sells puppies and kittens. The cafe opens an hour earlier on weekends and holidays, and last entry is at 7:30 PM.

Matsumoto, Nagano

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​⁠Cafe Coorikuya Matsumoto is a branch of the Coorikuya cat cafe chain on the second floor of the Coo&RIKU pet shop in Muraimachi-kita, southern Matsumoto, about 14 minutes on foot from Hirata Station on the JR Shinonoi Line and seven minutes by car from the Shiojiri-kita interchange. Its room is home to a group of resident cats, mostly pedigree breeds, that visitors can play with, stroke and feed with treats bought on site. Visits are charged per 30 minutes, per hour or as a free-time pass, with an all-you-can-drink drink bar included, and Wi-Fi and power outlets are free. Children under three enter free, and children below junior high school age must come with an adult relative. The pet shop downstairs sells puppies and kittens. The cafe opens an hour earlier on weekends and holidays, and last entry is at 7:30 PM.

Miyota, Nagano

Nyaon ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​⁠is an adoption-based rescue cat cafe in Shiono, Miyota, on the Asama Sunline road between Komoro and Karuizawa. Opened in November 2024 in a renovated Showa-era family house, it aims to feel like visiting a friend's home with cats. Around seven rescued cats, many of them former strays taken in by the owner or reported by local residents, live in the cat room, and all are looking for adoptive homes. Visits are charged per 30 minutes with one drink included, paid on leaving, and extensions are charged in 30-minute steps; cat treats cost extra. Ten percent of the cat room fee is donated to animal welfare groups in the Toshin area to pay for neutering stray cats and for shelter running costs. Coffee comes from a Karuizawa roaster. The cafe is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and may close at short notice if a cat is unwell.

• Adoptable cats

Minami Alps, Yamanashi

Nyan ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​⁠Chatte Cafe is a small rescue cat cafe and bar in Shimizu, Minami-Alps, run by a married couple who also carry out cat rescue work. Ten rescued cats live in the cafe, and the aim is to show visitors how lovable rescue cats are and what their situation is. Because the couple can only look after a few guests at once, at most two groups are admitted at the same time; booking is by phone on the day only, from 30 minutes before opening, and walk-ins are taken when there is space. There is no age limit, but children of elementary school age and younger need a guardian. Light meals, drinks, desserts and cat treats are served, and toys and blankets can be borrowed free. A reservation-only bar runs on Friday, weekend and holiday evenings, and cat boarding is also offered. There is parking for three cars.

Kofu, Yamanashi

ANELLA ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​⁠CAFE Kofu is a rescue dog and cat cafe in Sumiyoshi, southern Kofu, about five minutes by car from JR Kofu Station, run by the ANELLA chain of rescue animal cafes. Visitors relax with rescued dogs and cats in a calm cafe space, with drinks included, and the animals can be adopted through ANELLA's own screening process, with regular adoption events. Visits are charged per 30 minutes with 15-minute extensions, with reduced rates for elementary school children, seniors and visitors with disabilities, and preschoolers enter free. The cafe is open every day, opening an hour earlier on weekends and holidays, and has parking for five cars. Card, e-money and QR payments are accepted. The branch also offers grooming and pet boarding, and it is a welfare workplace where staff with disabilities help care for the animals.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome

Showa, Yamanashi

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌⁠Cafe Hako bu neco Kofu Showa is a rescue cat cafe in the Ms. Garage building in Saijo, Showa, on the western edge of Kofu, with a sister branch in Hachioji, Tokyo. Run by Noah Animal Hospital since 2010, it houses only rescued adult cats, all looking for adoptive homes, and every cat has had health checks, virus tests and neutering before joining the cafe. Visits are charged per 30 minutes, as a two-hour pack or as a weekday one-day pass, with higher rates at weekends and on holidays and lower rates for students and children; the first bottled drink is included and further drinks cost extra. Chicken and cream treats can be bought for the cats. Adoption follows the cafe's own process. No booking is needed, and the cafe is open every day, with last entry at 7:30 PM.

• Adoptable cats