Cat Cafes in Japan

Ikoma, Nara

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌⁠Cafe &neco is a weekend-only cat cafe at the top of a hill in Kobiraocho, southern Ikoma, about five minutes on foot from Haginodai Station on the Kintetsu Ikoma Line. It has two parts: a cafe space where visitors can have coffee, lunch or sweets while watching the cats through a glass wall, and a separate cat room, charged on its own, where around ten adult cats, mostly mixed breeds, come up to play and be stroked. The tableware, cutlery and decor all follow a cat theme, and cat goods are sold. The cafe is open on Saturdays and Sundays from early afternoon, with last orders half an hour before closing, and monthly opening days are posted on Instagram. There are five parking spaces, so groups are asked to arrive in one car.

Ritto, Shiga

ANELLA ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​⁠CAFE Kusatsu Ritto is a rescue dog and cat cafe on the ground floor of a building in Ogaki, Ritto, about 11 minutes on foot from JR Kusatsu Station, with parking on site. Opened in September 2026 as the chain's first branch in Shiga, it lets visitors spend time with rescued dogs and cats that are waiting for new families, and adoptions are arranged through ANELLA's own process, with adoption events also held at the cafe. Visits are charged per 30 minutes with extensions in 15-minute steps, elementary school children pay a reduced rate, and preschoolers enter free. The cafe is also a welfare workplace where staff with disabilities help care for the animals, and grooming is offered on site. It is open every day, from noon on weekdays and from 11 AM on weekends and holidays.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome

Hashimoto, Wakayama

ANELLA ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​⁠CAFE Wakayama Hashimoto Ekimae is a rescue dog and cat cafe in Kosada, Hashimoto, a minute on foot from JR Hashimoto Station and about five minutes from the Nankai Koya Line platforms. Opened in September 2026 as the chain's first branch in Wakayama, it lets visitors spend time with rescued dogs and cats that are waiting for new families, and adoptions are arranged through ANELLA's own process, with adoption events also held at the cafe. Visits are charged per 30 minutes with extensions in 15-minute steps, elementary school children pay a reduced rate, and preschoolers enter free. The cafe is also a welfare workplace where staff with disabilities help care for the animals, and grooming is offered on site. It is open every day, from noon on weekdays and from 11 AM on weekends and holidays. There is no parking, so drivers use nearby coin car parks.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome

Wakayama

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌⁠Cafe Catchy is a long-running cat cafe on the third floor of the Wakayama Grand Building in Nobutoki, in the north of Wakayama City, about 11 minutes on foot from Higashi-Matsue Station on the Nankai Kada Line. It is a separated-style cafe: the cat room and the cafe space are divided, so visitors can either go in and spend time with the cats or simply have a drink while watching them. Around 30 cats live here, many of them affectionate and keen on treats, and some will settle on laps. Visitors pay for time in the cat room, cat treats can be bought, and manga are available. The cafe closes on Thursdays and opens until 5 PM.

Nara

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​⁠Cafe Cocone is a Japanese-style cat cafe on the second floor of a building in Konishicho, central Nara, about four minutes on foot from Kintetsu Nara Station and close to the Higashimuki and Konishi shopping streets. The interior has a tatami room with low bamboo partitions, sofas and a shelf of manga, and more than 20 cats live here, many of them mature cats born between 2012 and 2018, along with a hairless sphynx. Visits are charged per 30 minutes, and a one-hour stay includes one drink, with higher rates on weekends and holidays. Cats may be stroked but not picked up, and visitors are asked not to chase them or use a flash. Children must be at least 8 years old. The cafe is open every day, with last entry an hour before closing, and payment is by cash or QR code apps, not credit card.

Higashiomi, Shiga

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌⁠Cafe Coorikuya Higashiomi is a branch of the Coorikuya cat cafe chain attached to the Coo&RIKU pet shop on National Route 8 in the Gokasho area of Higashiomi, about 10 minutes by car from JR Notogawa Station. Rather than a separate cafe, it is a cat room inside the shop where visitors pay by time to play with a group of friendly, mostly pedigree cats, entering through a double door. The room is kept fairly clean, and drinks are available inside. Because the cafe shares premises with a pet shop, kittens and other animals are sold in the store next door. The cafe is open every day, from 11 AM on weekdays and from 10 AM on weekends and holidays, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.

Yamatotakada, Nara

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌⁠Cafe SHANA is a small, homely cat cafe on the ground floor of a building in Kitahonmachi, Yamatotakada, about a minute on foot from Kintetsu Yamato-Takada Station. The room feels like a living room, with floor chairs and a kotatsu in winter, and seats around four groups at a time, so it suits visitors who prefer a quiet visit. Its calm, people-loving cats, some of them rescues, are known for settling on laps soon after guests sit down. Visits are charged by the hour with one drink included, and light meals such as sandwiches are available. Booking is possible, but walk-ins are welcome when there is space, and weekdays are usually quieter. The cafe is open until 8 PM, which makes it an option after work, and closes on Tuesdays.

Ikoma, Nara

DearCat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​‌​​‌⁠is a rescue cat cafe in a residential building in Nishimatsugaoka, Ikoma, a short walk from Kintetsu Ikoma Station. The cafe is spread over three clean, spacious rooms where a changing group of rescued cats, from shy adults to playful youngsters and occasionally newborn kittens, waits for adoptive families, and a few friendly resident cats are happy to sit on laps. Visits are charged per hour with a drink included, first-time visitors pay a slightly higher rate, and treats can be bought for the cats. DearCat also runs a boarding service for cats, birds and small animals. Wheelchairs and strollers are welcome once their wheels have been disinfected at the entrance, and parking is available on weekends and holidays. The cafe opens on Tuesday, Wednesday and weekend afternoons, also opening on public holidays, and posts temporary closures on Instagram.

• Adoptable cats

Wakayama

Happy ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌⁠Wonderful is a rescue cat cafe run by the NPO Wandouble Nidome no Inochi in the FN Building in Komeyamachi, central Wakayama, close to the Burakuri-cho shopping streets. It continues Happy Cat, a rescue cafe that opened in Burakuri-cho in 2016 and moved here as Happy Wonderful in 2023. Around 40 cats, abandoned or given up by owners and breeders, live in the cafe while they wait for adoptive families, and many are relaxed and friendly. Admission is charged per hour, with automatic 20-minute extensions and a free-time rate for two hours or more, and children of elementary school age pay half. Adoption events are held on the second and fourth Sundays, and the NPO also runs a pet hotel and care home for elderly dogs and cats. The cafe is open every day.

• Adoptable cats

Kashihara, Nara

Hogoneko ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​⁠Cafe Meenya is a rescue cat cafe in Nakazoshicho, in the Masuga area in the west of Kashihara. Its stylish, clean room is shared by a few resident cats and rescued cats looking for adoptive homes, and almost all of them are used to people, with several happy to roll over for a stroke or climb onto a lap. Cats may not be picked up. Visits are charged by time with a drink, multi-visit tickets are sold, and part of the takings supports the cafe's rescue work. Bookings get priority and are taken only by phone during opening hours. Visitors must be of elementary school age or older, children up to junior high school need a guardian, and socks are required. The cafe closes on Wednesdays and Fridays, and temporary closures or shorter hours are announced on Facebook and Instagram.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Wakayama

Kimamana ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌⁠Miiko is a cat cafe in a Japanese-style house in Minato, in the west of Wakayama City on the road towards the Nippon Steel works, with parking next to the building. The cats can move freely between the rooms and the garden, so they tend to be relaxed, and the cafe also keeps rabbits and hedgehogs that visitors can meet. Unusually, guests may bring their own cat. A 30-minute course comes without a drink and the 60-minute course includes a drink or a cat treat. The owner's family runs a long-established wagashi shop, so the menu includes cat-stamped Japanese sweets and freshly grilled mitarashi dango. Some cats are looking for adoptive homes, with a one- to two-week trial before adoption. The business also offers cat grooming and boarding for cats, rabbits and hedgehogs. It closes on Tuesdays and the first Wednesday of the month.

• Adoptable cats

Hikone, Shiga

Lily ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌⁠Blanc Cat Space is a cat cafe and cattery in Banba, Hikone, in a building reached by stairs beside a small car park with three spaces, near the Cainz home centre. Because it also sells cats, the room usually has many kittens and young pedigree cats, such as Munchkins, Minuets, British Shorthairs, Siberians, Bengals and Abyssinians, so the line-up changes often. Visitors pay an entry fee per 30 minutes, higher on weekends and holidays, plus one drink, with extensions charged in 10-minute steps and treats sold for the cats. Cats may be held, and in warmer months there is a terrace where visitors can sit with the cats outdoors. Staff advise anyone interested in buying a kitten or adult cat. Last entry is 90 minutes before closing, and closing days vary each month, with a calendar posted on Instagram and the website.