Owl Cafes

Most people in Japan are already familiar with the concept of “Cat Cafes”, quirky establishments where customers can sip on a cup of coffee while watching or playing with cats that live on the premises.  In the last couple of years, another type of café, the “Owl Café”, has been quietly increasing in popularity.  These establishments are similar to cat cafes, except that the stars of the show are owls.

In the latter part of last year, I had the opportunity to visit an owl café located in Minoo City, Osaka Prefecture.  The café was on the second floor of a quite ordinary building in a shopping area, and was not particularly conspicuous from the street level.

Looking closer, I saw what at first I thought was an owl doll placed in the window.

Although it didn’t move, it wasn’t a doll.  It was an actual owl.

The café had seating for only twenty customers (we had to wait almost one hour to get in), including six seats facing a glass showcase that housed five owls. Although the showcase was brightly illuminated, the owls did not move.  Some even appeared to be sleeping despite the lights.  The customers sitting in front of the owls took close-up photos with their smart phones and seemed very satisfied to watch the birds despite the lack of movement.

The owls were secured to perching stands by ropes attached to their legs.  I did not see any of the owls move from their perches, and I do not believe that they had any freedom to do so.

There were also four owls stationed on a shelf located along the window near the entrance of the cafe.  Like the owls in the showcase, these owls were also secured with ropes and did not move from their positions.  Under supervision of the café staff, customers were allowed to pet these owls.  Based on information cards placed near the owls, it appeared that the owls were pets that belonged either to the café ownership or to regular customers.  I don’t know whether the owls were hand-raised, but I suspect that they are hand-fed, and I doubt that they have many chances to fly.  (Assuming that they know how to fly.)

Adding to the quirky atmosphere of this establishment, there was a mysterious mannequin in one corner that had a man’s body and an owl’s head.

This café’s culturally-mixed food menu included pasta (Italian), croissant sandwiches (French), yakisoba (Japanese), and crepes (French?).  Drinks included not only coffee and tea, but also wine, beer, and cocktails.  The business hours of this café was 12 noon to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to midnight.  (I wonder if they tone down the lighting after sundown.)

The first cat café is said to have opened in Taiwan in 1998.  The idea apparently caught the fancy of Japanese tourists and moved to Japan around 2005, and most recently spread to England and the United States.  Could owl cafes be the next fad to cross the ocean?

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit in October, 2014.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.)