Hop, Slither, or Fly to These Tokyo Animal Cafés

Bunnies in Harajuku

Ra.A.G.F.

• Address: Jingūmae 6-14-15 Maison Harajuku 3F, Shibuya, Tokyo
• http://raagf.com/
• Hours: Weekdays, 12:00 pm–7:30 pm; weekends and holidays, 11:00 am–8:00 pm
• Customers can pet and hold different rabbits, and the shop—whose name stands for “rabbit and grow fat,” according to its website—offers advice on caring for bunnies, along with a “rabbit hotel” service for travelers who can’t take their pets along.

Manager Fuwa Maria says the shop has a casual, at-home environment that’s relaxing for customers and rabbits alike.

Andressa, a Brazilian-born rabbit lover from the United States, pets a Jersey wooly.

A mini rex nibbles on a vegetable treat. Ra.A.G.F. keeps seven different breeds of rabbit, including the droopy eared French lop and the Netherland dwarf of Peter Rabbit fame.

Tea with Snakes

Tokyo Snake Center

• Address: Jingūmae 6-5-6 Sampō Sōgō Building 8F, Shibuya, Tokyo
• http://snakecenter.jp/
• Hours: 11:00 am–8:00 pm, closed Tuesdays unless a national holiday
• Whether already snake fans or merely curious about the reptiles, visitors to the Tokyo Snake Center can enjoy the companionship of these sleek, beautiful animals along with a drink or light meal.

Customers can sit back and relax with a cup of coffee or other drink and admire the serpents on display.

Many customers choose to handle one or more of the snakes on staff. The Snake Center also assists patrons interested in purchasing their own pet serpent.

The café keeps an array of nonvenomous snakes from around the world, including the brightly colored corn snake and several species of kingsnake. There is also a rare albino snake on display.

Walking the Dog

Dog Heart from Aquamarine

• Address: Tomigaya 1-45-2 Y’s Park Building 2F, Shibuya, Tokyo
• http://dog-heart.ico.bz/index.html
• Hours: Daily, 11:00 am–7:00 pm
• Dog Heart is located next to sprawling Yoyogi Park and offers a rental service for customers who want to take one of the canine staff for a stroll.

Shop owner Tsuchiya Yukiko (right) started out breeding beagles but gradually moved into the dog café business. The shop’s puppy staff includes beagles, golden retrievers, and toy poodles.

Many customers want to keep a dog but are unable to due to busy work or school schedules, or living arrangements that prevent it. Spending time at the shop allows dog fans to fulfill their longing for canine companionship.

Surrounded by faithful pups, customers invariably burst out in satisfied grins.

Learn from a Falconer

Falconer’s Café

• Address: Shimorenjaku 5-1-8, Mitaka, Tokyo
• http://falconerscafe.web.fc2.com/index.html
• Hours: 12:00 pm–6:00 pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays
• The shop is run by a husband and wife duo who are trained falconers. It attracts other practitioners of the ancient art, along with people curious about birds of prey. The couple sometimes stages raptor events at nearby Inokashira Park.

Sasaki Kaoru, a falconer for close to five decades, started the shop as a way for people to become more familiar with birds of prey.

Kaoru’s wife (right) shows one of the shop’s birds. The Sasakis encourage fellow predatory bird owners to bring in their pet raptors.

During hunting season the Sasakis take their birds on excursions to catch game birds like duck, partridge, and pheasant.

(Originally published in Japanese. Text by Yoshimura Shin’ichi. Photos by Nagasaka Yoshiki. Banner photo: A hawk keeps watch over the Falconer’s Café in Mitaka.)