“While we are making your coffee, go pick out your favorite bunny!” The staff at the Akihabara bunny rabbit cafe chirped at Ryosuke and I during our first visit to the rabbit cafe. It is difficult to explain why rabbit cafes are such a bit deal to someone who lives outside of Japan. Cat cafes are normal. Dog cafes could be normal. But rabbits? Rabbits are rare. Cat café are hugely popular in Japan, especially Tokyo. If you think about it, it makes sense. Tokyo is cramped and expensive; a lot of the cheaper apartments don’t allow pets. And even if they did allow pets, a lot of people don’t have the time or energy to take care of a pet. The premise of the cat cafe (like I said, these things are everywhere) is to make a haven for cat lovers that are not able to own their own cats (due to physical, financial, time, or work-related constraints). My first reaction when I heard about cat cafes was “I wonder if they have rabbit cafés…” It turns out they do. As people may have realized by now, I love Japan. Not unconditionally, of course, but I find living in Japan [...]
↧