Visiting a Japanese Cat Cafe and Hello Kitty's Kawaii Paradise (Reader Submitted)

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Catsparella reader Kathy, who has also shared her daughter's fabulous cat-themed birthday party with us, along with her trip to Cornwall's Cat Rock, just sent me an email about a recent visit to Japan, where she and her family were fortunate enough to visit a Cat Cafe in Kyoto, along with Hello Kitty's Kawaii Paradise in Odaiba.

She writes:

We were lucky enough to visit Japan two weeks ago for eight days. It is a fascinating place and we enjoyed ourselves very much.









One of the places we stumbled onto in the arcades of Kyoto was a Cat Cafe. I had to think of you right away (Editor's note: Aww, thank you!). The thing with the Cat Cafe is that it is a cafe where you can stroke cats (yes, real live cats!). My husband & our daughter went in for half an hour and they were given something to drink and were able to frolic with sixteen cats.

It was a totally surreal place and I am not really sure how I feel about places like this. We also saw one in Tokyo. The cats were of all different types, colours & sizes and they all looked healthy, cared for & not freaked-out at all. There were many toys present and lots of different platforms for them to sit on, jump up to & walk on.





Needless to say, our girl got a brilliant cat-fix.

Japan is a cat-lover's paradise. Virtually every shop has a Maneki Neko (the knocking cat who is supposed to beckon customers into the shops). There are many cat-related charms for your phone or handbag and of course there is Hello Kitty. We didn't go to Puroland (Editor's note: You can read about my trip to Sanrio Puroland here) but we did see 'Hello Kitty's Kawaii Paradise' in Venus Fort shopping centre.



It was total cuteness overload. My eyes took some time to adjust after being in all that PINK. We also went to the Ghibli Museum where there was a life-size Cat Bus (from the Totoro film). Unfortunately we were not able to take any photos inside the museum, but if you are not familiar with the film, here is a link to the Cat Bus (I really suggest you have a look at the film, "My Neighbour Totoro", it is beautiful).

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Wow! Special thanks to Kathy for sharing her kitty-related travels with us! It looks like a wonderful time was had by all, and I'm excited to see that her daughter is well on her way to becoming a full-fledged cat correspondent!

If you'd like to learn more about cat cafes, check out this post of images from a Hong Kong cat cafe, last month.

Have you visited any cat-friendly tourist destinations? Drop me a line at catsparella@gmail.com if you'd like to share your story!