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Japan’s first black cat café feels appropriate for the season 【Photos】

Rachel Tackett Oct 17, 2013
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Halloween is just around the bend, and Japan has us up to our eyeballs in ghosts, skeletons, spider webs, and black cats. Especially black cats, much to our delight!

In the city of Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture, our RocketNews24 sister site Pouch has discovered what has to be Japan’s first exclusively black cat café. It’s called Cat Café Nekobayaka -black cat centimeter-, and in the spirit of Halloween, how about dropping in for coffee and a bit of playtime with their jet black beauties?

Cat cafés are a common feature of Japan’s larger cities. Patrons to these well-known establishments are allowed the opportunity to enjoy a nice drink while entertaining the company of the shop’s friendly felines for an hourly fee. Most cafés keep a variety of cats on hand, and frequent visitors will gravitate toward their favorite kitties.

In the first two years since its grand opening, Cat Café Nekobayaka was a cat café like any other, hosting an array of different colors and breeds for patrons to interact with. But after that, they went through a grand renewal and re-opened as a black cat specialty store.

Ever since the appearance of the animal sidekick character, Jiji, in the Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service, Japan has adopted the idea that black cats are magical creatures, but without all the bad luck superstitions mixed in. Cat Café Nekobayaka is a place where one can play non-stop with magical kitties like Hakubei, Kiisuke, and Chashibu. Every cat on their roster is jet-black from head to tail.

Here’s a good look at all the fun-loving felines from Cat Café Nekobayaka -black cat centimeter-:

▼ The cats can be identified by the color of their rather suave collars.

▼ These four are siblings, also pictured above.

▼ Cat’s don’t generally play fetch, huh.

▼ but they do love their boxes.

▼ Check out the new arrival from Meowmazon.com!

▼ Green drinks on the menu: hot macha milk and fresh, cold pear juice.

This black cat paradise is located just a five-minute walk from JR Himeji Station. The admission fee is 1,000 yen (US$10.16) for the first half hour and 500 yen for every half hour beyond that. Soft drinks are served at 500 yen a glass, while alcohol is 600.

Finally, in case you’re wondering what happened to all the multicolored cats that used to reside at Cat Café Nekobayaka, they’ve all been moved to another branch called Cat Café Nekobayaka -88 banchi-, also located within Himeji. Take note, however, that this café can only be entered by people who are already a member at the black cat branch, so be sure to experience black kitties’ magic before all else.

Shop information:
Cat Café Nekobayaka -black cat centimeter-
Address: Hyogo-ken Himeji-shi Ekimae 322 Mifune Bldg. 2F
Phone number: 090-6757-2810
Hours: Wed thru Sat, 12 P.M. to 9 P.M.
Website: http://nekobiyaka.jugem.jp/

Reference and images: Cat Cafe Nekobayaka -black cat centimeter-
[ Read in Japanese ]