在日本大阪市心斋桥地区的“美国村”,有一家名为“猫咪时光”的咖啡馆。这家咖啡馆的诱人之处不是口感上佳的咖啡,而是一群不寻常的“服务员”——猫。“猫咪时光”是日本最早以猫为主题的宠物咖啡馆之一,店内共有21只猫,包括一只体型庞大的缅因猫。这些猫咪通常慵懒地躺在墙边的架子上,或者张开四肢趴在桌上。当有客人逗引它们时,它们会过来和客人玩耍。咖啡馆的楼上还有专门的房间供猫咪们休息。据介绍,“猫咪时光”按时间收费,入店每小时收费840日元,如果包含饮品则为1050日元。咖啡馆的主人表示,希望光顾的客人能够在猫咪的陪伴下得到片刻放松。
Nestled among the bars and trendy clothing outlets of the "America mura" section of Osaka's Minami district is a cafe whose primary attraction is not the quality of its coffee but the charms of its somewhat unconventional "staff." The cafe, named "Neko no Jikan," which can be translated as cats' time, is one of the country's original cat cafes and is home to 21 felines, including a Maine Coon, a breed known for its large size. Believed to have originated in Taiwan, cat cafes are establishments where cats are let loose indoors for customers to interact with. Some of the cats at Neko no Jikan come to customers when called, while others sit or lie on the shelves lining the cafe's walls. Others still are stretched out on tables. The shop is run by Yoko Yoshida, 53, who became the trailblazer for cat teahouses when she opened her first shop in Osaka's Kita Ward in 2005, when dog cafes were at the height of popularity in Japan. America mura is in the busy Minami district straddling the city's Chuo and Naniwa wards. The name reportedly spread after a store converted from a warehouse started selling second-hand American records and sundries from the West Coast of the United States in the 1970s. The ambience of the tea shop is quiet except for cats' occasional mews. Managed on a time-limit basis, Neko no Jikan charges 840 yen an hour and 1,050 yen with a drink. At a cat "cafe," the emphasis is not on food and beverages but relaxing in the company of cats. Yoshida said she wants customers to enter the cats' "space" in order to achieve relaxation. Yoshida said not all customers are obvious cat lovers who like to play with the animals or feed them. Many come in business suits and appear like patrons of any other cafe. Shop manager Junichi Sakai, 39, describes the 21 felines in the cafe as his "staff," adding they take a rest in a separate room on the second floor "when they are tired." Yoshida said she plans to move her first cat cafe out of Kita Ward in the fall to utilize the vacated space as a genuine "cat house" with a tatami mattress floor.