JAPAN: Cuddly bunny cafes are the latest Japanese craze in animal petting coffee shops

Record ID: 465407

  • Title: JAPAN: Cuddly bunny cafes are the latest Japanese craze in animal petting coffee shops
  • Date: 31st August 2009
  • Summary: GIRL CHASING A RABBIT TO TOUCH IT IN THE BREEDING ROOM FEMALE CUSTOMER LOOKING AT RABBITS IN THE CAGES GIRL PETTING A RABBIT GIRL PETTING A RABBIT ON THE FLOOR
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA4OFZI0DZHX2WUR3LPXSGG7Q0I
  • Story Text: The "Usagi-to-Cafe" (pronounced Oo-sah-gee-toh-Kah-fay) or "The Rabbit and Cafe" in the central Japanese city of Nagoya is a coffee shop like no other.
    "I'm going to eat the ear first," said Haruna Miyata, a 21 year-old college student as she dug in to a curry rice dish molded to resemble a cartoon bunny and before turning her attention to the resident rabbits.
    Amongst rabbit shaped pottery, dolls and bunny shaped rice dishes, a list of photographs of pet rabbits show patrons who's on duty today.
    This is a 'bunny rabbit cafe', the latest in the Japanese craze for coffee shops that cater to people looking to play around with pet animals and certainly not eat the rabbits.
    In a country where many rented apartments ban the ownership of pets, pet cafes like this one-- though others are mostly cat-themed -- have popped up all over the country.
    The "Usagi-to-Cafe" is possibly one of the first to specialise in rabbits.
    Though unlike the more hygienic cats who mingle among the dinning patrons, rabbits here are set apart in a separate room from those eating and drinking.
    But even at noon on a work day Thursday (August 27), there was a steady trickle of visitors willing to pay the 900 (9 US dollars) table charge and 100 yen (1 US dollar) per minute rate to cuddle one of the 18 staff bunnies at the shop. On weekends, the owners say, the place is packed.
    "They are different from stuffed animals, as well as from dogs or cats. They feel as fluffy as cotton and I feel so relaxed when I am cuddling them," said Hiromi Ono, a 25-year-old businesswoman and a first-time visitor to the cafe.
    And at the "Usagi-to-Cafe" you can also BYOB, or bring your own bunny.
    Regulars say it helps their rabbits socialise with their own kind.
    Twenty-three year-old housewife Tomomi Egashira said she brought her rabbit Mi Mi to the coffee shop because she was worried about it becoming too shy and anti-social.
    "I brought my bunny here today hoping that she would get along with other bunnies," said Egashira.
    Naoki Kurata, the owner of the cafe and a avid rabbit aficionado himself, says over-pampered bunnies tend to reject their owners after a while if not properly taught to socialise. His knowledge of rabbit habits has helped him turn his passion into a business about a year ago.
    "Home-raised rabbits often reject being cuddled because they are over-pampered. But bunnies here are taught to be amenable that you can pet and cuddle them as much as you want, and many customers like it," said Kurata.
    While basing business on fickle pets may seem like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, Kurata says business has been brisk over the year thanks to the many turning to cuddly rabbits to soothe the stress of their daily lives.
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