I headed to Shinjuku for my first cat cafe experience at Cat Cafe MOCHA, which a friend of my wanted to show me around.
It’s important for me to first say, I’m a dog person, I’ve only owned small dogs, pugs and as for cats, my experience with cats in Japan, have not all been the greatest. My first time in Japan, my friends cat scratched my arm and the cute cats that another person had, as I attempted to pet it, it gave me the look of “death”.
Perhaps myself and cats don’t do well together. Or perhaps my approach is wrong.
I learned from cat lovers that I try to approach cats like my dogs, and I must be nicer and gentle.
Got it! I’m ready to visit a cat cafe and what best than Cat Cafe MOCHA near Shinjuku Station! It’s the largest cat cafe in Japan.
I know there are Cat Cafe MOCHA’s near where I stay in Ikebukuro and they have a chain of Cat Cafe MOCHA’s throughout Japan but my friend Yumie recommended the place and so it’s all good! Let’s do this!
The first thing is that the front desk employee will tell you how much it costs at Cat Cafe MOCHA. The price is Y550 for 10 minutes and Y200 every other 10 minutes. So, Y950 for the first half hour and about Y1900 for the first hour per person.
The good news is you get free drinks and access to lockers.
First things first, remove your shoes and put slippers on. Walk in the locker room, put your backpack and belongings in the locker! Do not walk with shoes past the front desk area.
Once we got inside, I realized, wow…it’s like a cat cafe, manga cafe and an Internet cafe. Well, not so much of the latter but what I mean by that is in Japan, there are people who use Internet cafe’s as a temporary hotel room to sleep for a few hours I supposed. Granted, at Y1900 for an hour, it’s not exactly saving much money if you need to sleep for many hours. But then again, whatever works for those travelers who need quick sleep.
Oh, I see cat by himself. Maybe I can pet it?
Nope, this cat wants to get the girl’s attention instead.
These cat’s really do love the employees!
Cat Cafe MOCHA sells ice and food which customers can purchase and feed the cats. The cats love it and will be your friend. Yumie asked if I wanted to purchase the cats. But I figured, “nah…my charming personality should be enough”.
The cat food is handcrafted daily and the staff create these under the guidance of veterinarians who make sure the amount provided and temperature is good for the cats.
As for Yumie, the cats loved her. Posed for her. Played with her.
Wait…this bored cat looks like it wants my attention? Can it be…I now have a new cat friend? As I waved the cat toy to get its attention, it played a little but then it gave me a look which is similar to the look that my pug gives me… “Where’s my food!?”.
If anything, I think it’s cool for one to lounge and read manga, play with cats, drink a cool beverage but of course, for the cool atmosphere of Cat Cafe MOCHA, it does come with a price. A price which many people are willing to pay for minutes to hours for.
But I feel part of the popularity of Cat Cafe MOCHA is the love they give their cats and their dedication of their care and making them happy and healthy.
There was concern after July 2018, as the Cat Cafe MOCHA Tachikawa location, some cats were infected with cat parvovirus. The company temporarily closed the store and tests were performed. All Kanto stores were temporarily closed to ensure all cats were checked and for the Tachikawa location, it was disinfected. And since then, the company has become even more strict in giving top priority for safety for both customers and cats, which led to the strict rules of finding a breeder, meeting the cats, virus tests, waiting period before a cat debuts.
So since then, Cat Cafe Mocha deals with only trusted breeders, they make sure the cats are examined by veterinarians, checked for parvovirus, have their vaccinations and when cleared, then these cats can make their debut at the cafe.
The staff also performs a daily health check and if they noticed the cat being tired or physical conditions have changed, they give the cats a day off from the cafe.
They also watch over the cats to see how they react to the environment, with people, Mocha staff also help the cats live as domestic cats.
As for where the cats sleep, they are taken to areas not visible to customers. There is an entrance to a quite room for them to rest that only cats can go in and out freely.
And as the cats age, they will live with a loving owner. The cats graduate from MOCHA and will be given to foster parents to begin life as a domestic cat. As a general rule, the staff of Mocha become the parents. One of the things about being a staff of MOCHA, is that you love cats and you are willing to be a graduating cat’s foster parent that they have built a trust with.
But they also do meet with applicants for customers who want to adopt a cat, interview them about breeding environments and living conditions. If the conditions are fulfilled, the owner will fill out a written oath and the cat will graduate from Mocha.
But it was cool to visit the popular Cat Cafe MOCHA in Shinjuku. These cats are well taken care of, loved and none were distressed by the customers. If anything, a lot of the people who I saw at Cat Cafe MOCHA were cat lovers (or those who probably wanted to crash and sleep there) but for the most part, it was a cool experience!
