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How animal cafés in Japan work: prices, time limits and the basic rules
Published 21 October 2026 · Counts as of 21 October 2026 (299 cafés listed in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto; 258 with details copied from their official websites)
Facts from Japanese law and from the official websites of the cafés listed on Fureai Japan. Counts are as of 21 October 2026 and change daily. We do not rate cafés.
What an "animal café" is in Japan
An animal café is a shop where you pay for time in a room with animals. Most are cat cafés (171 of the 299 cafés we list in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto), followed by dog cafés (51), and smaller numbers with owls, hedgehogs, rabbits, mini pigs, capybaras, reptiles and birds. Some serve drinks and food, some only a drink from a machine, and some none at all — the animals are the point, not the café.
Every one of them must be registered with the prefecture or city as a Type 1 Animal Handling Business (exhibition). The registration number is on a sign at the entrance and on each café's page on this site. A registration is not a rating; it means the business holds the licence the law requires. What the law requires →
What kind of animal café (299 cafés listed)
How you pay: time, not food
Almost every café charges by time. The common shapes are:
- A first block plus extensions. For example 30 minutes, then an extra charge per 10 or 15 minutes.
- Hourly, often with a cap. Many cafés set a maximum charge per day, so staying longer stops costing more at some point.
- Packs. 60- or 90-minute packs, sometimes with a drink included.
- Flat entry. A smaller number charge one entry fee with no time limit.
Of the 258 cafés whose official site we have copied, 83 state a plain 30-minute price: the middle value is ¥1,000 (the middle half fall between ¥800 and ¥1,430; the full range is ¥500 to ¥3,200). 102 state a 60-minute price: the middle value is ¥1,600 (middle half ¥1,320 to ¥2,000). Weekend and holiday prices are often higher than weekday prices. 72 cafés say a drink or a drink bar is included in the basic price.
Prices on this site are copied from each café's official website and may have changed. The café page shows the date we copied them.
What a visit costs (cafés that state a plain price)
Time limits and when animals rest
Japanese law sets the hours animals may be shown. Dogs and cats may be exhibited only between 8:00 and 20:00; cats over one year old may stay until 22:00 if they can move freely to a place to rest. That is why most cat cafés close by 8 or 10 pm, and why some cafés have a "rest time" in the afternoon when the room is closed or quieter.
From 1 June 2027 similar hour limits (8:00–22:00, at most 12 hours a day) apply to other mammals such as capybaras, rabbits and hedgehogs, under an ordinance promulgated on 15 October 2026. Owls and reptiles have no fixed hours under current rules.
Many cafés also set a last entry time, typically 30 to 60 minutes before closing: 111 of the 299 cafés state one on their website, and it is shown on the café page.
The rules you will meet at the door
The exact rules differ by café, but these come up again and again on official websites:
- Wash and sanitise your hands before you enter the animal room. (From June 2027 the law requires this before and after contact at all cafés with mammals.)
- Do not pick up or chase the animals. Let them come to you. Most cat cafés ask you not to lift cats; some allow it only for specific cats.
- No flash photography. Photos are usually allowed without flash; some cafés ask you not to photograph other visitors.
- No outside food or drink. 46 cafés state it explicitly; assume it everywhere.
- Socks. Many cafés ask you to remove shoes; 50 mention socks or bare feet in their rules, and some sell socks at the door.
- Do not feed the animals anything the café has not given you — this is a legal rule for all exhibitors.
- Children. Many cafés set a minimum age or require a guardian: of the 213 cafés whose website says something about age, 145 mention a guardian rule. The café page shows the café's own wording under "Before you go".
Do you need to book?
It depends. Of the 258 cafés with details, 74 say no reservation is needed, 37 require one, 29 recommend one, and 53 simply offer online or phone booking. Each café page shows this under "Before you go". How booking works →
Before you go: checklist
- Check the café is open today — this site checks every café's status daily in Tokyo and every two days in Osaka and Kyoto, and removes closed cafés.
- Check the last entry time and whether you need a reservation.
- Bring cash: 11 cafés state they take cash only, and many do not say. Cash, cards and what to bring →
- Wear socks.
Sources: Act on Welfare and Management of Animals and the 2021 standards ordinance, as amended on 15 October 2026 (see the law page); the official websites of the cafés listed on Fureai Japan, as copied on the dates shown on each café page. How we counted: "cafés listed" are all cafés on this site that are not closed (299 on 21 October 2026); "cafés with details" are those whose official website we have copied (258). A "30-minute price" or "60-minute price" is the first such price in the café's price text, ignoring extension charges. "Mention socks", "state no outside food" and "mention a guardian rule" are counted by the words used on the official site, so a café that applies a rule without writing it down is not counted.