IT'S A HOOT! OWL FAMILY CAFE IN OSAKA- MEMORIES OF JAPAN (Part 2)

In the busy streets of Osaka, you can have coffee and commune with one of nature's wisest creatures at the Owl Family Cafe.

This cafe is proof that the Japanese love to embrace the quirky and bizarre. It could be hard to find as it is located in one of the side streets at the end of one of the longest shopping districts of Osaka,  Tenjinbashi.

The place is a low structured building with simple signs on the door and windows. For about ¥1,000,   guests are ushered in batches at hourly intervals by young, friendly Japanese women. Apparently, the owls mingle in rotation, to allow the creatures some rest in between petting and picture taking with curious tourists. 

Don't expect fine-dining food, though. After all you're not there to just eat, you're there to get to know the birds of prey better. You can order coffee, tea or hot cocoa and some snack like cookies and bread. And no, you can't share these with the owls. They have their own scheduled feeding sessions. Servings are small, too. But it's okay since you'll spend the first fifteen minutes listening to an introduction to handling owls  (mainly in Japanese) and the next 45 minutes trying to have your photos taken with your new found feathered friends.

The young ladies will introduce you to the owls one at a time, assisting you and making sure that no on gets hurt (those talons and beaks can rip your eyes out if you behaved badly).  We didn't have time to take down the owl names because we found ourselves snapping pics like crazy.

This cute one was perched on my shoulder when it suddenly pooped on  me!

This one was a bit of a snob.

This big momma is fierce!

And this one's just plain creepy!

The whole experience is more akin to visiting a pet shop than a petting zoo, especially after finding out that the owls were for sale (the cheapest at ¥1,000,000.00).  

I probably won't go back to an Owl Cafe next time I'm in Japan. I wonder if I should try the Goat Cafe next?


Address: 1-10-13 Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Telephone: +81 6-6360-6205