Animal cafés in Japan?Choose Owl de Base, Hiroshima

Animal cafes have become popular in Japan.Enjoy the unique experience of looking at owls up close, holding them in your hand, and perhaps feeding them, at Owl de Base in Hiroshima.You can also see hedgehogs, meerkats, eagles and falcons there!

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Rest your feet and relax at an Owl Cafe

Animal cafes are cafés where you can interact with certain type of animals Visitors usually pay hourly fees and then pay extra fee if they want to feed the animals. The purpose of these cafes is to help visitors relax, enjoy their cup of coffee, and interact with their furry friends.

The concept of animal cafe all started off with cat cafes for cat lovers in 2004. Cat cafes became popular among those who love cats but cannot raise them in their home for reasons like family member’s allergy, frequent business trips, or rental housing’s restrictions on pets. After the big hit of cat cafes, animal cafes such as rabbit and snake cafes appeared throughout the years. Now, owl cafes are the new cafes that are attracting Japanese animal lovers’ attention.

Owls have been popular ever since the opening of owl cafe because unlike cats and rabbits there are no opportunities to pet them in daily life, and they are not scary like snake. Additionally, most of the general public have never seen owls up close or interacted with them before. Strangely though, it is a bird that people are familiar with through children’s literature. For instance, Hedwig, Harry Potter’s pet owl in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, comforts Harry when he is feeling lonely. In Winnie-the-Pooh, the owl is wise and often sees what other animals don’t see. Many people familiar with these Western stories are likely to associate owls with magic and wisdom. However, in Japan owls are associated with good luck.

In Japanese, owl is “fukuro.” “Fukuro” can be interpreted in two ways.“Fuku” means good fortune in Japanese. However, if you read fukuro as “fu” “kuro” it means no hardship since “fu”means “no” and kuro means “hardship.” For these reasons, owl lucky charms are gifts that are often used for birthdays, graduations, and other special events in Japan.

For the above reasons, owls cafes have become the next animal café boom. Owl de Base in Hiroshima is one of those places, and is a great place to go if you want to experience something unique. You can meet variety kinds of owls here like the White-faced Scops Owl, the African Eagle Owl, the Tawny Owl, and the Check tawny owl. It is not only a home to over 30 owls, but also to few eagles, falcons, hedgehogs and meerkats.

Interact with owls

Owl de Base Hiroshima is located in the center of Hiroshima city. It is one of the largest owl cafes in western Japan. When you go into the café, first you will be given instructions on how to interact with the owls and rest of the animals there.

The instructions will include things like, “do not speak in a loud voice or make loud sounds because it will scare the owls.” You also cannot touch the owls freely because that would put too much stress on them. When touching is permitted, people are asked to touch their wings softly.

One thing to note is that all the owls at this café have been raised by humans, which meansthey are different from wild owls and they tend to be quiet, kind, and loving. You will be able to experience seeing different types of owls up close at there. You can also feed them if you just pay extra 300 yen.

Say cheese with an owl on your hand

During your stay, you will be able to hold one owl of your choice in your hand. You will be asked to wear gloves so that you don’t hurt yourself by their claws. Pictures with owls are permitted but with no flash. The staff will place owl on your hand, and then carry him back to his nest when you are done petting him. Owl de Base is open from 11AM to 9PM (closed on Thursdays), and has an entrance fee of 1,500 yen/day. If you visit on a weekend it is 1,500 yen/hour. Drinks are free once you pay the entrance fee.

How to visit?

The shortest way to go from Tokyo to Hiroshima is by air. Take a domestic flight from Haneda/Narita airport to Hiroshima airport （90 min）and then a limousine bus to JR Hiroshima station (45 min). From JR Hiroshima Station, take the Hiroshima Electric Railway to Hatchobori Station (9 min).

Address: 4F Mishima building, 1-33 Fukuromachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima city, Hiroshima Prefecture (Owl de Base Hiroshima)
Tel：+81-(0)82-569-6296 (Owl De Base Hiroshima)