Owl Café Oz

Owl Café Oz in the Taito City area of Tokyo in Japan is a lovely little animal cafe specializing in - wait for it - owls!

After spending the morning at teamLab Planets TOKYO and a light snack at Twenty Eight Bar & Lounge, we set our sights on going to the Owl Café Oz in the Taitō area of Tokyo.

It was here, dear reader, that I fully learned the lesson of wearing proper walking shoes for unexpectedly longer walks than you predict. But, as always, it’s best to be open to wonderful experiences you don’t expect.

After a few detours and stops for photos, we arrived at Owl Café Oz. Now, it’s kind of strangely odd to find – as it’s in plain sight but not. The title on the building says “Rock Beauty”. Whereas the A frame and signs on the window say Owl Café Oz.

Once we noticed we were at the proper location and were let inside – wow.

Wow, wow, wow. OWLS! OWLS! OWLS!

It was so interesting because it’s like being in your own private zoo. The tamed owls sit there, watching you. During my time, one even free flew around the café.

I declined touching the owls and instead marveled in their presence. On one hand, I didn’t want to get bitten. I also focused on not projecting my American ideas onto local culture.

Yes, animal cafes exist in Japan – and are completely normal in society. It’s the same way I approached my time later at the pig café, Mipig cafe Kyoto in Kyoto. This is not my normal. However, it is normal for other people.

It was lovely to see a hedgehog, various owls, a sugar glider. I took some lovely photos of the iguana. Mainly, as it was so hot outside with humidity and heat, I focused on downing my lemonade and relaxing for the short time we had.

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