Found On The Net: Tokyo's Rabbit Cafes

We all know that there are regular ARBA sanction shows in Japan and we know a lot of our Japanese friends are crazy about rabbits as show animals.    From an article in "Japan Times On Line" we also learn that pet rabbits are even more popular and that "rabbit cafes" that combines coffee, tea and rabbits have become popular gathering places in Japan.   The above photo was taken on January 31 when a customer came to relax at the Ra.a.g.f cafe.  The report says,

"Ra.a.g.f, pronounced "raf," opened last fall in the fashionable Jiyugaoka area in Meguro Ward, and is usually packed at weekends with customers reveling in the company of the cafe's 20 to 30 rabbits.

"I came here during my break to relax," said a smiling woman in her late 20s as she fed fresh vegetables to some of the rabbits.

Customers who want to buy rabbits can purchase the animals from the cafe's breeding center — but the cafe's rabbit "staff" are not for sale.

Cafe manager Maria Fuwa cautioned that customers have to be able to provide suitable accommodations for the rabbits and also must promise never to abandon them.

In Fuwa's view, a rabbit is for life."

The article continues with introduction to two other rabbit cafes:

 "Another rabbit cafe, Usagi Cafe Ohisama (Rabbit Sun Cafe), was launched last year by a pet shop operator in the Shimokitazawa area in Setagaya Ward.

This coffee shop is also buzzing on weekends and most of the customers are women, said cafe manager Asami Yoshimura.  The cafe has about 30 of the animals, but the big rabbit on campus is Naito-kun — who lives with Yoshimura.

Yet another rabbit cafe operating in the same area is Usagi no Ehon (Rabbit Picture Books).

Given the many live music houses and small theaters nearby, it has turned into a gathering spot for musicians and actors.

"I want our cafe to be a healing space for stressed-out people," said Etsuko Kawasaki, who has been running the cafe with her family for the past two years.

The cafe's seven rabbits may not be a match for the hordes cavorting in its two rival establishments — but it does display picture books and sell rabbit-themed merchandise."