Saturday, March 12, 2016

Tokyo Cafes: The Usabibi Bunny Cafe (うさびび)

Anette 7:27:00 PM Animals, Café, Ikebukuro, Japan, Pets, Tokyo, Tokyocafes

Pet cafes have become quite a common thing in Japan, and in Tokyo you can find cat cafes, dog cafes, owl cafes, goat cafes and even reptile cafes. With a lack of space and strict rules against pet ownership many locals who want a pet but cannot have one choose to visit a cafe with their favourite animal.

Tokyo's Ikebukuro area is one of the places that is most known for its pet cafes, and just recently I visited the Usabibi Bunny Cafe (うさびび - home page here) with one of my friends.

西一番街

The cafe is located only a 4 minutes walk away from the West Exit (西口) of the Ikebukuro Station. From the West Exit you simply turn right and go straight ahead through a part of town called Nichiguchi Ichibanmachi (Look for the gateways with the kanjis 西一番街 on them).

The Nakagawa Building

After you pass through the second gate and exit the Ichibanmachi area you have to continue right ahead, cross the street and at the second block you'll find the Nakagawa building (中川ビル) where you find the cafe on the fifth floor.

The entrance on the 5th floor

The cafe is not that big, and as they can only accept a limited amount of guests at the same time you might have to make a reservation in advance or ask them to put you on a waiting list. In our case we were told that the next opening would be in an hour, so we decided to go for a quick round of sightseeing while waiting for our turn.

Some bunny pamphlets

Cafe Prices & Menu

At the cafe you first receive a short guidance session if it is your first time visiting. The use of the cafe is time based starting at 700 yen for 30 minutes and 1100 yen for an hour, with extension 550 yen/every 30 minutes. This price include all-you-can-drink (soft drinks only), and you're free to cuddle the rabbits as you please (just be aware that you're not allowed to lift the bunnies).

There are some bunnies that don't run around in the room but instead are relaxing in their cages. These bunnies can be cuddled too, but the bunnies on the lower row are exempted from this in order to avoid them jumping out of the cage. In total there were 10 rabbits in the cafe, and the staff let the bunnies out in turns so that all of them could have the chance to run around.

The cafe was separated in two; one section with pillow seats on the floor and one section with a sofa, and a low fence in the middle helped make sure that the female and male rabbits stayed out of reach from each other. The bunnies are free to run around as they please within the area. It seemed while the female bunnies mostly was laying down and relaxing the male bunnies were actively running around their space.

For 200 yen extra one could buy a small bowl with cut vegetables, and this certainly came in handy when it came to attracting the bunnies' attention.

Coffee for us and snack for the bunnies

Bibi and Choco

Feeding little Kabosu

I used to have a bunny when I was a kid.. They're just too adorable.!

Choco and Mikan

Choco and Mikan eating dried vegetable snacks

We spent a pleasant hour at the bunny cafe before deciding to head out. For guest staying longer than one hour you get to pick a small bunny photo card as a souvenir

■ Basic Info

・Name of Cafe: The Usabibi Bunny Cafe (うさびび)
・Address：東京都豊島区池袋2-42-9 中川ビル 5F
・Phone: 03-6914-2557
・Opening Hours: 11：00 ～ 21:00 (Closed every Wednesday)
・Official Home Page：http://usabibi.net/

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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.