It’s not hard to get bogged down by people after travelling for a period of time when there are crowds almost everywhere you go. Whether is it the jostling that you’re tired of or the general fatigue as a result of social interaction, animal cafes provide a little pocket of respite away from the usual hustle and bustle.

After all, there’s little that’s more enjoyable than lazing around with a cuddly friend.

If the conventional cat cafes aren’t for you, why not visit these animal cafes with animals you wouldn’t find anywhere in Singapore instead?

Photo Credit: Cate

BLIND ALLEY (SOUTH KOREA)

Despite the name, none of the animals here are actually blind, nor are they nocturnal of that sort. What you’ll find here are absolutely adorable rambunctious raccoons that would love for nothing but to shake their paws going “juseyo~~” (please give me, in korean) to beg for food. Apart from that, their resident fat corgi greets you as you come in, and along the way to the raccoon’s room you’d even see a capybara!

76 Cheongpa-ro 47-gil
Cheongpadong 2(i)-ga
Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Daily: 11.30am – 10pm

HEDGEHOG CAFE HARRY (JAPAN)

As if the name itself wasn’t obvious enough, this cafe is filled with cute little hedgehogs everywhere. You get to pick your own personal companion to bring to your table. There you can entertain yourself with how these curious critters crawl and burrow around, or even just fall asleep right then and there in your hands. For a small extra cost, you can even purchase mealworms to feed them.

1-13-21 Jingumae 4F
Shibuya 150-0001 Tokyo
Daily: 11am – 7pm

Photo Credit: Lexi

MEERKAT FRIENDS (KOREA)

While the name makes you expect a meerkat-exclusive environment, they have other animals such as an artic fox, a genet, a raccoon, a cat and even a wallaby! Of course, the meerkats are still the star of the show. With their own playpen in the corner, you can sit down and have them interact with you. These creatures are extremely inquisitive, and would love nothing more than to dig into your pockets, so do wear clothes you don’t mind getting wear and tear on.

19-12 Wausan-ro 21-gil
Seogyo-dong Mapo-gu
Seoul, South Korea
Mon to Tues: 1pm – 10pm
Wed to Sun: 12pm – 10pm

OIA CAFE (TAIWAN)

Oia Cafe is home to a few alpacas and they roam around freely in the cafe. You get to play with these adorable white creatures and feed them with carrots or food that are approved by the cafe’s owner, which is also the best way to get the alpacas to take a selfie with you. Cute as the alpacas may be, these furry animals have a tendency to chew on anything they can get their mouths on, so keep your clothes and bags safe!

252, Sanzhi District
New Taipei City, Taiwan
Mon to Fri: 11am – 8pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 9pm

Photo Credit: animalcafes

OWL VILLAGE IN HARAJUKU (JAPAN)

For those worried about cases of owl abuse in cafes, rest assured they were a recipient facility of the Certificate of Excellence of TripAdvisor in 2017 and the owls here are very well taken care of. In this comfortable space, you’re free to hold and stroke the owls, as well as feed them for a small extra fee. The owls are extremely quirky and you’d wish each session was longer.

150-0001 Tokyo Shibuya Jingumae
1 Chome 21-15 4F Shi Harajuku ATM Building
Daily: 11am – 8pm

Photo Credit: Pejman Faratin

PET CAFE (VIETNAM)

Despite the terribly uncreative name, Pet Cafe houses more unconventional animals you usually wouldn’t go ooh and ahh over. In the dim lighting, many tanks house a variety of creepy-crawlies, snakes, lizards, rats and, well, hedgehogs. If you’re daring enough, you’re free to interact with the creatures as you please. If not, just dining among all these pairs of eyes makes for an interesting experience.

So 2 Ngõ 28 Ông Ích Khiêm
Hanoi, Vietnam
Daily: 9am – 11pm

RABBITLAND CAFE (HONG KONG)

Over in a quiet corner of the otherwise busy Causeway district, this cafe is the perfect place to spend time cuddling adorable fluffy rabbits. Most of the rabbits here were once abandoned, now rehomed, giving them a second chance at life. It’s highly recommended that you make an advance booking, as that would allow you to feed them in open cages.

3/F No 530 Jaffe Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Daily: 1pm to 9.30pm

Photo Credit: animalcafes

SAKURAGAOKA CAFE (JAPAN)

Have you ever considered a goat cafe? Now you have. Sakuragaoka Cafe is home to two goats that spend most of their time nuzzling each other or looking up curiously at strange and random passersby who coo and caw at them. For a small fee, you can buy treats to feed them, or even sign up to take the goats on a walk.

150-0031 Tokyo
Shibuya-ku Sakuragaokacho
23-3 Shinoda Building
Mon to Fri: 11am – 5am
Sat: 11am – 4am
Sun: 11am – 12am

Photo Credit: Yoneda Yuka

THANKS NATURE CAFE (SOUTH KOREA)

If you can’t get enough of fluffy cloud-like animals, here you can chomp down on strawberry-flavoured waffles in the company of two docile sheep. Though they stay in their own side of their playpen, you’re free to go over and interact with them, without having to pay an extra fee, unlike most other animal-centric places. Do keep in mind due to the hot humid weather, the sheep don’t hang around the cafe in summer.

486 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu
Seoul, South Korea
Daily: 11am – 10pm

TRUE LOVE HUSKY CAFE (THAILAND)

True Love Husky Cafe is really a dog lover’s heaven. With over 20 huskies roaming around the play area, you’re bound to have a good time. Even if you don’t take the initiative to go up to them, the dogs will slowly sniff their way towards you with their tail up high. The biggest highlight of the cafe has to be their tiny little shit tzu that’s also the alpha of the pack, and at the end of every play time, all the dogs will make a glorious mad dash to their resting area.

153 Soi Ari Samphan 2
Samsen Nai Phaya Thai
Bangkok 10400 Thailand
Daily: 12pm – 4pm
Fri to Sun: 12pm – 6.30pm

Animal cafes have been increasing in numbers, especially throughout Asia, in recent years. There is a huge demand for animal cafes and we suspect that the trend is not dying down anytime soon.

With the hype starting from the cute cat cafes in Japan, there are now many animal cafes all over the continent that encompass a wide variety of animals catering to animal lovers. For the uninitiated, animal cafes now include rabbits, owls and even alpacas!

If you love having a cuppa while cosying up with animals, read on. We have compiled an extensive list of animal cafes in Asia that you should not miss out on!

CAT CAFES

One of the most common animal cafes not just in Japan, but also in many other cities as well. We are hardly surprised that cat cafes are the most popular cafes around—just watching these cute felines walking around the cafe is enough to melt anyone’s heart.

Singapore’s first cat cafe—Cat Café Neko no Niwa—only adopts homeless and abandoned cats. Ragdoll Cat Cafe is one of the many cat cafes in Osaka, Japan, and their breeds range from Munchkin to Norwegian Forest Cat and much more. If you are heading to South Korea, go to Godabang Cat Cafe in Seoul which keeps both prestigious breeds, as well as adopted strays.

Purr Cat Cafe Club in Bangkok, Thailand; Purrfect Cat Cafe in Penang, Malaysia and Cafe & Cats 1998 in Taipei, Taiwan are a few more to name.

Photo Credit: Sing Thai Disco

DOG CAFES

Dog lovers will agree that there are not many animals in the world that are as affectionate as dogs. Imagine going to a place where all the dogs gather and vie excitedly for your attention! Although there are much fewer dog cafes as compared to cat cafes, we managed to source out a few in Asia.

One dog cafe rising in popularity is True Love Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand where you will have fun running around with 17 grown up Siberian huskies and also a cute Shih Tzu. The Dog Cafe in Busan, Korea has both small pooches and larger dogs like Labradors and Golden Retrievers. If you happen to be in New Delhi in India, go to the first dog cafe called Puppychino that has fun games and gluten-free puppy snacks!

Otherwise, consider We are the Furballs in Singapore or Dog Heart from Aquamarine in Tokyo, Japan.

RABBIT CAFES

Nobody can resist petting a cute bunny—not even if you don’t like animals that much. While not all cafes allow visitors to hold or carry the rabbits, it is still a joy feeding them and watching the little furry creatures nibble on their carrots.

Rabbit cafes are not common and most are found in Japan. One that allows guests to carry the bunnies is Ms. Bunny in Tokyo. Another cafe in Tokyo is Ra.a.g.f, which allows guests to interact with rabbits that are kept in cages, allowing only one bunny out at a time at the play area. While many animal cafes only have finger food and drinks, Ohisama cafe in Tokyo serves up full meals for visitors complete with desserts on their menu.

With Hong Kong opening up their first rabbit cafe just recently, we may see more rabbit cafes opening up in Asia soon.

HEDGEHOG CAFE

Hedgehogs may not seem like the friendliest animal but despite its prickly image, this animal has its cute side too. For now, there appears to be only one hedgehog cafe and it is located in Tokyo, Japan.

If you have not seen the softer side of a hedgehog, make a trip to HARRY’S where more than 20 different hedgehog breeds await you. The name of the cafe is a word play as “harinezumi” is a Japanese term for hedgehog.

Watch the hedgehogs scurry around in their glass enclosures or hold onto one of them for a more intimate experience. Be sure to disinfect your hands first!

ALPACA CAFES

Ever seen an alpaca strutting around you in a cafe? If you haven’t, let us introduce these alpaca cafes in Asia that are gaining popularity throughout the region!

Alpaca View Farm and Cuisine is one such alpaca cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. Not only does the cafe have alpacas, it is also home to some other horses, ducks, bunnies and cats.

Oia Cafe in Taipei, Taiwan is also known for having alpacas which come in many different sizes and colours. Look out for Snow, their star alpaca who loves munching on almost anything in the cafe, and it is not just food we are talking about.

Feed the alpacas with food provided by the cafe and it will be a shame not to take plenty of selfies with the adorable alpacas before leaving!

OWL CAFE

You might think the Japanese already have it all – fresh, succulent sashimi, picture-perfect sweet crepes, takoyaki and yakitori. But just when you think things cannot get any better, you find Café Baron, a space inhabited by owls. Yes, owls.

You do not need to visit a zoo now to see these intelligent creatures. Café Baron allows you to get up close and personal with the animals, all while you sip a cup of tea or coffee, and dine on some tantalising curries and desserts.

Photo Credit: japangie

REPTILE CAFES

What if you have visited all the cute furry pet cafes and want something more exotic? If you are someone who does not get icky over reptiles or simply want to take up a challenge, drop by these exotic cafes that not many will be willing to step into.

Tokyo Snake Center in Tokyo, Japan has over 35 snakes that come in 20 different breeds. Pick the one you fancy and let it curl around your arms and legs. The cafe also offers snake-themed food and beverages. If you fancy a wider variety, Pet Cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam has more than just snakes, there are also spiders and rodents in glass cages.

Let us add on Reptile cafe in Yokohoma, Japan; Cafe Little Zoo in Chiba, Japan; Café Babo in Saigon, Vietnam and Koopet Reptile Cafe & Pet Store in Seoul, Korea for the brave souls.