Autumn (Tokyo Studio)
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October 18th, 2008[click on image to play]
Today my curiosity got the better of me: I bought a ticket to the ‘Nekabukuro’ (the cat’s house, where you pay to pet cats) on the top floor of the infamous Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro. The pictures of the cats were just too cute and the store-cat (who hangs out with the cashier outside the nekabukuro) was beckoning me. I had an image of these friendly little kittens who are in need of some human…..
As much as cats like comfort, they also like to do as they please and when it pleases them. I am not sure whether cats are suited to ‘work’. These cats were just a little too tired of all the attention they were getting. The ‘house’ was also probably a little bit too small for the creatures who normally would prefer a bigger terrortory. The attendents were spending every minute of their shift looking after the cats, brushing them, cleaning up their mess (trying to mimimise the smell). The cat tv was blaring away, playing songs and telling us some little cat-related titbits. Visitors (almost all women apart from one devoted boyfriend) sat around and shyly observed the cats. I left after 10 minutes.
Meanwhile near our apartment in Takadanobaba, ‘cat-man’ (as we call him) is feeding the black cat in the park, laying out fresh newspaper and cardboard for her. The neighbour cat (whom I call Gou-gou) is loudly meowing to passer-by demanding to be petted and fed.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Zac is in love with cats…(at the moment,anyway). He wants to pet them but they run away before he can get near them. Dogs are a bit more receptive. Are there any children waiting to pet the cats??
November 7th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Silvia, people in Tokyo adore cats. This includes children, young girls, adults, old people – everybody. You will hear: ‘Neko-chan, kawaii desu ne!’ (It’s little cat, so cute!). I saw a woman walking a cat once (yes, really), and she happens to walk by a mother with her two young daughters near a park. She and her cat just could not get away – the girls were enraptured with Neko-chan. Honestly, they were petting that cat for about 20 minutes. People with pets, though, are very patient.