Harry Animal Cafe Harajuku Zoo Land

Recently, my friend Flerg and his wife Blugard (real names), who live in America, visited us in Tokyo. They brought along their two kids (ages 305 and -6), and asked us what we could do as a potential outing in the big city. Since the kids would be with us, I told Flerg about Tokyo’s many pet cafes such as Puppy Cafe Rio and Capyneko, but my email was met with deafening silence. I soon learned that it was Flerg’s move to push away the pet cafes, that he hadn’t asked his children, and that if he had, they would have wanted to go.

I know this because instead, we took the kids to Harajuku, and as soon as they saw a sign for an animal cafe, they said “HEYWEGOTTAGOTHEREYESLETSGOTHEREIDEMANDWEGOTHERECUTECUTECUTE.” Flerg was unhappy. But Flerg didn’t get his way, so we all went to the animal cafe.

Kawaii Zoo Land Harajuku and Harry Animal Cafes

Harry bills itself as the world’s first hedgehog cafe, and has three locations in Harajuku. This one was technically the Harajuku Kawaii Zoo location. Other locations have otters and mice and other tiny things. This one did have some hedgehogs, but only a couple. They looked very cute as the kids and Blugard held them. Eriko and I just stood back and took pictures since we wanted to let the kids have a good time, and Flerg stood in the corner and drank coffee. It’s fun finding out your friend of 20+ years can’t stand animals. I’m always learning new stuff.

The Capybara: Moguchan

Moguchan is the cafe’s tiny capybara. You cannot pet Moguchan, even though capybaras are notoriously chill. His name, “Mogu,” is the sound people make when chewing: “mogumogumogu.” He has a big bathtub and a tub of water in his crate. This is because apparently capybaras can only poop when they are in water. That means that in those videos of capybaras relaxing at an onsen, they’re really relaxing in there.

The ferrets at Harajuku Zoo Land

When we went to Animeal Cafe in Osaka, we held some ferrets who squirmed all over the place, tried to run away, and bit me. These ferrets were not like that. They were cuddle buddies. They fell asleep in laps, crawled into coats, and got in a big warm pile together. The kids were able to feed them and pet them and had an amazing time. Definitely the best animal interaction we had.

Ferrets are an animal I think is properly suited to a cafe. People keep them as pets, they don’t freak out when they see strangers, and these ferrets were cuddly and nice. I’m sure they don’t mind being in the cafe. The hedgehogs? It’s hard to tell, but they’re small, so I’m fine with it. The capybara would seem okay because we’ve seen them at other cafes, but he’s also all by himself and I have no idea what kind of environment a capybara wants to be in. I know he was as chill as expected, and he had lots of stuff to eat.

For some animals, the cafe seemed like less of a fun environment. Case in point.

The fennec fox at Harry Animal Cafe

A fennec fox is a little type of fox with big ears. It was asleep the entire time we were in there. I don’t know if that was because it’s still a baby, or if it’s old, or tired, or just bummed out like animals in a zoo. They put these little charts on the wall indicating when the animals sleep, but that doesn’t really help because I already knew it was asleep. I hope this little guy likes being there, but I can’t be sure.

Meerkats at Harajuku Zoo Land

On one hand, the meerkats are forced to stay behind the glass can’t be picked up, probably because they bite. On the other hand, they ran around and stared at us and came up to the window and looked really funny standing up for their little meetings. Again, I don’t know if a meerkat is a good animal to have as a pet, or in a cafe. They were neat to look at, but this was another thing that made this place less like a cafe and more like a zoo.

Coming to a conclusion was a bit tough - the kids loved it, but it was their first animal cafe. We, however, are pros. Here’s what we thought.

Verdict: should you visit Harry Harajuku Zoo Land?

One nice thing about Zoo Land is that you can purchase entry for only a half-hour, which is really all the time I need in one of these places. Some spots only let you buy an hour, which can be overkill. However, when you buy a half-hour, they expect you to know when that half-hour is up, and if you go over, they’ll charge you. That didn’t happen to us, but is worth looking out for.

This is a very small animal cafe, and if you came here at a busy time, that might be an issue. There weren’t too many people there when we were, so the kids got to hold the hedgehogs and ferrets and enjoyed themselves. But just like when we went to the alpaca cafe, I had some reservations. Do the meerkats and capybara, or even the ferrets and hedgehogs, want to be here?

When we went places like Puppy Cafe Rio or MiPig Cafe, where the piglets jump all over you and cuddle with you, we could tell the animals were well taken care of. They weren’t sad or angry or anxious. They were playing. Many dog and cat cafes are like that (there are even some where you can adopt the dogs, which is best). But some animals seem like they don’t belong in a cafe, and that’s how I felt about the meerkats. If you can’t pet them, this is just a private zoo.

Harajuku Kawaii Zoo Land was an okay experience, but I wouldn’t go back there. Even if you’re visiting Japan for the first time and find yourself in Harajuku with nothing to do, you’re steps away from a MiPig in Harajuku, which is a much better experience. Stop by Kawaii Zoo Land if you really want to pet a ferret or hedgehog, but otherwise, you can probably find cuddly animals in a setting that makes you feel a little better about yourself. That’s not a knock on the cafe or its staff - they were great - but when it comes to wild animals being pet by tourists, you eventually develop your own set of morals, and this one rested right on the line for us.

Where to find Harajuku Zoo Land

Address: 〒150-0001 Tokyo, Shibuya, Jingumae, 1 Chome−6−12 Ｉｔｏ ＢＬＤＧ 3F

Phone: 03-3404-2233

Website: Harajuku Kawaii Zoo

Hours: 12pm-6pm M-F, 11am-6pm Sat-Sun

Prices: Adult - 1,540 yen/30 min, Child - 1,210 yen/30 min (pretty cheap for a pet cafe)

Harry Hedgehog Animal Cafes Inc. or whatever the company is called has three cafes in Harajuku, so you can honestly just walk around and see which one you like or whichever one has the shortest line. We didn’t need a reservation even though Harajuku was swarming with people. You can also get a giant cotton candy and some weird clothes or disgusting rainbow cheese while you’re there. Or go to Eataly like a champion. Anything goes in that neighborhood.