Fukurōno Mise

Pretty cool experience. Little pricey to be honest though. They charged 2000 YEN for 1 hour per person of taking pictures with owls and you get a very small mediocre drink included to «justify» their high price. They also handed out random little gifts that were owl related and you get the better ones if you win in a rock paper scissor duels with the others. The best time is late afternoon ish it seems as based on the schedule throughout the day, they accepted the largest capacity during that time. Majority were little baby owls which were very cute and they only like to be pet on the head and in a certain direction. You can let the owl rest on your arm or if you dared on your shoulder or on your head. I didn’t want to risk getting pooped/​peed on so I just kept it on my arm. The room is not lit too high for the obvious reasons as owls are nocturnal so be sure to bring a nice camera that can handle low light conditions.

A hidden jewel in Tokyo! This «café» is an unbelievable, pure Tokyo experience. Owls were all beautiful, all well trained (except for the droppings!), and of all different colors and sizes! A great photo op, especially as they have are harry potter coat and glasses at the ready, but holding the owls themselves is memorable enough you won’t need a picture! Our hosts were all helpful, spoke enough English, and made some quality drinks as well. Would be a regular if I lived in Japan! A MUST if in Tokyo. Take Oedo line or Yurakucho to Tsukishima, exit 10, cross the street, go down the side street, it is on your right on the first block. BEST 2000 yen ever spent!!!

My first experience at a owl café in Japan was at this joint, and man was it amazing! We went super early at around 10 am thinking it was open only to be super disappointed when we found out that it doesn’t open until 2 pm. Luckily the lady inside saw us loitering outside and came out to take reservations. We put ourselves down for 2 pm with a deposit of 2000 yen per person. The experience after was just a joy! They introduced the owls and told us what we could and could not do. For example photos were allowed but no videos! Which disappointed me since I was on a GoPro collection montage but I made do with the photos from my friends DSLR. The Owls were super exciting to hold! We were allowed to have them perched on our arms, shoulders or even our heads! But if they went number 2 then too bad ;(we played with the small owls as well as the larger ones, but I personally thought the smaller owls were cuter to play with. The experience came with a drink (that came along with the 2000 yen) as well as a piece of memorabilia that we could take home! Overall a very great experience and would recommend for others as well!

You must pay the $ 20pp and have this experience. You must make a reservation in person and its cash only but WORTH it! You can pet every owl and hold them. They are so clean and friendly (the owls) but the ladies in charge are sweet. This should be on your bucket list of things to do in Tokyo!!!

I’d like to first apologize for being punny, but I can’t help it — this place is a HOOT.
Har har, now that the lame jokes out of the way, let’s get into the important stuff:
If you haven’t gotten it at this point, this place is an owl café. Yes. An owl. Café. Bless the Japanese for having the unlimited creativity that they do, this is a godsend establishment. Note I went on a Sunday near when they opened, and they did have a woman who could speak English, so I think weekend English speaking tourists should be safe Friday — Sunday to visit this place.
Step #1: Arrive right before opening (30 minutes to an hour, depending on if you plan on walking around the area). You’ll have to sign up for reservations that day (they don’t take advance reservations besides this in-​person sign-​up, so this is important!) I arrived on a Sunday at around 11:30am (they opened at noon) and was able to snag the last two slots for that hour — phew! It’s 2,000 yen a person (equivalent to $ 16-​$ 20 USD, depending on the exchange rate) and includes one drink — they request cash immediately, and do not take card, so make sure you’re prepared. We ended up eating at a local Okonomiyaki restaurant to pass the time, there are tons around this area!
Step #2: Arrive about 5 minutes prior to your allotted spot. They’ll be filtering out the customers from the prior spot. Use this chance to get your first peak of the owls inside! I was craning my neck like a crazy, and spotted the cutest looking owl looking back out at me. This just ruffled my excitement even more! Once they place clears out, you’ll enter the dimly lit café with tons of owls staring at you. Ahhh I was overwhelmed, it was an amazing experience. They sat us down near the owls and began walking us through rules — no moving the owl on our own, touch gently, etc. We also ordered our drinks (note, this was the worst part of the place, it’s not really a café since the drinks weren’t good, just a petting zoo really).
Step #3: Let all hell break loose. The patrons are able to select their owl of choice to pet and hold once the instructors are done with the introduction. I went straight for the bigger owls, and immediately one puffed up his feathers to tell me to back off. Touché, I shall not touch. So I went for the nicer looking one. Again, if you want to hold an owl, you’ll have to flag an assistant over to move the owl to your arm (note, except for the snow owl which has a beak of steel and claws of satan, you won’t need a protective glove — this should be extremely important to note when you want to hold the biggest owl there, as his claws dig in DEEP). From there, I went from owl to owl, and placed them on my head, shoulder, etc. So fun!
Again, this really isn’t a true café. However, this place is still a full five stars — I’ve never been this close to an owl before, and I don’t think I would have ever had the chance if not for this place. The owner apparently used to have owls as pets, and wanted a way to share his love for these birds of prey, so he started this café. Good choice man, good choice! Also note that although the owls are tied down to their roost, and are obviously awake during the day, there isn’t any single sign of animal cruelty. As they no longer need to hunt for prey since they’re fed like kings, there’s no reason for them to be nocturnal anymore. All the owls I saw were fully awake, well nurtured, and overall happy. I absolutely love this place, and encourage everyone visiting Tokyo to go go gooo and have a hoot!

Owl café. Nuf said.
My bf and I arrived about half an hour after the opening time and we were able to reserve spots for later that evening at 8:00pm. Staff English is limited, but enough for non-​Japanese speakers to understand in order to get by without upsetting the owls.
As for the owls — they are so, so cute and very mellow! They aren’t really interactive and just perch on your hand and look around, but some of them don’t mind gentle petting.
I understand why another Unilocaler gave this place a one-​star rating because of the inhumane treatment of the owls, since they’re on «leashes» and are constantly handled by strange (and sometimes dumb) people all day. However, there is nothing humane or remotely good about visiting a coffee shop with expectations of holding a living animal outside of its natural habitat. Probably not a good place for true animal lovers/​activists.

This made my trip in tokyo! The employees obviously love what they do and have no problems sharing information on owls with you, or taking your picture multiple times during your visit. They will happily assist you while you are handling the owls, and will even try to explain handling rules in english. There is also an English instructional sheet which tells you what you should/​should not do while handling the owls.
The owls are all healthy and the employees treat their owls well. They explain that even though owls are known for being most active at night, these owls that are raised in captivity are up during the morning hours and sleep during the night hours.
The leashes that they use for these owls are strings that are attached to wide leather bands around their legs, and although short, it is enough to give to owls some move around space, without it giving enough length for the owls to tangle themselves up in. They have smaller pigmy owls on one side of the café, and a lot larger owls to the other side. During the explanation, they also said not to go out to the side with the bigger owls while handling the smaller ones because the smaller owls may be grabbed by the bigger owl.
Here are some tips for visiting…
First I would recommend that you show up at least an hour before the opening time because About an hour before opening, if you knock on the door an employee will come out and take your reservation. Reservations fill up pretty fast for the day, for every hour they will take in 10 people, so going the hour before opening will ensure you a spot. You pay the 2000 yen per person in advance once the reservations are made.
Second, they ask that you arrive 5 min before your scheduled time. If you are more that 15 min. late to the appointment, they do not offer refunds. Time flys during this activity so be sure to get every minute you can with the owls, they are so well trained and oh so cute!

I was so excited to hold a real, living owl. So Fukurou No Mise was on my list of places to visit when we went to Japan.
Unfortunately, I felt like it was so inhumane how they were treated They were tied by a REALLY short string on to a pole. SUPER short. It couldn’t even lift its leg up to stretch.
Owls are nocturnal, so all these poor owls were getting picked up by people, and just looked exhausted.
One idiot lady didn’t follow the rules, and tried to hug one of the big owls that had a «do not touch» sign on him. The poor owl FREAKED OUT, but couldn’t get away since he was tied to a pole. That broke my heart in a million pieces.
Good for photo ops, but not good for the soul.

The owls are ridiculously cute (kawaii)!!! And the staff were all lovely and helpful. The scheduling can be a little confusing. They get busy you should be there an hour before they open (2pm most days noon on Saturdays) to put your name in and reserve a time. The first day we stopped by they had a note that they were used that day :(which almost crushed my soul. If you can, call to confirm they are open before making the trip out. The staff spoke limited English but they had English handouts with a of the information. There were about 15 owls in a range of sizes and breeds. And excitability. There was an older man who selfishly held on to a white owl I wanted to hold till the hour expired. The staff graciously allowed me to take a picture. Do you want one on your head… Of course you do! Owls are so damn cute. Highly recommend this. Only in Japan.

A not-​so-​quick rundown of this owl café! Note: Things may be operated a little differently now because I visited in September 2014.
— My friend and I arrived before noon on a Wednesday. There were probably about 8 – 10 people standing in line before us. The owner came out at 1pm to take reservations. They only allow about 10 people per time slot, and the time slots are an hour apart. They open at 2pm on Wednesdays, and will take reservations an hour before opening. Here are their hours:
MONDAY: CLOSED
TUESDAY: CLOSED
WEDNESDAY: 2 — 6 PM
THURSDAY: 2 — 6 PM
FRIDAY: 2 — 9 PM
SATURDAY: 12 — 9 PM
SUNDAY: 2 — 6 PM
— My friend and I made a reservation for 2PM, the earliest time slot you can get for a Wednesday. At this time, you pay them 2000yen per person. We had an hour to kill, so we walked around and ate Okonomiyaki at a nearby restaurant. FYI, Tsukishima is known for Monjayaki, but every spot that serves Monjayaki will also serve Okonomiyaki (which I think is way better!)
— They want you to arrive a few minutes before your scheduled time slot. When it’s the time of your reservation, they will let you in. You’ll be seated, and will be given some instructions and safety tips to read. They do not have an English version, so if you don’t speak/​read Japanese, you will need to go with someone that does.
— You will order your drinks, which are included in the entry fee. Beer will cost you extra.
— The owner will give a little speech on how to hold the owls, that you can have them perched on your fingers, shoulders and head, but you will need to ask the staff to move them. You cannot move them yourself. Once they are on you, you can walk around with them! Pictures are highly encouraged. They do make it clear that these birds do poop a lot… so don’t wear anything you don’t want to be pooped on, just in case. Bring an extra shirt or something if you are really concerned. No one was pooped on when I went, but I’m sure it does happen occasionally.
— After about 40 minutes, they will ask you to return to your seats, so they can provide you with some little trinkets to take home with you! This is also the time to chug the drinks you ordered, because you were most likely too busy to drink it when you were interacting with the owls. These little gifts are mostly owl-​themed, and since they only have a few of each kind, they will make you rock-​paper-​scissor. I hope you get what you want!
If you can read Japanese, I highly recommend that you read their blog so you are up to date on their hours and all the owls they have! Sometimes they have ones that they are just boarding for someone else, and those ones are off limits. Have fun!

Heck yeah I specifically planned a trip back to Japan for this (BECAUSE I LOVE BIRDS)
REAL LIVE OWLS? YESSSSSSS!
This café was amazing. I wouldn’t call it a café because hey, everyone knows you are there for the birds and not the coffee/​drinks but whatever. My friend and I arrived around 12:30 to get in line for the reservations, and there were already at least ten people in line! I was a bit nervous that this would mean we wouldn’t be able to get a spot for the first round but it ended up being okay.
At 1 PM the lady came out with a pad of paper and asked each person in line how many people in their party and what time they would like to schedule their reservation. I spoke in Japanese but she speaks some English too. This is also when you pay to get in. My friend and I snagged the 2 PM slot so we were stoked because we only had to wait one more hour before we got to play with the owls :)
After wandering around the area for a bit we came back for our time slot and were invited inside. The café is SMALL and they really cram a good amount of people inside. You get to order one drink and then the lady explains the safety and rules in Japanese (there is a little paper explanation in English too). After that you are free to go over to the owls and choose one to bond with! They are so adorable :) They even let you hold the giant owls too which is a bit scary but totally worth it.
Don’t forget your cameras! They let you take as many pictures as you want but no video for some reason.

This place is AMAZING! In case you were unaware, cat cafes are super passé now in Tokyo – now, owl cafes are alllll the rage! And rightfully so! You have to show up right at opening time (2PM) to snag a reservation – and reservations fill up quickly! When you get your time slot (people are allowed in groups for hour-​long visit with the owls), you line up, and then get a brief intro on owl handling, etc. LET ME MAKE SURE THIS IS UNDERSTOOD… THERE ARE ACTUALLY OWLS HERE.
If I had to guess, about 15 or so were out and available for petting, etc. The staff is excellent, and very respectful of the owls and really makes sure that they’re being handled appropriately.
DEFINITELY worth it!

Loooooved this place. Either call ahead for a reservation or show up early to do put in your reservation and come back hours later. They only take eight people per hour. It cost ¥2000 to get in and you get one free drink. You are given one hour to touch and hold all the different owls at your leisure and to take pictures. The staff is very friendly and nice. They also help take pictures or make sure the owls are looking at the camera. I started with the very tiny owls and then moved onto the bigger owls going with the oldest owl and then all the other ones. I put them on my head I had two on my shoulders and I petted them all. I really thought that one hour to be inside the café might be too much. However, once I was in there it was more than enough time and I’m glad I had such a long time to be in. The first few minutes were spent going over the rules of the place such as no camera flashes although there’s adequate lighting for pictures. You also must hold onto the leash at all times lest the owls fly around the room and hit their heads on ceilings or walls. The small owls must be kept away from the bigger owls because the bigger owls may prey on the small ones if they see something fast flying by. The owls eat meat that is raw for their diet. Apparently in Japan you’re allowed to have owls as pets so they get these from breeders as soon as they’re born and they are tamed to be around humans. So the owls can only be petted on the head and are very tame and very well-​behaved. This was one of the highlights of my trip along with the cup noodles museum and eating great food at night.

THIS WAS MOST DEFINITELY, HANDS DOWN THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF ALL MY JAPAN TRIPS SO FAR.
AN OWL CAFE GUYS.
So! I did so much research about this place months before going. I’ll let you in on the deets:
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays & they have English speaking staff on Fridays. Okay, maybe I didn’t do the best on getting all the info, but on weekdays they are open from 2, closing time unsure. and on weekends, opens at 12.
When you arrive at Tsukishima station, walk out of gate 10. Walk across the street and you’ll see it on your right hand side. I came as early as possible. like 11:15 ish just to get a spot. No one was there by the time we were there, so my bf and I decided to walk around for a bit. The area is literally like okonomiyaki/​monjayaki town. Every restaurant is just that. But, it looked great! About 20 or so minutes later, we walk back and there’s already a couple waiting in line.damnit.
I decided to just stay there, and slowly but surely. more and more people started to show up. SO I SUGGEST TO SHOW UP EARLY. The employees come out at 1 to write names down for time slots. They only let about 10 – 12 people in per 1 hour time slot, and they only have about 4 – 5 slots throughout the day. So, if you don’t get your name down for a slot. well then better luck the next day! They ask for your name and how many people in your group, and which time slot you’d like. I took the first one, 2pm. They mention to come back 5 minutes before your scheduled slot. So, bf and I had 55 minutes to go wander some more and we went to go eat. Literally, I believe that the whole day was filled by 1pm.
When we came back. the outside was surrounded by people who were not in our time slot. Little did they know that they didn’t have an appointment with the owls like we did! At 2pm exactly, the employees came out and called out names. I’m glad they did it in a orderly fashion & we were let in one by one. As you walk in, you are looked out with a bunch of beady little eyes. We were surrounded by owls! :D
It’s 20 Yen per person and it comes with a drink and a little gift! I ordered a lemonade, bf got a beer. In the beginning, they tell you about the owls (I won’t spoil it).so basically they give you an introduction & how to handle them. They aren’t potty trained, so be prepared for poop. Then it was off to hoot at some owls!
There were big ones, huge ones, and teeeeeny tiny wittle ones! I pretty much held every size. You’re allowed to put them on your shoulders, hands, etc. So gentle and soft! One of them loved to bite, and it strangely felt good. The employee was happy to hear that. :p
I actually got pooped on on my hair, and they said, «Congratulations!!» and immediately cleaned it up. We were able to take many pictures with them, and just pet them and have an amazing time. Afterwards they did a little auction of gifts. If more than one person wanted it, we would have to do rock paper scissors. One was an owl bracelet. I WANTED IT. AND I WON! :D Bf got an owl handkerchief!
I definitely would love to go back just to see those adorable owls again. I know I won’t get to experience something like that for a while!