--- title: A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo description: Fully stocked with 20 to 30 different breeds of hedgehogs canonical: https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-07T16:35:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:53.156Z og:title: A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo og:description: Fully stocked with 20 to 30 different breeds of hedgehogs og:url: https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo twitter:description: Fully stocked with 20 to 30 different breeds of hedgehogs twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo > Sponsored content. 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In Osaka, Japan, where many apartment dwellers aren't allowed to keep pets, cat fanciers spend time with their favorite felines at the Cats’ Time Cafe_ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Apr 7, 2016 4:35 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Apr 7, 2016 4:35 PM UTC Cat cafes are so last year. Back in 2014, [Japan spearheaded](http://time.com/2280/heres-an-inside-look-at-japans-best-cat-cafes/) what would become a global trend—cat cafes, a place for patrons to drink coffee in the company of cats. Now, cat cafes are popping up across the United States from [New York](http://time.com/3987579/new-york-city-second-cat-cafe/) to [Oakland](http://time.com/3539012/cat-cafe-oakland/). Japan, however, has moved on. ### A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion  This Year's Model Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Simple, Yet Elegant Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Sorry, Did You Say Something? Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  The "Little Squirrel on the Prairie" Look Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Forever Gingham Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  I Call This My "Going Visiting Dress" Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Chill in the Air Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Can't a Squirrel Eat in Peace? Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  CPR: Cute Professional Rodent Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Sharing Is Caring Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Too. Much. Starch. Can't. Breathe. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  One Sample per Customer, Please Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A Clean Squirrel Is a Happy Squirrel Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Ahhhh. Warm Towels. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  To Sleep, Perchance to Dream ... of Acorns ... Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images _The Guardian_ [reports](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/07/hedgehog-cafe-opens-in-tokyo-to-promote-animals-softer-side) that Tokyo is now getting its very own _hedgehog_ cafe, where customers can pony up 1,000 yen ($9) on weekdays and 1,300 yen ($12) on holidays to carefully play and cuddle with the prickly yet adorable animals. The cafe is called “Harry”—a play on the Japanese word for needle–and is fully stocked with 20 to 30 different breeds of hedgehogs for all your cuddling needs. “We wanted to show people the charm of hedgehogs, which give the impression of being hard to handle. We wanted to get rid of that image by letting people touch them,” cafe worker Mizuki Murata told _The Guardian._ The cafe is already a hit, with an employee telling [NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/video/tokyo-s-hedgehog-cafe-sees-a-spike-in-popularity-660713539743) that there has been a line out the door since the cafe opened. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/"},"headline":"A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo","datePublished":"2016-04-07T16:35:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:53.156Z","description":"Fully stocked with 20 to 30 different breeds of hedgehogs","url":"https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Japan"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/","name":"A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Paying for Petting Time in Japan's Cat Cafes","description":"In Osaka, Japan, where many apartment dwellers aren't allowed to keep pets, cat fanciers spend time with their favorite felines at the Cats’ Time Cafe","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HhzXsIjc/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-06-28T20:48:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HhzXsIjc.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/","duration":"PT3M38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4285123/hedgehog-cafe/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```