Catssssssss

Anyone who knows me knows that I love cats. I have been going through cat withdrawal since coming to Japan and was finally able to spend time with cats again thanks to a cat cafe! In Japan, animal cafes are extremely popular. There are everything from owl cafes, cat cafes, doctor fish cafes, and even reptile cafes! You pay for the amount of time you want to spend with the animals and, since these are cafes, you may pay extra to have a drink and/or snack as well. The cafe I visited is called Neko no Jikan (which literally means Cat Time). 

One hour with the cats costs 900 yen (approximately $9) or you can pay 1100 yen ($11) for and hour with the cats plus a drink of your choice. I decided on the drink option and got to sit in a small cafe area drinking a caramel latte while waiting for my turn to see the cats. Only so many people are allowed in with the cats at a time, so you are put on a waiting list and must wait in the cafe area, so the drink option makes the waiting much more enjoyable! One of the cat cafe staff calls your name when they are ready for you and you remove your shoes and wash you hands so as to not bring any germs in to where the cats live. When you walk in, there are cats sleeping on cat beds and on wall shelves, along with playing with the other customers. One even decided to take a nap in a man's lap for his entire hour!

Zzzzzzz

This guy was super soft and fluffy!

The white cat was coming over to everyone and seemed really curious!

Visiting Neko no Jikan was a really cool experience and definitely something you wouldn't be able to find in America! I love everytime I get to try out something new to me here! Spending time with the cats was lots of fun and I am planning on visiting the cafe again for sure!

A Day in the Diet of an Exchange Student

Saturday morning for this particular exchange student begins at around 11 am. Time to stumble into the kitchen and slap some breakfast together. Today's choice- an egg on toast, a cup of coffee, and a giant bottle of water. 

After some time working on starting the day properly, a trip to the vending machines downstairs is in order. Japanese vending machines offer a wide variety of types and flavors of drinks. To change things up from my usual coffee drink, I ended up buying a strawberry milk which was super sweet!

As the day moves on, it comes time for lunch. Nothing quite like heating up a frozen pork bun in the microwave and eating it while watching some Japanese television!

Then it's time to go adventuring out into Japan with some friends! First stop- a bakery cafe! You pick your bakery goods off the shelves, then order a drink and bring it all upstairs to the sitting area. I chose a chocolate croissant, a Hokkaido Melon Bread (which tastes like watermelon), and a cafe mocha! Yum!

After an hour or two of wandering around and shopping, it was off to karaoke! You can order drinks and food to be brought to your private karaoke room while you belt out Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne classics at the top of your lungs with good friends. I got an apple pie to go with my crazy singing!

Not the healthiest of days for sure, but definitely tasty! I promise I don't eat like this everyday :P This is just what happens when I go adventuring on Saturdays! You have to go a little all out every now and then!