See Japan from the perspectives of a Singaporean – this is a guest post by our resident blogger Xiaoying who is currently based in Japan

I know the concept of a cat cafe has come to Singapore e.g. Cat Cafe Neko no Niwa (the very first cat cafe in Singapore located at Boat Quay) and the second cat cafe named TheCatCafe at Bugis.

However if you are in Japan and is planning for activities other than that of shopping in Japan, or you just want to run away from your travel mates whom are dying to shop, try getting into one of the cats café.

At least the cats are awake for their food and they will all come out of cardboxes or jump down from shelves towards the food area

There are many cats café around Japan but I personally find the one at Ueno pretty good. The reason because the cats feeding time is after 8pm while other cafes close nearly at 8pm. A late eating time means the cats will be awake for food and when they are awake they play more and that’s the key point to go cats café! When the cats are sleepy you can be a clown all you want and the cats will simply ignore you.

An emotional cat looking out of window after dinner. Customers are welcome to have their meals on the same bench.

Entry Price Plan for Neko Maru Cat Cafe in Ueno, Tokyo

They are not available in English and be prepared to enter a Japanese speaking environment in this tourist-packed Ueno. Here’s the translated information, information accurate to 26^th June 2014.

Plan/Pack Price	Time Period	Weekdays	Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday
Trial Plan (for first timers and folks with time limit)	15 min	350 JPY	NA
	30 min	700 JPY	800 JPY
Basic Plan	60 min	1,200 JPY	1,300 JPY
Special Pack ※15 min extension 300 JPY	90 min	1,600 JPY	1,800 JPY
	120 min	2,100 JPY	2,300 JPY
Night Pack	1700～Close	1,800 JPY	2,500 JPY
One Day Free Pack ※Free Entry/Exit anytime	Open～Close	2,200 JPY	3,500 JPY
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday 3 hours Pack ※Free Entry/Exit anytime	Open～Close	NA	3,024 JPY

If you cant speak Japanese, just use the most useful finger skill and point at the chart. For first timers, I think the 30 min (700 JPY or 800 JPY) is fine.

Catch them around Ueno!

Getting to Neko Maru Cat Cafe at Ueno, Tokyo

Website: http://www.nekomarucafe.com/ueno/index.html

Address: 〒110-0005 Tokyo-to Taito-ku Ueno 7-2-2 Toeido Building 8^th floor

東京都台東区上野7-2-2　東叡堂ビル8階

https://www.google.com/maps/place/%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%8F%B0%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%BA%E4%B8%8A%E9%87%8E%EF%BC%97%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE%EF%BC%92/@35.7129522,139.7776897,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x60188e9eb218d41b:0x92a7b4ba00ad715

Directions: Ueno Station. Accessible by JR, Tokyo Metro Ginza and Tokyo Metro Hibiya. 1 minute walk from Asakusa exit.

Opening Hours of Neko Maru Cat Cafe at Ueno, Tokyo

Monday – Friday: 1100-2200 (last entry 2100)

Saturday: 1000-2200 (last entry 2100)

Sunday: 1000-2000 (last entry 1900)