America really needs to step up its game when it comes to animal cafés, and we’re not just talking cute kitten and puppy cafés. Japan is totally winning the quirky animal café game, especially with its owl cafés. Yes, there’s more than one: there’s Café Baron, plus Fukuru Sabou, Fukurou no Sato, Ikefukurou Owl Café in the Ikebukuro district (see the video above), Fukuro no Mise in Tsukishima and Owl Family and Crew—both in Osaka.
At some of the cafés, you can pet the owls on their heads (which they seem to enjoy):
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Toukou Sousui
And if you're peckish (ha-ha), you can dine on owl-themed snacks (because Japan):
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Toukou Sousui
You can take pictures of them on your shoulder:
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Toukou Sousui
Your head:
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/TheMarcusChance
Or your hand:
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/John Gillespie
Our big question is this: how long will it take for an owl café to open in the U.S.? Maybe it can be a late-night cafe, since the birds are nocturnal. No one seems to really go to Hooters anyway—we’d much rather have a staring contest with cute owls.