In Japan, you have the opportunity to visit so called owl cafes, which is exactly what it sounds like – you go in and have a coffee while being surrounded by owls (and some other birds). This little fella here is from Nara, a famous place in Japan that is crawling with deer in the city centre. When we finished checking out the local temples and had enough of taking photos of deer, we found an owl cafe on our way to the train station. The rule is simple – get in, get a coffee, and stay no more than 1 hour. There are also some birds that you cannot touch, either because they are on break or because they simply dont like it.
Initially it feels odd to see so many birds chained to a relatively small area – especially considering there were some owls that were massive! However, we have been told the birds are very well kept after and before opening hours, and any sign of stress would have the bird brought to an open area right away for the remainder of the day.
One may think whatever about keeping birds in a cafe like that – but it was an interesting experience for sure. When I was in the cafe, this bird here was on break, meaning no touching or getting too close.
-Phillip
