Japan is well known for having a pretty big obsession with any and all animals that are even remotely cute. In Tokyo, Cat Cafes and Rabbit Cafes have become incredibly popular spots for locals and tourists alike. These cafes offer people the chance to interact with beautiful animals in a cute little cafe setting.
However, Tokyo is the kind of place where things just keep becoming more and more experimental. So it isn’t all that surprising that after not too long, cat and bunny cafes became kinda normal and people were looking for new ways to spice up the animal cafe business.
Enter the new kid on the block – Harry’s Cafe.
A hedgehog cafe.
Yup – your eyes are not deceiving you – that is a teeny tiny hedgie!
Harry’s Cafe is located a short one-minute walk from Roppongi Station in Tokyo. If you are trying to get there using directions from an offline maps app – be aware that Harry’s doesn’t always come up on such apps. Instead – input ‘Ms. Bunny’ for accurate directions. Ms. Bunny is a rabbit cafe and is located in the same building as Harry’s.
A visit to Harry’s does not require a reservation, but having one is highly recommended. The place can become incredibly busy on weekends and public holidays. A standard booking gives you an hour in the cafe, and lets you interact with up to five little hedgehogs, but if one hour is not enough time, you are able to book longer visits.
A standard one hour visit will set you back ¥2000 ($25) on weekdays and ¥2600 ($32) on weekends.
I went into my hedgehog encounter having absolutely no idea what to expect. Would the hedgehogs be playful or docile? Would they bite or scratch?
As it turns out, the answers to those questions are totally dependent on the hedgehog!
The first one I went to play with was NOT in the mood to interact with anyone. Every time I went to pick him up he would do an artful little roll and evade me! He was a scrambly little fella and was far more interested in snoozing than playing.
The second hedgie I chose to have an encounter with was this little cutie, and he was such a lovely little creature!
He seemed to really enjoy being handled, especially when I stroked his little nose! He was a docile thing, and if I stopped stroking him for even a second – he wasted no time in curling up into a ball and going off to sleep!
An hour long visit to the cafe includes a small selection of drinks which guests may help themselves to. The cafe does not serve food but does allow guests to bring in their own snacks. However, lets be honest here, people do not visit these sorta cafes for a wide range of food and beverages.
The hedgehogs are the main attraction here.
Look at this little face!
The cafe also sells some of these hedgies for people to keep as domestic pets. If the import of hedgehogs wasn’t illegal in Australia, I think I would’ve liked to bring this little guy home with me.
A visit to the Hedgehog Cafe is by no means a cheap experience, but it is one that you cannot get anywhere else, and if you are a fan of hedgehogs (or small animals in general) it is an experience that is undoubtedly worth having.
T H E L O W D O W N
Getting to Tokyo: There are two major airports in Tokyo – Narita and Haneda – these two airports serve as major international hubs for Japan
Getting to Roppongi Station: From Shinjuku Station, catch the Oedo Line bound for Tocho-Mae and disembark at Roppongi
Harry’s Cafe: Entrance to the cafe for one hour will set you back ¥2000 on weekdays, click here to book
Threads: My stunning red maxi dress is by Tigerlily Swimwear
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 lens
Remember: Bookings are not essential but are highly recommended
Don’t forget to add me on Snapchat and Instagram – @wwellend – for more foolishness and travel adventures!
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Lastly, I am currently working on a ‘Get To Know Me/FAQ’ post, so if you have any questions about myself, travelling, midwifery, blogging or anything at all, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to answer them!
I DIDNT EVEN KNOW CAT CAFES WERE A THING!!!!!! This makes me so happy ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ I want to open one in the US
Please do! I would be there all the time!
I can’t wait to tell my boyfriend! He wants to open a coffee shop one day- so he will love this idea!
Start a franchise and open one in Aus! I’d be there for sure!
They look so cute. I would just go to the cafe for them, rather than what they sell 🙂
Totally agree! I couldn’t have cared less about the drinks, I was just there for the hedgies!
So adorable. I just love hedgehogs.
Me too, they are such sweet little creatures.
This is the best thing ever (besides cat cafés…cats are on the top of my list)! I’ll have to share this with people I know who may travel to Japan! Thanks so much for sharing!
I am more a bunny person than a cat person… but I would still totally visit a cat cafe!
6th photo is an optical illusion … fingers looks hand.. any one else saw it ?
Oh my this is adorable. They are too cute! X
Super cute! BTW, I did a diuble take at the exchange rates, until I realized you were talking Australian dollars!
Of course in Aussie dollars! This Aussie gal has gotta write in her own currency 🙂
This is quite possibly the greatest thing I have ever seen!
Hahaha awesome! How bloody cute are these gorgeous spiky creatures?!
All I can say is ‘awwww’.. The white one looks like a cute, little albino hog..
It does! It was one of the biggest ones there but he was very happy to just chill out.
This is so adorable!! Must go sometime 🙂
It would definitely be worth the trip!
So very sweet Ellen!! 😘💕
Thank you! They are so cute!
I have eight hedgehogs and they all like to sleep during the day lol
OMG 8?! What are there names?
Their names are Pizza, Lasagna, Ravioli, Hershey, Pepper, S’mores, Bree, and Mimi. Haha!
Hahaha those are such cute names!
Cuteness overload – informative. Never knew much of this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
My pleasure! Thanks for reading 🙂
You are very welcome
Oh my gosh I need to go here! I want a pet hedgehog so badly…except that I don’t want the responsibility of figuring out who will take care of it when I go on trips. Going to Japan seems so much easier!
Totally agree! I desperately want a husky but would feel so guilty about leaving it behind! Easier to just go back to Greenland and enjoy them there!
Very cute!! What do they do to the fully grown ones?
I am surprised you didn’t try to take that one home. Looked very comfortable with you. You are enjoying all the animals on this trip. Have fun.
Believe me, I thoroughly looked up the import/export laws! If I could have I would have 🙂
That would be such a sweet experience. Leave it to the Japanese to come up with novel experiences, in urban settings.
They are such a creative group of people, not surprising at all that they would come up with something like this!
Adorable!
You are looking so adorable with those hedgehog
Thank you so much! 🙂
Super cute.
Oh my god they are so cute!!:)
Before I noticed your blog I did have a wish for travelling, not to see places but to meet people I met online all over the world. But your stories, your adventures and the way you advertise all the goods across the world is just amazing and now I really just wish to grab my bestie (who would like this even more than me!) for hand and go travel away somewhere random. Ure a true inspiration, keep it up! 😀
Do it! Just do it as soon as physically possible! You will love each and every second!
I just watched an episode of Chelsea Handler’s show on Netflix where she went to Japan-and a cat cafe! But hedgehogs?!?!? This kept me squeeling all morning! Thanks for sharing!
Oh I am so gonna go and watch that episode ASAP! Thanks for reading 🙂
I’m so jealous! I absolutely adore hedgehogs, and I really regret not visiting this cafe while in Tokyo! I’ll definitely have to check it out next time. I simply can’t afford not to!
When are you heading back?
I’d love to head back in 2017 but I’ll have to see if I can afford it or not. Fingers crossed!
It is really cute but I have to ask, does this seem like animal cruelty? It kind of feels a bit unfair to the hedgehogs to be pestered…especially when they are nocturnal animals. Did you get a sense of that at all?
I must admit, I did wonder the same thing before I went, and yes I guess the upset to their natural rhythms isn’t ideal – but aside from that, they seemed incredibly well cared for. People were constantly watching them and making sure nobody mishandled them, if they seemed agitated they were left alone and they were incredibly vigilant about cleanliness. I guess it’s hard to know to be really honest, but I didn’t get that vibe while I was there.
That’s good to know. Makes the experience more wholesome and rewarding I think. I love sharing moments with wildlife, it somehow gives a sense of perspective and peace.
This is so cute
O wow it is so cute! I heard they have sheep cafe too. I wonder if people going to make penguin cafe 😁😁😁
Omg a sheep cafe!? This trend just keeps getting stranger and stranger haha
Haha They just don’t like normal human cafe XD
Tokyo, hedgehog, amazing lol Nice reading!
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Oh my god, this is so cute!
Reblogged this on spencesgirl and commented:
This is fascinating to me and had to share this post from a blogger I follow.
This is sooooo cute !!! 🙂
I squealed, which is so not like me, when I saw the hedgehog. I told my husband that Tokyo was now on my ‘travel bucket list’. His answer was a definite no, but he did try to adopt one at a local zoo as a Christmas present, but their hedgehog had died earlier this year. A girl can wish that she gets to meet a hedgehog in person some day.
Looks like an amazing experience. Our youngest son, Jay, is studying in Tokyo until February and this place is on his hit list of places to go to.
OMG – I can’t even DEAL with the cuteness!! I absolutely love hedgehogs – I am adding a visit to Harry’s to my bucketlist (even if I can’t do it in 2017)!!
Charlie x
https://thebarefootangel.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/my-bucket-list-for-2017/
Woohoo! I hope you do make it there this year 🙂
I hope so too – that would be amazing!!!
Omg i love them😍😍😍