Neko no Mise: Tokyo Machida

Run by a cat-welfare organization, Neko no Mise is a pleasant and reasonably priced place to drop by for a short coffee break or a relaxing afternoon. There are plenty of comfortable seats in the spacious playroom, and the cover charge is calculated in ten-minute increments for short visits, as well as economical three-hour plans. Drink orders are optional, and you can even bring your own lunch bento.

If you're in for the long haul, there's an option for unlimited soft drinks (coffee, tea, soda) from the vending machine for just Y350. A lot of visitors seem to be just hanging out - surfing the internet or reading as well as playing with the 15-18 resident cats. The bookshelves are filled with hundreds of books, magazines and comics for your perusal, and at least one computer is available for visitors, in addition to free WiFi.

There are also lots of cat toys if you want to play with the cats, and cat snacks (Y300) if you really want to make friends. Feeding times are listed as 12:30 and 9:30pm - the best time to see the largest number of cats awake from their naps.

The cafe is located very close to Machida JR station, on the underdeveloped south side of the station. We almost missed it, as it's located in a nondescript building that seemed to be under renovation when we visited.

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Neko no Mise
042-722-0544
Tokyo Machida / Cat cafe
Open noon-10pm daily.
Cover charge is Y150 for every ten minutes, or Y1500 for two hours
Average visit time: 30-60 minutes
Machida-shi, Hara Machida 1-2-9-202.
1 minute from Machida station (JR Yokohama line)