While cafés where you can pet cats and rabbits are rapidly increasing, my attention was brought to that of a slightly different animal café. A hedgehog café! A small round animal, covered in prickly spines. I’m sure many of you are quite surprised, I was too, but they are just too cute once you have contact with one! Being the perfect size for your hands makes them even more adorable!! I think there are many people who have seen pictures of hedgehogs, but have never seen one in real life, so I definitely recommend you go here! You’ll experience a whole new world of hedgehogs.
There may be people who misunderstand, so let’s study a little bit about hedgehogs. While their name includes the word “hog”, they aren’t related to pigs in any way. Hedgehogs are related to moles and shrews, a completely different animal!
As these aren’t animals you usually come into contact with, like dogs and cats, it might be good to go to a café where you can get to know their charm. I will now introduce a place in Tokyo where you can do just that.
Hedgehogs actually quite like the attention!
Source: https://bit.ly/1oHx680
But before we get to that!
No need to worry if this is your first time meeting a hedgehog. Let’s start by learning about their special traits and the correct way to hold them.
【Hedgehog’s Lifestyle Rhythm】
Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so they are active late in the day.
Morning to noon – Sleeping time
Evening – Slowly wake up and start moving
Night – Time to eat
Middle of the night – Time to exercise after eating
Early morning – When the sun rises it’s time for bed
In other words it’s the exact opposite lifestyle of humans, so it may be lonely to have as a pet since they’ll be asleep when you want to play with them.
【How to Hold a Hedgehog】
Gently hold in your hands!
STEP 1: Scoop them up with both hands, like when scooping water.
STEP 2: Wrap both hands around them and lift. Hold your hands at an angle and be careful not to drop them.
STEP 3: They won’t struggle if you support their bottom and keep them stable.
If you don’t have a firm understanding on how to hold a hedgehog they may become frightened as they are nervous creatures.
Do it very gently OK!
＜HARRY ROPPONGI＞
The shop is so fashionable!
You can find a hedgehog café 1 minute from Roppongi station on foot. There are only a few cafés like this in Tokyo and they are quite popular, so make sure to make a reservation before you go! Now I’ll introduce the hedgehogs you can meet at “HARRY”. Their bodies are covered with spines, so they may look similar initially, but if you look closely the colors of the spines and their faces are different.
Salt & Pepper.
This is the standard color. The contrast of white and black is the main feature!
Cinnamon.
The special attribute here are the light brown spines. If you look closely they are all different!
Brown Pied
Two tones, of brown and white are a nice color trait.
There are many kinds of hedgehogs waiting to meet you!
The café is so popular they opened one in Harajuku too, so definitely check it out!
＜HARRY ROPPONGI＞ Website：https://www.harinezumi-cafe.com/ Address： IWAHORI Building 2F, 6-7-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN ＜HARRY HARAJUKU＞ Website：https://www.harinezumicafe-harajuku.com/ Address:：Shanzeru Harajuku Building 2 4F, 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
＜The Ikemofu Animal Room＞
You can meet rare animals here too
Rare animals such as the fennec fox, kinkajou, meerkats, and other animals you’ve never heard of before can be seen here as well! You may not be able to picture some of these right away so here’s your chance to google them. It’s a pretty interesting café with rabbits, chinchillas, and flying squirrels. Owls and reptiles can also be found here. I don’t think there is any other place where you can meet and interact with so many different animals.
I’ll introduce some of the hedgehogs you can meet at Ikemofu Animal Room.
“My name is moon.”
His two-toned spines are cool, right!
“Hello! I’m Saturn.”
Rolled up into a ball she is so adorable!
“I’m called Sun.”
His large ratio of white spines is cute.
There are about 12 different types of hedgehogs waiting to meet you! Definitely check this place out as these guys, just the size of your palm, will heal that everyday stress.
＜Ikemofu Animal Room＞ Website：https://www.ikemofu.jp/index.php Address:：Narita Building 6F, 1-29-4 Higashi Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
Edit & Text: MUGI
＜PROFILE＞
A girl living in Tokyo with her spoiled and chubby chi-poo (Chihuahua and poodle mix). I like unique scents and taking walks.
