A Little Owl Love at Fukuro Sabo

You may have heard of cat cafes in Japan where you can sit and enjoy a drink and perhaps have a slice of cake, all while cats roam around the room looking for treats and head scratches. They are fairly popular with those folks who love cats but cannot have one in their own apartment and though I was surprised to hear of them at first, it really makes a lot of sense. But have you ever heard of an owl cafe? They exist!

A few months ago I heard there was an owl cafe named Fukuro Sabo (Owl Cafe) a couple stations away in Kokubunji and first thought it must only have owl-themed decorations or perhaps cakes shaped like owls. When I learned it had live owls and that you could hold them, visiting the owl cafe became a must! A few weeks ago I finally managed to make my way there. The cafe is located in a residential neighborhood so at first I thought perhaps we were lost. But eventually we turned a corner and there it was with two large owls sitting and looking out at the neighborhood.

The cafe is fairly small with just a few tables but luckily one was free. First we ordered some snacks and tea, with my husband ordering a plate of fries and sausage and me going straight for the red tea cake with sweet jam. It was actually quite a large piece of cake so I had plenty of time to peruse the owl menu while I ate my cake and drank my milk tea that came in a cute owl glass, of course.

You can see owls resting inside an enclosure inside the cafe and enjoy watching them at your leisure but you can also pay a small fee to hold an owl. The owl menu lists the various prices to hold different owls and tells a little about each one, like the name and where he/she is from. I’ll admit, I’m not generally a bird person…whenever I visit someone’s house with a pet bird, I’d much prefer to admire him or her from a distance and avoid the risk of getting pecked or scratched. But visiting the cafe, I just had to hold an owl. I looked through the photos and picked the owl that looked the sweetest to me, a barn owl named ボンちゃん (pronounced Bon-chan). Once we were finished with our snacks and the table had been cleared of all plates and glasses, the staff gave me a glove to wear and brought over ボンちゃん. He was absolutely adorable! And so unbelievably soft! He seemed very happy to sit with us and receive our attention. In fact, he was completely calm and relaxed while I was the one that was completely mesmerized and couldn’t stop grinning. ^_^

I definitely fell a little bit in love with ボンちゃん so I think I’d always recommend him first (and did to a friend who took her son there to meet him just one week later), but there were lots of other beautiful owls in the cafe. I thought the three smallest owls looked like they were plotting some mischief.

I was completely satisfied with our visit to the cafe and even left with a silly grin. The staff were great in answering all our questions and telling us about the owls’ daily lives and personalities. You could tell they really love their feathery friends. The owls themselves were beautiful and I felt lucky to have had the opportunity to hold one. I definitely left the cafe with a new appreciation for these beautiful birds and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in getting to know these guys a little better. If you visit, say hi to ボンちゃん for me!