Looking for unique experience at cafe in Japan ? Why not trying “owl cafe” in Kanazawa?
Are you looking for something unique experience in Kanazawa Japan ? If you are interested in birds, you should try “owl cafe ” in Kanazawa city, Japan. There are two “owl cafes “in Kanazawa city. You will see and touch real owl there ! On this blog, you’ll see how it is worth to visit, the access, fee and services, rules and the way to get discount …etc
Where is the owl cafe in Kanazawa ?
Does owls bring you good luck !?
“Bird/ rooster【鳥】” is the year of animal in 2017 in the Chinese Zodiac as you may know already. It is known as “Eto-干支/ Jyu-nishi 十二支” in Japan.
In Japan, having or carrying the year of animal that brings you good luck. So people tend to eat out ” Yakitori” which is grilled chicken and vegetables with skewer and also buying charms of bird for phone strap or idol for the entrance …etc
Particularly, owls are special birds for Japanese.
The reason why owl is called Fukuro in Japanese, フクロウ (梟), which can be written in different sets of characters: One with the meaning of luck (福 fuku, luck; 来ku, to come; 郎 ro suffix used in boys’ names), and the other as protection from hardship (不 fu, no, 苦労 kurou suffering/hardship).
The map of owl cafes in Kanazawa
Both of owl cafes are opened in 2017 in Kanazawa city, Ishikawa.
One is ” FUKUROU CAFE KANAZAWA – Owl connect groups ” Another one is ” FUKUROU NO SUMIKA ”
You can check their locations from the map below.
So what are the differences between two shops except the address ?
You can simply read through this article and make a choice or why not trying both if you are owl lover 😉
You can be “Harry Potter” at The FUKUROU CAFE KANAZAWA
There are many kind of owls appeared in the Harry Potter though they have “Hedwig “- Snowy Owl, companion to Harry Potter !
At the owl cafe Kanazawa, they DO…
- have a long black robe and arrow you to put owls on your arm and take picture !
- give you a piece of feather of owl for souvenir
What you CAN’T..
- feed owls
- taking photo with flash
- speak loudly
What kind of owls do they have ? How many ?
11 owls / Snowy owl, Indian eagle-owl, Barn owl, Tawny owl, Spotted owlet, Northern white-faced owl…etc *
*It may change from owl’s health condition
Time schedule and services
Duration is 1 hour that included explanation of the rules, patting & photo time, tea-time you can choose 1 drink (coffee, orange juice, and other soft drinks) , 10 minutes break for owls
Booking available from 11a.m to 7p.m / up to 8 people for a session / by phone or online
Admission/ Price
Adult (Age 13 & over) 2,000 JPY
Child (Age 0-12) 1,700 JPY
Basic information of Fukurou cafe Kanazawa- Owl Connect Groups
[address] 〒920-0854 11-40 Yasue-cho, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa, Japan [hours] 11:00~20:00 [access] It takes about 10 minutes walk from Kanazawa station/ Just 3 minutes walk from Oumicho-market [TEL]+81 (0)76-256-0296 [ Website] Fukurou cafe Kanazawa (English )♦Note:
Staff may not able to speak English well.
If you download ” Line “app and add and follow “ふくろうcafe福井” (the fukurou Cafe ) and show the page, you get 200 yen discount.
PLUS you can get 100 yen discount if you post the picture of the shop on facebook or instagram.
You may better to bring glasses for being really like Harry Potter 😉
Plenty of Owl items at Fukurou-no-sumika
If you are looking for something lucky owl charm, this shop is pretty good one. They have rare species which is “rabbit owl ” as the shape of their ear tuft looks like rabbit one! She was sleeping and just 3-months-old when the time opening month, March, 2017.
At Fukurou no Sumika, they DO…
- have over 1,000 owl items in the shop and some of them you can buy* not all
- allow you to bring your own food at the cafe
- have feather toy for playing with owls
What you CAN’T..
- feed owls
- taking photo with flash
- speak loudly
- put owls on your arm
What kind of owls do they have ? How many ?
5 owls /Spectacled owl, Barn owl, Tawny owl and Rabbit owl..etc *
*It may change from owl’s health condition
Time schedule and services
Duration is 1 hour that included explanation of the rules, patting & photo time, tea-time you can choose 1 drink (coffee, orange juice, and other soft drinks)
You don’t have to make a reservation basically at this cafe. But they do take reservation between 19:00~20:00
Open from 11a.m to 8p.m (weekdays ) 10a.m to 8p.m / up to 25 people for a session
Admission/ Price
Adult (Age 19 & over) 1,500 JPY
Student (Age 13-18) 1,700 JPY
Child ( Age 6-12) 1,000 JPY
Kids (Under Age 5) FREE *Up to 2 Kids. After 3rd kids will be charged 1,000 JPY per kids.
♦ short time offer; 1,000 JPY for 30 minutes without drink
Basic information of Fukurou no Sumika
[address]〒921-8043 3-4 Nishiizumi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa, Japan [hours] 11:00~20:00( weekday ) 10:00~20:00 ( Weekends /Holiday ) [access] Catch Bus #44 at Kanazawa station #9 bus station. Ride about 20 minutes/ fee is 240 yen. Getting off at ” Nishi-izumi-jyu-taku (西泉住宅 )and across the street and walk about 3mints. The shop is located on your right to forward from the bus run. [TEL] +81 (0)90-2034-8305 /website Fukurou-no-sumika (only Japanese )♦Note:
Staff may not able to speak English well.
They take only CASH
Free Parking space available just in front of the shop. If it is full please ask the shop staff.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, It was fully booked at Owl Cafe Kanazawa when I visited just after they opened on January 2017. These days, you can easily to call in / book between noon and evening as they have opened other branches in Toyama.
I had a chance to go Fukurou no Sumika and able to shoot some photos of their owls. The shop is operated by a family who is amazingly owl lover, so they have plenty of owl items in the shop. They have more space and parking space so I recommend especially big group over 8 people to go Fukurou no Sumika.
The big differences between these shops are ” Allow / Not allow you to put owl on your arm or shoulder “
Patting is fine for both but if you would like to do that you should go Fukurou Cafe Kanazawa as they allowed.
For the pricing, obviously Fukurou no Sumika is cheaper than Fukurou Cafe kanazawa though I have got information about Fukurou Cafe Kanazawa, they are going to change the price for Kids. So I will update if they changed, but you can ask them the fee for your kids if your kids willing to take photos like Harry Potter ! as only Fukurou Cafe Kanazawa has ” Snowy Owl ” so far.
Thanks for reading ! Hope this article helps you enjoy more Kanazawa travel 🙂