When I was in Osaka, I decided to try a different animal café, since I did the sheep café back in Seoul, Korea, and since I am a huge fan of owls, we decided to visit an owl cafe in Osaka.

pic credit to jpmanual.com

In Malaysia, there are owl cafes but sadly, there are no real owls around, only owl decorations around… I wanted to see and get close to some real owls… so somehow, I ‘googled’ it out and ‘google’ led me to the ‘Owl Family’ cafe in Tenmangu, Osaka…

In Osaka, Owl Family have three different shops where you can indulge in your love for the feathered and furred, while getting some refreshments.

pic credit to veltra.com

At The Chou Chou Tenmangu Store, there are over twenty different owl species for you to play with, including some rare breeds such as the Bay Owl that actually cost a huge chunk of money.. can you believe me if I tell you you can buy a nice new car or a low cost apartment here in Malaysia with the price of one of these owls….

We were at the Chou Chou Tenmangu Store which was located on the 2^nd floor in one of the Osaka shopping alleys known as then Tenjinbashi Shopping Street, accessible via Tenjimbashi 6- chome or Minamimorimachi Station on the Subway Saikuji Line, or Temma Station on JR Osaka Loop Line..

The shopping street can be pretty long at 2.6 km, so be sure to ask the Japanese people where the Owl café is… the Japanese are very friendly and will help point you in the right direction, or even send you to the doorstep…

An hour with your new furry friends cost just about 1500 yen (adult price), which includes a choice of hot or cold beverage. And be very careful not to accidentally exceed your selected time limit, or you will need to pay extra!

The store assistants speak reasonably good English and they told me to keep my belongings in a locker provided, before I was made to watch a 5 minute video on the do’s and don’ts of owl handling.

Once done, only am I allowed to approach the owl handling zone! The owls on duty are placed on a ‘pedestal’ and you can just point out the owl to a member of staff, who will place the owl on your hand and wrap the leash around your hand.. Should the owl flail or struggle, it can be a scary thing as you worry of injuring it, but do not drop the owl as it might cause more injuries to the owl, the staff with settle the owl for you.

There are different rules of engagement for the various sizes of birds – for example small birds can be put directly on your hand, or sit happily on top of your head for photo ops; while medium-size birds can sit on your shoulder and large birds can only be held after you’ve put on a leather glove or gauntlet. Be forewarned that the large birds can be pretty heavy and the claws can be pretty huge and sharp, thus the necessity of the glove/gauntlet…

You have to wave your hand in front of the birds eyes before you stroke them with the back of your hand gently…

The birds are rotated every 30 minutes or so, to limit the stress of the birds…and there might be about 6-8 birds at the owl handling zone at any one time

It is an amazing experience really getting to be up close and personal with these gorgeous birds and some what intimidating also, especially with the bigger birds… the store assistant herself was so excited and kept exclaiming how ‘kawaii’ the tiny owls were when we held them… lol…

The other owls off duty might be sleeping and therefore not available to play with or for you to disturb, however, you are free to take as many photos of the resting owls as you like without the flash or invading their space of course…

Address – 1 Chome-10-13 Tenjinbashi, Kita Ward, Osaka

For more info, check out https://www.facebook.com/fukurounomisechouchou.osaka