Last Day in Kyoto: Visit to the Cat Cafe

We had a late start to the day.  All the walking is getting to us sedentary office workers and our feet are quite worn out.  The novelty of sleeping on the futon is also beginning to wear out.  We made a late departure from the hotel and went to the Cat Cafe Nekokaigi!.

At the cat cafe

The cafe is not that easy to find- it is located on the second floor of the building, and we walked past it and had to retrace our steps.  But once we get there, the place is obvious as there are many cat-themed decorations around the front entrance.  Payment is by the hour - and you have to order a drink as well.  But it was well worth it!  The cats are normal street cats - gingers, tabbies, calicos and the like.  They are mostly quite friendly and take to being stroked by strangers quite well.  In fact, one of the cats is rather friendly and will climb on to your lap for more strokes if you pet her.  A few of them were sleeping, snoozing on top of the cat tree, or on the long low counter running along the window of the cafe.  One of the rules of the cafe - don't wake the sleeping cats!

There were two staff in the cafe - a younger man, and an older cat aunty.  The cats know them very well, and run to them demanding to be petted.  And they always oblige!  They even have a special way of patting them - more like gentle whacks on the bum, which the cats seem to appreciate.  I tried it out on the cats and this was also well-received (in fact I have now occasionally done this to my own cats at home and they too seem to like it).  

Anyway, the hour went all too fast and we proceeded on our way.  It was an enjoyable visit, but made me homesick for my own pussies.  Indeed, it is a good thing that we only did this on our last day in Kyoto.

Temple in Teramachi Arcade

We walked next to Teramachi Arcade, a few blocks away.  The Arcade is mainly shops, but interspersed with a number of temples.  Apparently the temples were relocated here many years ago, in line with the urban planning intent of the times. The shopping centre came later, but it is a trifle incongruous to see these temples amongst the food and clothes shops, not to mention the 100 yen shop.As 100 yen is about $1.20, it is cheaper than the Singapore S$2 shop equivalent.   I bought a bamboo steamer, cos you certainly can't get one for $1.20 in Singapore.  

Nishiki Market

We ended our day walking through Nishiki market.  It is most definitely THE most convenient place to buy Japanese snacks and titbits.  Happily munching and packing our purchases in our shopping bags, we made our way through the market.  There were stalls selling pickles, fish, the seasoned toppings for rice, tea (bought some), takoyaki (grilled octopus balls), sashimi skewers (I had one), fishballs, soy milk ice cream and donuts (we tried some of these too).  

Ours was a night flight, but by the time we finished with the market we had only enough time to get back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and make our way to the airport.

All in all, it was a wonderfully sakura-filled visit to Kyoto.  And since many sights remain unvisited, many temples unseen, I have every excuse to go again....

To end off, here's my Flickr page to visit for more photos (including, when I get round to uploading them, videos of my visit to the Cat Cafe!