The newest player on Japan’s animal café scene is the prickly hedgehog.
The Harry café (a play on the Japanese word for hedgehog harinezumi) joins the popular but not-as-novel cat, dog, rabbit, and snake cafés that have sprung up around the country.
Located in Roppongi, Harry is the first dedicated hedgehog café in Japan, giving customers the chance to cuddle the prickly animals over a tea or coffee.
Picture a cosy space with a hipster living room feel. Along the walls and in the middle of the room are 20 to 30 hedgehogs in their glass homes; some are out in smaller vintage-looking boxes. In one corner is a place to help yourself to a drink. Staff are around to pick up a hedgehog and place it in your cupped hands.
"I want people to realise they can hold hedgehogs without being spiked," said owner Yuki Hirano who opened the café's doors in February. Jane Gray/Epoch Times
