Usagi means rabbit. That’s one Japanese word you’ve learned. Another you’ll need to know is “kawaii”, which means cute, and is a word you’ll hear every 20 seconds when you visit Nagoya’s Usagi Café, a rabbit themed café and rabbit specialty petting store just a hop skip and a jump from the Nagoya City centre in the Osu district.
Popular with a wide range of clientele, from school age to middle age, the Usagi Café is open daily from 11am to 7:30, while the petting room is open until 8pm.
Although it is a café, don’t expect to find servings of rabbit stew on the menu.
The menu changes slightly from season to rabbit season, but always features a clever rabbit themed dish, such as curry rice with a bunny shaped serving of rice for 750 Yen, or Japanese staple, Omrice, (flavored rice wrapped in omelet) with a tomato sauce, or ketchup design making it look like a crouching bunny at 800 Yen. Even the desserts are bunny themed! Usagi Parfait, at 600 Yen is value for bunny! Many bunny fans gather in the café to relax and chat to other bunny owners and fans, though they do tend to rabbit on quite a bit. Rabbit magazines line the windowsills for patrons to browse through, and from the café, through large glass windows, you can enjoy watching other customers getting to know the residents in the rabbit petting room.
Over 30 well cared for, healthy and clean rabbits are available for petting in the specially enclosed, yet large and airy petting room. A half hour petting course will set you back 1,300 yen, but the therapeutic properties of playing with a soft, friendly, fluffy bunny make up for the expense.
Rabbit owners can bring their pets with them and have their rabbits looked at by specialist staff, and there are rabbit owners supplies and grooming services available too. Fancy your own rabbit? Buy one from the usagi Café, or take part in the many events and rabbit study meetings staged by the popular café. Rabbit themed goods are also on sale, including usagi café original T-shirts and mug cups, usagi themed pin badges, coasters, toys and buttons.
Bunny fans, when you visit Nagoya, make sure you hop to it!
