After seeing the Owls tethered in place being harassed and sitting in daylight I couldn't even bring myself to go there. I did try the cat cafe hoping this would be better. The cats at least can roam around a bit more but their water bowls are empty, they have no place to get away from people and one was trying to eat the fake trees because it must have been hungry. It amazing to see these beautiful cats up close but I felt so sorry for them.

About 10 Bengal kitties r crammed in a tiny space, smaller then a bus. they r constantly hissing and growling at each other and are so stressed out they sit and pant on the floor while idiots try to pet them. They are clearly uncomfortable and scared, this woman needs to think of her cats before the money! Everyone who tried this place left feeling sad for the cats.

Please do not support this place. I didn’t read the views before I went and I regret it. I only went to the cat cafe, I didn’t see the owls. There’s no place for the cats to have privacy, they seem irritable and stressed. They let many people in at once and it seems the cats don’t get a break. It was really upsetting.

Please don't go. I'm so regret and ashamed that I paid the entry fee for this place. I was foolish to think that this place probably only have one or two owls and fly around to interact with people and completely forgot owl's supposed to sleep during daytime and awake at night. These poor babies were tied and there's no food or water, all of them look exhausted and frightened. None of the owl can move an inch. And japan is banned to use their own bird so these poor things mostly were smuggled from other countries.

I want to leave a good review because we had a good time. The cats are in good health, they have very soft and very shiny hair. There is a water fountain available. We played with the cats, and had cuddles. Bengal cats have character. So don’t go judging that they are stressed. Of course the room is small but they have trees to jump on and toys. It’s a relaxing time for us. We were both with the nine cats. If you take the trouble to go there, it’s because you’ve agreed. Don't leave a bad review afterwards because it's not deserved.

I passed it on the street and didnt realize until halfway through how mistreated they are and how cruel it is. They barely have anywhere to move, they look depressed, tired, and actively look away when you try and get a photo (I'm guessing because they're sick of humans). I went in very excited and left very sad.

Coming to this place was a mistake. I walked in off the street because I've never been to an owl cafe before but as all the other reviews stated, the birds are tethered to their branches. The place does have a sign stating that the birds are free to roam around at night and they've been trained from a young age to have the tethers on their legs but I find those claims questionable when I saw one of the birds just picking at the tether with it's beak for a good 10 minutes. Only after coming in and seeing the birds tethered did I look this place up on Google and find these reviews. Don't make the same mistake I did and come in here, waste money and give said money to these people all in the one act. TLDR: don't give your money to these animal abusers.

Cats are cramped, skittish and afraid, there is no where to sit and very little room for these cats. Please don’t bother, this is a tourist trap.

As of September 2023, it was closed. Another store was occupying the first floor, making it impossible to enter the second floor where this store was located.

I wouldn’t even give this place a star. I was saddened by what I witnessed. Owls were tethered to perches clearly distressed not wanting to be groped by visitors. Visitors were not following the rules we were initially told upon entry and poking the owls to the point one tried to fly away and due to its tether ended up hanging upside down until it figured out how to right itself. There were no employees around to regulate visitor behaviour. Please do not give your money to this place. I wish I had seen the reviews before spending money and contributing to this mess.

Incredibly cruel and inhumane, should be shut down. We were sucked in by the signage out the front, not really thinking about what it would be like. The owls are padlocked to their perch in a fake forest with no ability to move or take a rest / break if they want. I had hoped the cats would be better, but it was incredibly crowded with people (and cats) and some cats were obviously distressed, with no ability to get away from people if they wanted (there was no safe space out of people's reach). I completely regret supporting this business, I felt sick when I entered and we left almost immediately after realising what it was like. Please, please don't support this business if you read the reviews beforehand and make the same mistake I did.

Don’t go!!! I went here because I think owls are majestic and I was mostly curious. I thought the owls would have their own cage/room or at least some freedom to move around and fly around. No, they are literally chained down to the tree and can’t move more than an inch for the rest of their lives. I don’t want to sound like one of those wacko Peta people, but what this place does to these owls is a blatant animal abuse. If I had known any better, I would have never paid money to be part of this animal abuse. Don’t go, guys. There are much better things to do in Kyoto.

Don't go to the owl forest! They are not given any freedom. It was very sad to see all the owls chained to the branches by their feet, only able to move 10cm or so. Some of the smaller ones had to share branches as there was so little room. Most of them were very still, and it was unnatural to see them in this state. There was no information (in English) to describe whether the owls had any free time outside of the chains or the cramped room at night. One owl was clawing at the chain for a while, as if it wanted to get the chains off. Two big snowy owls were confined to a small caged area, clearly they didn't have the room to move. There are many better things to do in Arashiyama (temples, scenic bridge, food vendors, souvenir shops) , so please save your money and don't go here!

This place is horrible! They tie the owls all day long even in the hot summer, exposed to the sun... DON'T GO HERE! THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ABUSING THE ANIMALS.

Very cramped and some of the cats are clearly very stressed. Very apathetic staff as well

Don’t visit this place. We just finished both places (With shame). Every review is so right.. we didn’t think of it. The owls first of all don’t belong in cages with locks on their feet. Secondly they are night birds so we abuse them.. all they looked tired and so so unnatural.. I don’t have any picture to show because the moment we entered the place we just wanted to leave. About the cat room. Unfortunately we faced a white cat bone-skinny and fast breathing. We asked the employee why she looked like this and said that she is sick. He smiled and confirmed it. It was a child trying to play and pet this poor cat. And it was so obvious that she wanted her space. We left so sad. And this is not how we feel, but how these animals still feeling.. they are suffering.. hope you read this before visiting and not after, like us.

Both owls and cats don’t have enough space, don’t support this establishment. Hopefully they will change the cafe so that the animals have more freedom space and food and are not harassed by tourists.

I was planning to stop by on my next trip and had something to ask, so I just called, but the woman who answered the phone said she was busy and hung up on me. Frankly speaking, this is a store with the worst impression.

Beautiful cats, but terrible treatment of the cats. Empty water bowl, they don’t even have kibble out for them to eat whenever they want, they have to wait to eat. Also the room is too small for that many cats.