Cute and wonderful!

My impression was that the route directions on the official website were messy and hard to understand, but you exit the ticket gates of JR Ibaraki Station and head towards the West Exit. From there, to head left, there is a long pedestrian bridge and stairs going down, but taking the stairs down is the shortest route. You'll probably spot the shop's location immediately thanks to the fairly large banner and sign outside. Taking the elevator up to the 2nd floor lets you enter the shop directly. Upon arriving at the shop, there's that distinct odor peculiar to animal cafés. It wasn't so terrible that I got used to it right away. I visited just past noon on a weekday, and there were constantly a few groups of customers. Pay the fee at the reception, store your luggage in a locker, and receive instructions on how to spend your time inside. Inside the facility, there are enclosures for each rabbit, so basically you freely enter those enclosures and interact with the rabbits. You're also handed feed in a cup to feed them freely. (According to information seen online, they supposedly changed types for each rabbit, but the system seemed to have changed as I was told I could ignore the names written on the cups.) Drinks are included in the price, and you can freely bring in drinks from the paper-cup vending machine at the entrance. 1 hour is plenty of enjoyment if you just want to interact with rabbits, but if you want to take cute photos, the rabbits move around a lot so time flies in a flash. The staff prompt you to bring in your smartphone to take pictures. Since the rabbits are active and energetic, it might be good to visit with plenty of time to spare, relaxing and taking it easy. The male staff member seemed to stay at the reception pretty much the whole time. I wanted to hear a bit more about the rabbits, but the vibe wasn't really suited for that. There were customers interacting with rabbits inside a fence where they were told not to enter due to rabbit stress, but the staff never came over to check and didn't seem to notice, which made me worry if the rabbits' health was okay.

+3

It was the ultimate happy space! I liked it so much that I revisited without much of a gap. If my home was in Ibaraki, I'd go every day. All the rabbits are professionals at customer service. When you aim your camera, they stop and look straight into the lens, and let you pet them obediently. Picking them up is prohibited, but it's okay to sniff them. They smell nice. The first time I went had even better service than the second time, so their moods might change depending on the day, but that's also delightful—I suppose this is what the feeling is like for people who fall for high-end hostesses (though I've never been). The rabbits are separated by movable fences so each can have enough space. It feels like they are cared for so the rabbits themselves don't feel stressed. The snacks are thoughtfully timed and varied according to the rabbits. It's really great that you can't just buy them with money and overfeed them. Drinks are from a free vendor. There is also manga, but you don't have time to read it.... I understand the lineup including rabbit manga, rabbit magazines, and books, but having 'Kaiji' or 'The Fable' (manga about loan sharks/underworld) is the exact opposite of healing, which is mysterious. As for the smell, the elevator smells the strongest. The inside of the shop doesn't smell. Animal cafés often make your heart ache if they are built without thinking of the animals themselves, but in that regard, this was a good shop.

I went around last year. The play area for the rabbits was very clean, but the guinea pigs had overgrown nails, their cages were dirty, timothy hay was running low, and they would bite if you tried to touch them. There was a box of timothy hay nearby, so I gave them one piece and they ate it with tremendous force. After that, they didn't bite even when touched and let me pet them. The environments for the rabbits and guinea pigs are way too different. I wish they had a bit more awareness that they are handling living creatures. If it were just rabbits, it would be 5 stars.

As they are animals, I think there is a normal smell, but personally, it wasn't something I minded much. Above all, there are many kinds of rabbits, and you can touch the big rabbits, so I was very healed ~☺💖