休闲好去处 日本“猫咪时光”咖啡馆

在日本大阪市心斋桥地区的“美国村”，有一家名为“猫咪时光”的咖啡馆。这家咖啡馆的诱人之处不是口感上佳的咖啡，而是一群不寻常的“服务员”——猫。

The cafe, named "Neko no Jikan," which can be translated as cats' time, is one of Japan's original cat cafes and is home to 21 felines, including a Maine Coon, a breed known for its large size.

Nestled（舒适地坐定，依偎） among the bars and trendy（时髦的，流行的） clothing outlets of the "America mura" section of Osaka's Minami district is a cafe whose primary attraction is not the quality of its coffee but the charms of its somewhat unconventional（非常规的，非传统的） "staff."

The cafe, named "Neko no Jikan," which can be translated as cats' time, is one of the country's original cat cafes and is home to 21 felines（猫科动物） , including a Maine Coon, a breed known for its large size.

Believed to have originated in Taiwan, cat cafes are establishments where cats are let loose（释放，随心所欲） indoors for customers to interact with.

Some of the cats at Neko no Jikan come to customers when called, while others sit or lie on the shelves lining the cafe's walls. Others still are stretched out on tables.

The shop is run by Yoko Yoshida, 53, who became the trailblazer（开拓者，先驱者） for cat teahouses when she opened her first shop in Osaka's Kita Ward in 2005, when dog cafes were at the height of（顶点，鼎盛） popularity in Japan.

America mura is in the busy Minami district straddling（叉开，跨坐） the city's Chuo and Naniwa wards. The name reportedly spread after a store converted from a warehouse started selling second-hand American records and sundries from the West Coast of the United States in the 1970s.

The ambience of the tea shop is quiet except for cats' occasional mews（马厩） . Managed on a time-limit basis, Neko no Jikan charges 840 yen an hour and 1,050 yen with a drink.

At a cat "cafe," the emphasis is not on food and beverages（饮料） but relaxing in the company of cats.

Yoshida said she wants customers to enter the cats' "space" in order to achieve relaxation.

Yoshida said not all customers are obvious cat lovers who like to play with the animals or feed them. Many come in business suits and appear like patrons（老顾客，赞助人） of any other cafe.

Shop manager Junichi Sakai, 39, describes the 21 felines in the cafe as his "staff," adding they take a rest in a separate room on the second floor "when they are tired."

Yoshida said she plans to move her first cat cafe out of Kita Ward in the fall to utilize the vacated（空出，腾出） space as a genuine "cat house" with a tatami mattress floor.