Goin' Back to Asakusa...and Akiba Fukurou

We packed up this morning and headed back to Tokyo area, catching the Highway Bus from Iida to Shinjuku, then the Yamanote to Ueno and finally the Ginza line to Asakusa. Seeing Japan from a vehicle is a very different perspective than our usual trains or bicycles. We even caught a glimpse of home

A Milwaukee company in Iida!

Back in Tokyo, we didn't have a lot of time left, but we managed to book an appointment at an Owl Cafe. Yes, an Owl Cafe. There is one in Akihabara, and it is so popular, you need to reserve a time days in advance, and they are often sold out. We had a few hours to kill, so Sumi did some more souvenir shopping, we took a little walk around the neighborhood

Lunch was a wood-fired pizza place. Good, but the Japanese do not like spices, so it was a bit bland.

Kappabashi is gearing up for a "7 nights festival" starting....next week.

In Akiba, while waiting for our time at the Owl Cafe, we stopped at a Lawson for some ice cream. While eating it outside, we noticed something on the ground:

A 2" x 2" metal tile pointing in the direction of Chiyoda-Ku, an area of Tokyo.

Not the most helpful road sign

We arrived at Akiba Fukurou (Akiba Owls) and lined up outside. They have you line up 15 minutes early so you can go over the rules and read some information about the owls. The shop is a tiny place you would never find without directions from their web site. Reading through the rules, they mostly made sense (no flash photography, do not stick your face in front of an owl if you don't want it bit, no babies, no loud noises, etc), but some stood out as especially noteworthy:

This is no joke.

That is a direct translation

The cafe was really fun. The owls were adorable and accustomed to humans. These owls were all rescued from zoos and other unfortunate situations and brought here. There were a few newcomers that weren't ready to be handled yet, but they were out, getting used to people. We were allowed to hold and pet (on the head only!) the owls, with supervision from the staff. I was paired up with the rather mellow Peanuts, while Sumi got the snuggly Kuppi

Sumi petting Takoyaki (which means fried ball of octopus. Many are amusingly named after food), the largest owl in the cafe

Kabuki, Queen of Hearts, Charles Xavier and Yaki-imo(which means fried potato)

Katsuo and Monja(as in Monja-yaki) cuddling up. They were preening each other

Two of the newcomers.

Me and Peanuts. A very laid back owl.

Sumi and Kuppi

Kuppi ended up on her shoulder, burying his face in her hair and trying to sleep.

The cafe was very clean and well run. We had our choice of what owl to hold, and could hold many different ones, if we had liked. They took a picture of you and your owl and gave you a laminated postcard of it. All in all, a good time. I can see going back again to visit these beautiful birds. 

Well, that's it. Tomorrow we fly back home and return to reality. It's been another very enjoyable trip, with more new experiences, new acquaintances and some familiar favorites. Until next trip!