Samの英語チャンネル

Forget ocean views. “Cat view” is the best kind of hotel room.

Generally speaking, the reasons to stay at one of Japan’s capsule hotels are a good location and low price. They call them capsule hotels for a reason, after all, as you pretty much get a place to sleep, shared bathroom/shower facilities, and that’s it.

Unless, of course, you stay at this brand-new capsule hotel that offers a very attractive amenity: cats!

Called Neko Yokujo & Neko Hatago, this unique mixed-use space in Osaka combines a cat cafe (Neko Yokujo) and a capsule hotel (Neko Hatago), and pulls off the unique combination in an unexpected way. The facility is split down the middle, with the cat cafe on one side and the hotel on the other.

The floorplan is such that the cats’ play area is directly adjacent to the back of hotel guests’ sleeping spaces. But rather than a solid wall separating the areas, the back of each sleeping compartment has a pane of glass, serving as a window that gives each person staying in the hotel a view of cats, the best possible view of all.

▼ Neko Hatago also offers unique two-person capsules.

The rooms ostensibly have privacy curtains guests can close, but the windows are also positioned in such a way that you can’t see into one capsule from another. Because of that, if you want to keep the curtain open all night after the cafe closes, so that you can observe the cats’ nighttime adventures as you doze off to sleep, you can do so without the awkwardness of being watched by other humans. The management is even offering a selection of radio-controlled toys that allow you to play with the kitties from beyond the glass.

Of course, watching Neko Yokujo/Neko Hatago’s 16 resident cats from afar might tug at your heartstrings enough that you want to interact more directly with them. Luckily, each hotel guest package includes a two-hour voucher for the cat cafe (a 3,000-yen [US$28] value), with the added bonus of optional admittance before or after the hours it’s open to non-hotel guest customers.

The hotel’s interior design has a stylish retro-Japanese feel to it…

…and of course cats are a common motif.

▼ The cafe area is also stylish, with a Mt. Fuji climbing mural for athletic felines to play on.

Of course, you might be hesitant to book a night at Nako Hatago. After all, what if you form a deep emotional bond with one of the cats? You’ll have to say good-bye forever after you check out when your trip is over, right?

Not necessarily. Neko Hatago is managed by animal welfare company Neco Republic, and all of its cats are rescue animals who are looking for new homes. The cafe/hotel actively encourages guests to think of their stay as an initial test period to see if their personalities synch up with a cat they’re considering adopting, and hopes that some parties check out with one more member than when they checked in.

Neko Hatago opens December 16, and reservations can be made online here.

Hotel/cafe information
Neko Yokujo & Neko Hatago / 猫浴場＆猫旅籠
Address: Osaka-shi, Chuo-ku, Shimanouchi 1-14-29
大阪市中央区島之内１丁目１４−２９
Website

Images: Press release
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Source: SORA NEWS24