Okay, I admit it. I paid close to $15 to pat a dog. And it was worth it. Not that the dog was all that special. It was one of those small lap dogs, the kind that I usually refer to as barking rats. But I never will again. On a cold day in Tokyo, a snuggling schnauzer can be a wonderful thing.
Modern Japan has a lot to offer, but in urban areas, space and companionship aren’t high on the list. The nation’s average floor space per capita is 322 square feet; in the U.S., it’s about 690 square feet. Meanwhile, workaholism, especially in these uncertain economic times, means less time for family and friends. Husbands work 14-hour days, while wives are left alone at home once the children leave. It’s a case of no one to love and/or nowhere to love them.
Mr. Okubo, the manager of Suematsu Sangyo, takes up the story. “[We] operated pet shops in former times. The [pet shop] manager noticed that many customers came to the pet shops not only to buy pets but also to enjoy seeing the animals there. There are a lot of people in big cities like Tokyo who love animals but who can’t have one themselves. For example, it is not allowed to have animals in most apartment houses. It would be better if you could sometimes see and touch animals, even if you can’t have one.”
So, in 1995, Suematsu Sangyo opened up Cat’s Park, a place for visitors to come and be ignored by cats from around the world. It was such a success that, in 1997, Dog’s Town was established nearby and, just last April, a ferret-o-rama was added. Now more than 500,000 people a year make the trek out to suburban Tokyo to pay for a little bit of furry love.
The parks are laid out like little towns. The first one, Cat’s Park, takes you down a “street” lined with themed cat “houses.” A cat bookshop, for example, would have two languid-looking Persians in a pet-shop-sized display designed to look like a library. A cat living room might have a couple of Manxes lounging on a faux fireplace mantel or a nearby chair.
Soothing music plays over loudspeakers. Down the center of the street are benches. Some support baskets containing leashed petting cats, which are kept content by the electric heating pads in the base of their baskets.
About 70 cats later, at the end of the walk, is a high-security enclosed area where nine “friendly cats” roam free-ish. If they so desire, you may be allowed to pet them. These cats are generally too young to know they are supposed to condescend to humans, too old to run away or so bald (like that weird Austin Powers cat) they are happy for the warmth.
If you manage to get a cat to snuggle with you, staff members will take a commemorative picture.
A reasonable distance down the road is Dog’s Town. The layout is similar (little themed storefronts arranged to look like a village, complete with church), but security is much more lax. There are dogs in the “displays,” dogs leashed to trees, dogs running loose and a large “petting” area filled with a plethora of lap dogs just waiting to be cuddled. The music is much more upbeat.
The petting area is a delight. You sit on one of the benches, like a nervous teen at a high-school dance, waiting to be picked out by a suitable bitch. As in life, it’s a cumulative process. Getting the first one to come to you may be a bit difficult (especially if there is lots of competition), but once one comes, others follow. Probably because of the smell.
By the end I was so interestingly scented, pooches were coming not for a pat but for a whiff. Staff can’t do anything about the odor, but brushes for the dog hair are freely available.
The real pleasure was watching other visitors. Cat’s Park attracts mostly young women; Dog’s Town, mostly families and young people of both sexes. In either place, you can see the stress melt away with each pat and scratch. I saw one twentysomething woman spend more than two hours patting a poodle to sleep. She looked happy and relaxed. And the poodle wasn’t complaining, either.
Another visitor, a child with Down syndrome, looked like a regular. She alternated between talking to each dog and running up and down the aisles with a train of playful dogs behind her. She looked free. Happy. In fact, all the guests were smiling, making eye contact and taking their time. Real luxuries in modern Japan.
For my part, I soon tired of the schnauzer and was wandering around the park when a baleful-looking Labrador caught my eye. And kept it. I patted him until the park closed to the strains of Auld Lang Syne and a lot of barking.
It meant I didn’t have time to go visit the ferrets. And for that, I am grateful.
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You can find Inutama/Nekotama/Tamaitachi Times Park at 1-15-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku. Telephone 011-81-3-3708-8511.
