Tokyo is home to several uniquely themed cafes that can provide a fun, relaxing, and memorable experience, and may even be the highlight of your trip. The following are some of the most popular quirky cafes to check out on your next Tokyo vacation:

Cat Cafés

If you miss your cats back home, you should definitely visit a cat café. Japan is currently the world’s record holder for the most number of cat cafes and, in Tokyo alone, there are more than 30. You can enjoy a drink or a meal in the company of several purring felines, and you may pet, play with or cuddle them.

Here are some highly recommended cat cafes to visit in Tokyo:

Nyafe Melange

• Fee: 1,000 yen per hour
• Address: 3-5-5 Sotokanda, Chiyoda

Cat Café Nekorobi

• Fee: 1,100 yen per hour on weekdays and 1,300 yen per hour on weekends and holidays
• Address: 1-1 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima-ku

Hapi Neko

• Fee: 1,050 yen per 30 minutes
• Address: 2-28-3 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku

Neko Maru Café

• Fee: 800 yen per hour
• Address: 7-2-2 Ueno, Taito-ku

Neko Jalala

• Fee: 530 yen per 30 minutes
• Address: 3-5-5 Sotokanda, Chiyoda

Owl Cafés

There are also cafes in Tokyo that offer people the opportunity to interact with owls. Because they are used to being around humans, these birds are quite relaxed and friendly. As long as you are gentle when petting or holding them, and you are not using flash photography, they can be fun companions to spend an afternoon tea with.

The following are some popular owl cafes in Tokyo:

Tori no Iru Café

• Address: Asakusa 1-12-8, Oyama Building B1F

Akiba Fukurou

• Address: 67 Kanda Neribeicho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo-to

Café Baron

• Address: 3 Chome-10-5 Koenjikita, Suginami

Ikefukuro Café

• Address: 4-24-8, Shinjuku-ku

The Lockup: Dungeon Café

As soon as you enter The Lockup, you are taken on a bizarre adventure filled with darkness and creepiness. You may run into a skeleton somewhere or hear some spine-chilling screams of terror. A staff member dressed in police attire then welcomes and handcuffs you and leads you through a pitch-black hallway to be locked up in one of the prison cells, and takes your order.

The menus are macabre-themed, with cocktails called “Psychopath Medusa” and “Interview with the Vampire”, and dishes may include something nasty-looking, such as an eyeball. The food choices are a little on the expensive side and a full-course meal may amount to 4,000 yen per person.

Address: Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Udagawa-cho, Shibuya 33-1 Grant Tokyo Building B2

Kawaii Monster Café

To experience a sensory overload of bright, colourful and stunning visuals created by renowned Japanese art director Sebastian Masuda, while enjoying tasty and intricately prepared dishes, the Kawaii Monster Café is the perfect place. It opened on 1 August 2015, and has five themed sections — Sweets-Go-Round, Mushroom Disco, Milk Stand, Bar Experiment, and Mel-Tea Room — all designed by Masuda. Be sure to make your reservation well in advance as it is quite often fully booked.

• Website: http://kawaiimonster.jp/
• Address: YM Square Building 4F, 4-31-10-Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo

Vampire Café

Anyone looking for a spooky, strange and crazy time in Tokyo should visit the Vampire Café. Like many other top rated themed cafes, it does not disappoint. The moment you enter the building, you are welcomed by blood red floors, walls and decors. The dining booths are separated by long, dark red coloured curtains, and the menus are in the shape of a coffin. The restaurant’s centrepiece is a coffin, and there are candles and bloody mirrors everywhere. As a warning, the bathrooms also follow the motif, so try not let out a blood curdling scream once you see the basins smeared with blood. Food choices include appetisers, salads, pizza, pasta, ice cream, chicken, wine, cocktails and soft drinks, and your plate may come with a crucifix, bat or even severed hand!

• Website: http://www.diamond-dining.jp/shop_info/vampire/
• Address: La Paix Building 7F 6-7-6 Ginza, Chuou-ku, Tokyo