Gypsy Soul and a Pioneer Heart

I have never wanted a life that is quiet and safe. I and my little pioneer heart seem quite fond of starting over in new places, time and time again (much to the dismay of my friends and family). And the thrill of adventures lying out there in the world, just waiting to be had, calls to my soul. I’m nowhere near ready to settle down because I’m too curious about the world and, as far as I’m concerned, the adventures of my life have only just started!

I think it’s important to remind myself, as the sorrowful reality that my time in Japan is coming to a close begins to truly seep in, that this isn’t the end of my adventures. Rather, it is the end of just one adventure, and that there are many more waiting for me in the future! As the ever-so-cliché saying goes: it’s not the end of the book, merely the end of a chaper.

My book has many chapters already written:

• A wonderful childhood full of love, laughter, and happiness growing up in Calgary, Canada.
• Discovering who I was and finding my independence away at univeristy in Vancouver, Canada.
• Leaving behind everything I had ever know for a 6-month study abroad in New Zealand.
• Incredible adventures in Japan while working abroad teaching Ennglish that pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to challenge my conceptions of the world.

The next chapter of my life hasn’t been written yet, but I’m trying to be positive and assure myself that it will be equally as exciting as this one!

I don’t regret any of my decisions and I’m proud to be the kind of woman who isn’t afraid to pursue her dreams. To be fearless pursuing one’s dreams is a pretty good goal in life, don’t you agree? I taught my final class here in Japan on Friday. I nearly cried, if truth be told. A tiny piece of my self-indentity was lost and no one would know that, or mourn for it, other than me. I am a teacher no more! This week I merely have tests and grading to do. The week after that I pack up and move out!

It’s all happening so fast, and my list of things to do keeps my  head permanently spinning, so time has lost all sense and meaning. Chances are I’m going to arrive home in Canada and feel more than a little lost and wonder where my final 15 days in Japan dissappeared to. At times it’s easy to feel that everything special is ending. So, it’s handy keeping a blog at times like these; it really helps ground me emotionally and allows me to put everything back into perspective.

I realize I’m so lucky to be surrounded by people who love me and will be sad to see me leave. It is living proof that my efforts here in Japan had impact on the world I lived in. So, even though it’s sad to hear so many people say “I’ll miss you!” and my throat tightens painfully every time I say goodbye, I try to keep in mind that it would be worse to not hear that outpouring of kind words.  Luckily for me, there is always Skype and I’ll be able to keep in touch with everyone as we head back to our respective places around the world!

For today my goal is just to breathe, remind myself that everything is going to be ok, and try to be optimistic about the future. Can you hear the siren call of London? I can…

Owl Cafes In Osaka Are A Hoot!

Perhaps you’ve heard of Japan’s cat cafes? We’re pretty legendary for our fluffy feline hang out spots these days. I’ve only ever been to one, but enjoyed my time cooing over the cats there immensely. I’ll unabashedly admit that the cat cafe we were merely passing by had me hook, line, and sinker when they promised me a munchkin cat in residence. I have a total soft spot for this breed of short-legged cats like nobody else I know. Funny story though, the munchkin cat refused to so much as sit in my lap, even when I offered him chicken tidbits! SO heartbreaking, I know! Don’t worry, I (and my chicken tidbits) were very well-loved by all the other cats.

In a land where space is limited, and most apartments are not pet friendly it’s a smart business to open cafes where customers can cuddle and hang-out with their favourite animals without the responsibility that comes with ownership. I’ve also heard of dog and bunny cafes in Japan. It’s only logical I supposed that if such cafes existed for cat lovers, dog lovers and bunny lovers deserved cafes too.

When one of my friends in Japan informed me 2 weeks ago there was such a thing as an owl cafe however, I’m pretty sure my heart skipped a beat, or two…or three. I was in utter shock and disbelief that there was a place in Japan where you could, um you know…just go chill with a dozen or more owls! It sounded so crazy I thought I was dreaming! I even looked a little like an owl when I found out because my eyes were as wide as saucers I have no doubts.

“How,” I asked myself, “have I lived in Japan for 3 years and never heard about such a magical place until only 2 months before I leave!?!” Trust me, I couldn’t find out the location from my friend fast enough! It was bloody brilliant timing too because it was mere days before I was due to meet up with my younger brother in Kyoto and Osaka. We’re both HUGE Harry Potter fans so he jumped at the idea too.

Last Sunday, we went to the cafe my friend recommended called Owl Family. It’s pretty out of the way and a little difficult to find but go hunt it down! (At the end of the blog I posted details how to get there.)At first we were a little nervous about getting super close to live owls, after all those are some pretty serious looking talons!

But slowly my inner HP nerd won out and I was holding them in no time!

Tim I think was a little skeptical at first but made a new friend pretty fast!

This little guy with his big baby black peepers was the absolute life of the party!  It was hard not to laugh at his curious nature and love his happy-go-lucky attitude. He bounced and bobbed all over the place and made everyone in the cafe giggle with how infatuated he was with one lady’s crochet-style sweater choice that day. He looooooved it and its multitude of holes so much he never wanted to let her go! I saw him wistfully look back at her “fun” sweater when he was transferred to a new person’s shoulder too.

I was really interested to see that owls, just like dogs and cats, have distinct personalities too!  One of the hardest things is timing the photo so the birds are actually looking at the camera. “Patience you must have, my young padawan.” (Bonus points to any other nerds out there who immediately got that quote).

Soon it was just a blur of new feathered friends, Hogwarts-worthy selfies, and squeals of delight (from me not the owls!)…

We had zero problems with any of the owls until we met this little fellow (who is exactly how I imagined Pigwidgeon from Harry Potter would look like in real life). When he was put on my brother’s head and Tim’s head he was on his best behaviour. When put on mine however, became immediately and absolutely infatuated with my hair.  He took one look at my brother’s camera before he began grabbing chucks of my hair in his beak and tugging at it, happily hooting every time he grabbed and gobbled all over a new chuck of my long hair. It didn’t hurt and was rather cute I have to admit.

The cafe attendants were all smiling, apparently he loves long-haired blonde foreigners the most, but on that particular day was willing to settle for my long brunette locks. The staff tried to coax him to let go of my hair and he simply turned and shook his tail feathers in their face. Eventually he grew board with my hair and hopped back on a staff member’s hand.

All too soon, our time was up. We chugged our drinks (which had been forgotten and neglected up until then), paid, and left with enormous smiles on our faces so the next group of people could come in. All in all it was a total hoot!

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE OWL FAMILY CAFE 

So you want to check out an Owl Cafe? Well, if you do, I’d definitely recommend the Owl Family Owl Cafe in Osaka! The cafe’s business card says that they’re open Tues-Fri 12:00 – 20:00 & Sat-Sun 11:00-20:00. (They are closed Mondays). The easiest way to get there is to take a train to either Temma Station or Osaka Temmangu Station. You can find more information and images on their website but it’s all in Japanese. (http://blog.livedoor.jp/owlfamily) On the map the red pin is the owl cafe!

*Also, if you get lost and decide to ask someone in that area “Fukuro cafe wa doko desu ka” they’ll probably be able to help you out.

Here’s the deal about getting in:

• It’s 1000yen for the hour ($10) which includes unlimited pictures and a drink which you order from the menu.
• There are only a few time slots a day which guests can enter. You get to go in for 1 hour and then must leave.  Time really flies by (giggle!) so have that camera ready and get in line for the most popular owls. Each time slot begins on the hour (we went in for the 11am morning slot, we were told to be waiting outside the door there no later that 10:50am).
• You’ll want to arrive early to put your name on the list for the next session (we arrived almost half an hour before hand). This is because only 15-20 guests can enter the cafe at a time, so if all the spots are booked up you have no choice but to wait for the next hour for the following session.

Overall the cafe is pretty foreigner friendly. They give a run down in Japanese of the rules, with visual demonstrations, but will put a laminated English instruction sheet on the table if you look foreign. Be sure to understand the rules, from what I understand the cafes are very strict about them and have been known to kick out people who don’t follow them. In particular, flash photography is very taboo and will definitely earn you a strong scolding in Japanese.  The rules to me were pretty logical and easy to understand: no camera flashes, only pet the owls gently with the back of your hand, only pet them on their backs not their tummies, etc etc.

The only thing I thought was exceptionally funny was that if an owl poops on you (the owls are real living birds after all!) it’s entirely your responsibility and the cafe isn’t liable. They also stress that if it happens, you “freak out” only mentally as not to startle the poor animal.

 

*Final Note On The Ethics Of Owl Cafes in Japan*

As much as I really enjoyed the opportunity to interact in such an intimate way with so many owls, an opportunity I could never have had in Canada, I do have many reservations about the overall ethics of owl cafes. I think it’s important to remember that there is a reason this isn’t possible in most countries in the world. The question being: Is it really fair to the animals to force them to spend their lives this way?

My brother Matt, his friend Tim, and I upon sitting down in the cafe and seeing the actual setting immediately felt guilty and very sad for the animals. Yes they are kept clean, healthy and fed and it’s obvious to anyone that the birds are very well cared for…..but they are also kept leashed at all times, are never free to fly, spend their days in a tiny little cubicle on a shelf if off-duty, are kept awake during the day when they would rather be sleeping being nocturnal animals, and forced to endure noisy hours being entertainment for camera-happy people. That doesn’t sound like a happy life to me, does it to you?

I sense with the gaining popularity of owl cafes that soon many more will open. I feel a bit guilty adding fuel to a craze that I cannot support whole-heartedly out of concern for the well-being of the owls. It was too late for us to change our minds when we got there as we had invested a lot of time and effort to get there (and I’ll admit we didn’t leave because we were excited)…but a big part of me did want to leave when I first sat down. I wonder now if I had hit the pause button on my excitement when I first found out about the existence of owl cafes, and really stopped to think about the ethics of what I was suggesting to my travel companions, if I would have gone?  I promised myself if I blogged about this experience I would also mention and question the ethics of it too, so as to bring greater awareness to the situation.

Some of my friends asked me, “Ok, then. Why are you ok with cat cafes but not owl cafes?” My answer is simple , cat cafes and owl cafes are like apples and oranges to me. It’s in a cat’s nature to love lounging around inside and sleeping all day. They enjoy being pampered by people and also, in their cat-cafe-homes they have freedom to roam around and do as they like.  Owls on the other hand, at least in my opinion, are not meant to be domesticated. They are wild animals by nature who are being forced to adapt to a very different lifestyle in these cafes than they would naturally choose to lead themselves.

All I’m asking is that you please pause and consider this information before you choose to visit an owl cafe in Japan. Because in hindsight I wish I had.