The other day, I was on my merry way, strolling through Harajuku, when I saw it again. A sign claiming to be The World’s First Hedgehog Cafe.

Well, having been in Japan for over four years now and never once been inside, I decided to give it a go!

Buying Your Magical Hedgehog Ticket

As you walk in the door, there is a ticket machine to your left. There, you pop your money in and choose from the following four options:

30 minutes – ¥1430

30 minutes with a snack – ¥1650

60 minutes – ¥2860

60 minutes with a snack – ¥3080

As I was a first-timer, I decided to go for the first (and cheapest) option.

Hedgehog Madness

After sanitising our hands, my friend and I were led to our seats. There, we found two private hoglets of our own to play with! Luckily for us, all the staff members there could speak English. One of them explained how to pick up the hedgehogs and what to be wary of, and we were given protective gloves to wear.

Although we chose the non-snack entry ticket, there was a free vending machine that you could use to get a drink whenever you liked!

Too Cute!

The little guy I ended up holding fell straight to sleep in my hands, and I watched him doze for a while. He’d originally fallen asleep in his food bowl, so he must have been having a hard day.

Dotted around the place were hedgehogs everywhere! Many of them were being fondled by their prospective visitors, but there was a big batch of hoglets in the middle in the “resting area”.

I presume they are dished out to visitors on a rotation basis so they all get some downtime throughout the day.

There was also a wheel for them to run around in, which was always being put to good use!

Accidents Do Happen

While our time there was merrily spent in Hedgehog Heaven, my friend got poo down his leg, and I ended up losing one of my gloves to urine. Proof that they are definitely living creatures, but it certainly didn’t deter me.

You can also purchase some mealworms to feed the little lovelies! Although, that might cause more downstairs disturbances… Fear not, there are lots of tissues and antibacterial spray at hand.

Hoglets For Sale

Indeed, it is possible to purchase a little hoglet of your own at this hedgehog cafe!

Prices range from 30,000¥-100,000¥ depending on the sex and colour of the hedgehog. I’m not entirely sure why the price is colour-based. I just assume that the more expensive hedgehogs must have rarer colouring or something.

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All Hedgehogged Out

Related Article: How Can You Eat Raw Chicken and Eggs in Japan and Not Die?

And there you have it! Very much considering buying a hedgehog of my own after all that fun.

For anyone interested in more information (or thinking about going themselves), check out their website here.

Merry Hoglet and a Happy New Hedge to you all!

Love Jade

xxx