Located overlooking West Ikebukuro Gate Park, this cat cafe is a little oasis of relaxation in the heart of the city. As soon as you climb the stairs to the third floor and enter the cafe, the warm natural wood decor and cool instrumental jazz soundtrack take you far away from the grit of Ikebukuro.

Open since February 2015, the space has that brand-new feeling and young enthusiastic staff who want to keep it that way. On our visit, they were using sticky rollers to pick up cat hairs from the carpet around us. The main room has a circle of seating around a central angular wooden tree, and there is a separate manga library with over 1,000 volumes and a comfy lounge near the window where you can stretch out.

See more photos and details at Animal Cafes.com.