Japan's cat cafes, where you can have tea with cats.
posted by Artw on Nov 9, 2011 - 83 comments

The Basket Cat Blog: Shiro loves very small baskets. He also wears flowered hats (sometimes vegetables) and enjoys the idyllic Japanese countryside of Iwate Prefecture. He and his brothers are very chill. Many short but sweet videos of them have been uploaded to YouTube on the shironekoshiro channel. The blog is updated frequently and has extensive archives. More archives here. Twitter Facebook [more inside]
posted by bobobox on Jul 24, 2011 - 35 comments

Here's a bunch of kittens in bowls. Love, Japan
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Apr 19, 2011 - 63 comments

Cat Island is Safe, Needs Supplies The people of Cat Island have a long history with cats: [more inside]
posted by Katjusa Roquette on Mar 16, 2011 - 34 comments

A kotatsu is a piece of furniture used in Japan, consisting of a short table, a heating element attached to the underside of the table, a blanket or light futon to cover the table to the floor, and a flat surface on top. As Japanese houses are usually poorly insulated and not centrally heated, kotatsus are considered a cost-saving alternative to space heaters. • Example: five people sharing one. • It's called a korsi in Persia. • How to make a kotatsu. • Cats seem to love them, as do dogs. • Kotatsu vs. Stepladder.
posted by not_on_display on Jan 27, 2011 - 59 comments

Nyanto mo Neko Darake (Cats of Many Varieties) is an exhibition in Kyoto featuring charming Edo-period (19th century) woodblock images of cats: playful cats forming themselves into the Japanese word for "blowfish," giant monster heads and skulls made of intertwining cats, ghost cats seeking vengeance. [more inside]
posted by shirobara on Nov 18, 2010 - 6 comments

Stray Cats in Tokyo as seen by professional photographers. [more inside]
posted by misozaki on Mar 9, 2010 - 30 comments

Cats and noodles - what's not to like? Neko Rahmen has both, featuring Taishou, a cat who runs a ramen shop. Neko Rahmen was originally a comic strip, then a series of short animes (English-subtitled 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13), and now there's a live-action movie, featuring a cameo by a famous cat.
posted by needled on Jan 6, 2009 - 3 comments

Japanese cat humiliation. SLYT
posted by MaryDellamorte on Dec 17, 2008 - 46 comments

Nekobukuro is a place in the Ikebokuro neighborhood of Tokyo where people without pets can pay 500 yen to hang out with cats.
posted by gottabefunky on Feb 14, 2005 - 28 comments

You need to dress a cat. And you will say to a cat together with a family. "It has changed just for a moment". [ "it being very dear" or ] You will pass pleasant one time. Costumes for your cat + some great Engrish. (via Boing Boing.)
posted by Vidiot on May 24, 2003 - 9 comments

Necoro is a robotic cat that looks more like a cat than a robot. This site is only available in Japanese, but check out the photo and movie galleries. (I saw this thing mentioned in a Reuters article about the new "human-like" Honda robot).
posted by edlundart on Nov 13, 2001 - 17 comments