A most chirping, colourful affair greets you when you walk up to the entrance of Kotori Café in Omotosando. The entire front window, in fact, houses one of the four glass aviaries built within the café. Even from your seat within the cafe, you will be able to gaze at the play and chatter of the birds within proximity. There’s no entry charge, but you’ll be expected to order at least one drink, and your visit may be limited to an hour when it’s busy.

The Kotori Café first opened in 2014 and is situated in a cosy corner of Omotesando, where chic cafes, restaurants and brand shops throng the street. The staff, called the “kotori staff,” possesses technical knowledge about the birds and will help make the most out of a session with the birds. The birds themselves comprise a spectacular variety, both in breed and in character: everything from the slightly larger white cockatoo and red-rumped parrot, down to the smaller budgerigars and zebra finches and tiny technicoloured canaries. The rosy-faced lovebirds, which are said to mate for life, are particularly worth the spectacle for visiting couples!

Although for sanitary purposes the birds are kept behind glass cases for viewing, within the depths of the cafe there is a space for you to have small five-minute petting sessions with the birds. At a fee of 500 JPY (4.4 USD), here you can interact with different birds at a rotation of five minutes at a time. You can have the birds perch on your hand or shoulder. The time is between 11am-5pm and only up to three people are allowed to enter the room at a time out of consideration to the birds.
Note: Flash photography is not allowed. You have to sanitise your hands before entering the room. Also, as the welfare of the birds are prioritised before anything else, some birds may not be allowed to be interacted with even when it is during the time.

In terms of a meal, we recommend the cake set, which is priced at 1500 JPY (13 USD). All cakes within the café are of high quality and use natural vegetable ingredients. There is even a bird designed cake, which is created by a popular patisserie. The cake is delivered to you in a birdcage à la bird-theme, with petite bird cookies and bird designs patterned on the cup and plates. We also recommend the Vanilla Macadamia coffee, mutually developed by the Hawaii Coffee Company and Colony 1555 Coffee Factory, out of the drink options. The delicious vanilla fragrance will have your mouth watering within seconds!

You can purchase the actual cups and plates used in the cafe from its little bird goods corner. Not only that, you can also purchase stationery, stuffed animals, kitchen utensils, books, postcards, and bird pellets.

Although animal cafes are more well known to be popular with females, “kotori males,” male customers secretly in love with the birds, are also regular visitors of the café.