Cat Cafes Court Lonely Japanese

Hordes of childless Japanese are flocking to Tokyo's cat cafes to cuddle the residents and savor furry companionship along with a cup of tea. So popular are the cafes that reservations are required on weekends, GlobalPost reports. Career-minded urbanites who don't have the time or space for pets, let alone kids, find them great places to mingle and seek affection—human and feline.

"Tokyo wasn't always like this," writes Mimi Hanaoka, who—after removing her shoes and sanitizing her hands—enjoyed an hour with the sleepy cats for $9. "When I grew up here in the 1980s, people had both children and pets. But in the past decade, the Japanese have chosen to have fewer of both."
(More cat stories.)