Pets in Japan

Today at Kaiwa Club (Japanese Conversation Group) we went through a vocab list about pets, and of course has to discuss the cultural significance of the words. Like, they have a verb - mudaboe suru - Which means "Barking at nothing". Useful yes?

And some words of course translate, but aren't really the same. Like -petto hoteru- literally pet hotel, but somewhat more pampered than a boarding kennel. It seems in fact that people going on trips will board their cats instead of just putting out an extra bowl of food. And other non -kaimeshi- (owners) will come and pay to walk someone elses dog for the excercise...

Then we have places like the neko cafes where people pay to drink coffee in a place with cats just hanging around waiting to be petted. Kawaii Kitties are a hot commodity in a nation with small homes and few yards. I admit I was tempted to go to one in Sunshine City since it had been so long without my kitty!

The most popular pet among teen-age boys in Japan? The Kabutomushi, or Japanese Rhino beetle
You can make them battle with each other, a little like pokémon. No, nothing at all like pokémon.