When my wife and I went to this pig cafe in November 2022 (the post wasn’t released until April 2023!) I didn’t really envisage going back anytime soon after. Not because it was awful or anything. In fact it was a very enjoyable experience but just not one that we felt we really needed to repeat. The cost of the activity maybe also played some part in our thinking!

However, a few weeks before their arrival from Australia my eldest sister said the one thing that they all wanted to do was visit the piglet cafe in Harajuku. This place is extremely busy and popular so the only time slots available were in the evening on the 24th or 25th December. As a result I booked it for Christmas Day in order to give us a unique memory of the big day itself.

Making the reservation wasn’t quite so straightforward though as you can only make bookings for a maximum of four (or maybe five!) people but with our group consisting of seven I had to two separate applications. Having made the first one for four I was then unable to get the remaining three in the same time slot. Thankfully I was able to shift both groups to a slightly later time slot and we could all be together but they were some frantic moments.

As soon as we sat down on our cushions in the open plan area, the piglets swarmed round us and my youngest niece Sioned soon had three or four pigs in her lap. It was lovely to see her enjoying the moment but you do feel a little left out if they ignore you for a while, especially when the time is quite limited.

Patience is the name of the game and the little pigs do eventually come to you but it can be something of a lonely experience when everyone else seems to have a pig or three to play with. They do seem to like to explore their surroundings in groups so when one comes another one or two follow.

The cute piglets were as friendly as I remember from last time. You’re not allowed to pick up the animals and cuddle them in your arms as such but they will climb all over you. Stroking them is really nice but it’s a very different feeling to dogs or rabbits as the pig skin is rougher. It’s all very therapeutic.

The whole setting of the cafe (it’s not really a cafe although there is a self-service drinks machine in the corner of the room) with a big tree growing through the ground and ceiling in the centre of the woodland-esque decor is like something out of a children’s storytime book and all adds to the atmosphere of the occasion.

The half hour time limit soon passed by in no time at all and we all departed as the next load of customers came in. It’s a fairly instant turn-around and Mipig Cafe has it down to a tee to maxmise their revenue very efficiently.

It cost me 12,320 yen (1,760 per person) which is admittedly a little pricey for just half an hour but for seven people to do such a unique thing on Christmas Day it was definitely money well spent.

• mipig cafe Harajuku is located at 1-15-4 Barubizon 1F, Jingumae, Shibuya -ku. It is open from 10am till 8pm everyday.

Click here to read ‘This Piglet Cafe in Tokyo Makes You Squeal With Joy!’

Click here to read ‘On The Fox Trail……At A Tokyo Hedgehog Cafe!’

Click here to read ‘Chillaxing At This Capybara Cafe Just Outside Of Tokyo’

Click here to read ‘Our Owl Cafe Experience Was A Right Hoot!’