Mipig Cafe has been on my bucket list for a while now, so it was great to finally tick it off this weekend. The experience met my expectations as pigs are some of the sweetest, most gentle animals I have had the pleasure of interacting with.
I always knew pigs were smart, but they are positively adorable and friendly too. Plus, contrary to the stereotype, they aren’t smelly or dirty at all! Here’s the lowdown of what to expect at Japan’s Mipig Cafe.
The Mipig Cafe experience
The cafe has two branches in Tokyo (Harajuku and Meguro), as well as a branch each in Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures. We visited the Meguro branch this time, as we wanted to avoid the flood of students and young, peppy vibe around Harajuku. The Meguro branch is quite a fair walk away from the station, and on a blistering summer day topping 40 degrees C real feel, we were pretty much covered in sweat by the time we arrived.
I had booked the 3pm timeslot, which was a bad decision in retrospect as it appeared to be the time when everyone else also wanted to go. The small waiting area, complete with one black pig, was crowded with other customers. The slot itself was fully booked, meaning we had to share the piggies with more people. If I had known I would have booked a later time, like 4pm or 5pm. My advice is to book sometime around pre-lunch or dinner time, when most people are at restaurants. If going on a weekday, it should be less crowded any time within working hours.
I also wished I had booked an hour with the pigs, as half an hour flew by in a flash. The pigs all seemed genuinely happy to be around humans and many of them willingly climbed into the customers’ laps for pats, all while munching a phantom snack. I also loved how their tails swished around as it reminded me of dog behaviour.
While there were pigs of various sizes and colours, the slightly hairy micropigs scampering around were absolutely adorable. They were a little hyper though, with the bigger ones seemingly more mellow and penchant to sit in laps.
The good thing was that there were as many pigs in the room as there were customers (somewhere in the vicinity of 15).
Cafe system at Mipig Cafe
Cafe time is booked in 30 minute blocks, with a one drink system. Prices seem to vary slightly between the branches, but the starting price at Meguro is 880 yen for the first 30 minutes + a drink order of minimum 660 yen = 1,540 yen~ for half an hour. Every additional half hour after that costs 550 yen. There are also private (VIP) rooms you can book for an additional 550 yen per half hour.
You can also order pig-themed donuts for a pricey 825 yen each, discounted by 100 yen as a drink set. Purely optional.
Tip: Following the official Mipig Instagram account and tagging them in a story will snag you a 50 yen discount.
Here’s an Insta Reel I made of our visit.
Bookings
Reservations are mandatory. You can easily make bookings on the official website, up to a few hours before your visit. The cafe obviously understands its audience as there is an English version of its entire website.
When booking, you will need tick boxes confirming you are have not had contact with any pigs within the past two days, or visited a country in the last two weeks where hog cholera has been confirmed.
Getting to Mipig Cafe (in Tokyo)
The closest station to the Meguro branch of Mipig Cafe is JR Meguro Station, from where it is a 15-minute walk.
Address: 東京都目黒区目黒４丁目１１−3
4-11-3 Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
The Harajuku branch is a 5-minute walk from either JR Harajuku Station or Meijijingu-mae Station on the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin and Chiyoda Lines.
Address: 東京都渋谷区神宮前１丁目１５−４
1-15-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
The cafe is open from 10am to 8pm daily.
After our visit, we decided not to eat pork for at least the rest of the day. 😅
If you’re looking for more animal or themed cafes in Tokyo, check out the full list of my reviews.