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No thought of Japan and their deep love and affection for cats could be complete without including cat cafes. Despite the belief that they were an created by the Japanese the first cat cafe was in fact invented in Taipei (Taiwan) in 1988. It was so popular it wasn’t long before they popped up in Japan. Hugely popular they can be found in many places and satisfy the need for people to spend time with animals that they can’t have in their small apartments. For a reasonable fee people can go to the cafe, sit, play and love the cats and have refreshments. A great idea, especailly as some of the cat cafes are homes to stray cats who otherwise would be roaming the streets. A perfect solution for humans and cats. Tokyo’s Cat Cafe was one of the first and shows how popular cats are to the people of Japan.