Hedgehog cafe opens in Tokyo



Stock image chosen to represent story A girl holds a baby hedgehog in Lurdy House in Budapest on February 7, 2016, during a two-day international cat exhibition and fair in the Hungarian capital.

Stock image chosen to represent story A girl holds a baby hedgehog in Lurdy House in Budapest on February 7, 2016, during a two-day international cat exhibition and fair in the Hungarian capital. Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK, Getty Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK, Getty Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Hedgehog cafe opens in Tokyo 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

You've probably heard about the cat cafes. You enjoy a cup of coffee with a kitty curled up in your lap. In fact, there's one here in Oakland called Cat Town.

Some folks in Japan have taken this concept to a new level with hedgehogs.

At the shop called Harry, people are waiting in line and paying $9 on weekdays and $12 on weekends to carefully handle the prickly creatures, the London Guardian reports.

"We wanted to show people the charm of hedgehogs, which give the impression of being hard to handle. We wanted to get rid of that image by letting people touch them," Murata said.

Some 30 breeds of hedgehogs are available for play and to purchase. While it's illegal to keep a hedgehog in your home in six states, including California, the mammals are popular pets in Japan.

Since most of us will probably never make it to Harry in Japan, we've put together a gallery of adorable hedgehog photos.