Adorable 'micro pigs' lap up the love at animal cafe in east Japan city

SAITAMA -- A cafe where visitors can meet tiny pigs the size of a small dog before they leave for their forever homes is attracting many families after its April opening as part of a shopping mall in a city near Tokyo. This Mainichi Shimbun reporter recently visited the establishment to see what the buzz was all about.

Operating company Salada says Mipig Cafe at Aeon Lake Town Kaze shopping mall in the Saitama Prefecture city of Koshigaya is the fourth Mipig Cafe store in Japan after two in Tokyo and one in Osaka. I visited the Koshigaya location soon after it opened. When I stepped inside the carpeted shop after taking my shoes off, 10-15 "micro pigs," all about 2 to 4 months old and each weighing around 3 kilograms, welcomed me. While picking them up is not allowed, visitors can pet them when the animals approach close. Baby pigs are full of curiosity, and they hopped on my lap one after another as I stretched my legs out. When I petted them, they closed their eyes apparently to show contentment. I heard exclamations of "So cute" from across the floor.

According to Salada executive Shiho Kitagawa, micro pigs are smaller than mini pigs bred in the U.K., a breed that grows up to be around 100 kilograms or less, and only become as large as 40 kg or so. The company's micro pigs are even smaller than that standard and grow up to be about the same size as a small dog, or around 20 kg. Tokyo-based Salada is involved in importing and breeding micro pigs and working to popularize the animals. Their cafes function as "day cares" for micro pigs to get used to people before they are sent to their human families, as well as PR facilities to promote the tiny animals.

Kitagawa says she gave up on running a ranch for tourists due to swine flu and switched the project to cafes. The first location opened in March 2019 and became widely popular among travelers from overseas, with "60-70% of customers during weekdays being inbound tourists," according to Kitagawa.

While tourism demand from foreign travelers has plummeted due to the pandemic, public awareness about micro pigs and demand for domestic pets have increased. This trend inspired Kitagawa to open a cafe at a large-scale commercial complex. She says the Koshigaya location with 28 seats "gets fully packed before noon."

The company sends away around 20 to 30 micro pigs monthly to homes across Japan for people to keep as pets. The cafes also function as a consultation window for those who want to welcome the animals as a newest addition to their family. To help people learn about what it's like to raise micro pigs, there are grown pigs aged 18 months to 2 years at the cafes. There are many points to pay attention to when it comes to raising pigs, including that regular veterinary clinics can't usually treat them and diet management can be challenging.

Yumi Kobayashi, 53, and her 25-year-old daughter Yuka from Saitama's Omiya Ward were enjoying the time with the micro pigs at the Koshigaya location. They said it's "a different feeling" to have the pigs on their laps.

For more information, visit Mipig Cafe's website at https://mipig.cafe/en/.

(Japanese original by Mineichiro Yamakoshi, Saitama Bureau)