Pet Shop of Surprises

I can't resist a good pet shop.

In general pet shops in Japan and America are the same. They have you usual puppies and kitties and insanely high prices. I have not actually found a breeder here yet or anyone selling animals in general. It seems like once you buy it, you are stuck with it...even if you don't want it. I think that might be one of the more interesting things to me. When I first got here I searched up and down for a bird or dog that someone was selling (getting rid of) and needed a new home. However they were not to be found. Japanese people either really love their pets or they just don't give up. It is a touch inspiring.
But back to the pet stores! You can find pretty much the same things as an American store with a few exepctions. Those exceptions being meerkats, owls, and monkeys. But yup! Pretty similar.
I must admit, when I first saw the meerkat I thought to myself what an oddly restless and unbeautiful dog. It was no dog. It was right next to the dogs. And in a dogs kennel. And evidently people buy them and want to have them, as in three weeks time it was sold. The monkeys are small I-fit-inside-your-hat type of monkeys. And are adorable and a bit reserved. For whatever reason I did not find it incredibly odd they were there. Well, I mean they were no longer odd after I found the meerkat. Lastly, when visiting and playing with the birds as I always do, I came upon a very large barn owl cooped up in a darkened cage that really seemed way too small for it. Now this was surprising. I thought you had to have licenses or something to own one? Perhaps you still do and need to present it upon purchase. The owl was beautiful and it seemed to have been there a while as it was immune to all the noise and hubbub that filtered in from the busy street. It could be that pet owls became a popular item after the Harry Potter movies. I can't say.
In addition to the few featured unusual pets, the pet stores differ in that they are exceedingly expensive. A Shiba Inu dog can set you back nearly 200000yen. The older they get the cheaper they are as people prefer them to be very young at the time of purchase. And thus you can buy one for 98000 or so yen. Other dogs are less in demand or perhaps they are just in surplus and are typically cheaper, but not by much. I actually did not look at how much it would be to own an owl or a meerkat. But I promise to do so upon my next visit.