Japan's animal cafes, ranked by how dangerous they look

Japan is a series of islands with a large population. Space there is at a severe premium, and pets are rather difficult to care for at home.

As a result: animal cafes.

Yes, in lieu of owning pets, Japanese entrepreneurs have created cafes and restaurants where you can eat and drink while petting two- and four-legged creatures.

In fact, there is a vast menagarie of such cafes in Japan. They’ve proven so popular that they have begun expanding into other countries, including the U.S.

To honor the trend, here is a ranking of the different kinds of animal cafes on offer in the land of the rising sun, ranked by the odds of something really bad happening to you while you’re there.

Rabbit cafes

Rabbits make me uncomfortable (via Donnie Darko) but they’re mostly harmless. The worst they can do is soil you.

Lizard cafes

This just seems boring. Why not open a goldfish cafe? Do lizards even bite?

Dog cafes

D’awww look at the doggies! If they you get bitten you probably had it coming.

Cat cafes

This just seems cruel to the cats, the INTJ’s of the animal kingdom. A resentful scratching seems not wholly unlikely.

Goat cafes

Goats are also relatively harmless although as an ungulate they are by definition a bit harder to manage than canines or rodents. These are the only ones that can kick you.

Snake cafes

WTF Japan.

Owl cafes

In Eastern mythology, owls are considered good luck and . Indeed.

But in the West, owls are considered omens of death. “And yesterday the night owl sat hooting and shrieking in the marketplace at noon….I think these things are omens of things to come in our country,” William Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caeser.

Owls are not even meant to be seen during the daytime. We hope this guy made it out alive.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.