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享受轻松好心情,就在猫咪咖啡馆
Enjoy Carefree Feeling at Osaka Cat Café

[ 2010-12-15 09:00]     字号 [] [] []  
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听说过猫咪咖啡馆吗?在日本大阪市的美国村,有一家名为“猫咪时光”的咖啡馆,这家咖啡馆的诱人之处不是口感上佳的咖啡,而是一群不寻常的猫……顾客们可以一边喝咖啡休息,一边与自己喜爱的猫咪玩耍,对于爱猫人士来说,这里简直就是他们的天堂!让我们通过下面的文章一起体会其中的乐趣吧!

享受轻松好心情,就在猫咪咖啡馆

By Robb Swift

乐枫 选 C.Ka 译

Nestled among the bars and trendy clothing outlets of the “America mura” section of Osaka’s Minami district is a cafe whose primary attraction is not the quality of its coffee but the charms of its somewhat unconventional “staff.”[2]

Believed to have originated in Taiwan, cat cafes are establishments where cats are let loose indoors for customers to interact with. The cafe, named “Neko no Jikan,” which can be translated as cats’ time, is one of the country’s original cat cafes and is home to 21 felines, including a Maine Coon[3], a breed known for its large size.

The overall ambience here is quite relaxed—customers tend to speak in lowered voices, and the soft background soundtrack ranges from vocal jazz to trip-hop.[4] The resident cats seem acclimated[5] to their job of being petted and photographed by admiring visitors.

Many exotic breeds are represented—Norwegian Forest Cats, Ragdolls, Maine Coon cats—and they range from regally stylish to endearingly funny-looking.[6] Cats of all colors and personalities prowl the two spacious rooms, inspecting newcomers and their drinks or looking for a suitable spot in which to nap. The first room is furnished with sofas, low coffee tables and shelves filled with cat-related books and knick-knacks[7]. The other room is more like a cat playground, with trees for climbing, a water fountain and litter-box facilities.

The tea shop is quiet except for cats’ occasional mews. Some of the cats at Neko no Jikan come to customers when called, while others sit or lie on the shelves lining the cafe’s walls. Others still are stretched out on tables. Managed on a time-limit basis, Neko no Jikan charges 840 yen an hour and 1,050 yen with a drink.

The shop is run by Yoko Yoshida, 53, who became the trailblazer[8] for cat teahouses when she opened her first shop in Osaka’s Kita Ward in 2005, when dog cafes were at the height of popularity in Japan. Yoshida originally worked in a pet shop trimming dogs’ hair. “But I felt like I was in a day care center and got tired of being besieged by dogs every day,” she said. She likes dogs, too, and keeps a poodle and a Labrador retriever at home.[9]

At a cat “cafe,” the emphasis is not on food and beverages but relaxing in the company of cats. Yoshida said she wants customers to enter the cats’ “space” in order to achieve relaxation. She also said not all customers are obvious cat lovers who like to play with the animals or feed them. Many come in business suits and appear like patrons[10] of any other cafe.

Shop manager Junichi Sakai, 39, describes the 21 felines in the cafe as his “staff,” adding they take a rest in a separate room on the second floor “when they are tired.”

在大阪南区“美国村”的众多酒吧与时髦服装专卖店之间,坐落着一家咖啡馆,它最引人之处并不在于咖啡质量,而在于其独特“店员”的魅力。

猫咪咖啡馆据说源于台湾,在这里,猫咪可以在室内自由行动,供顾客与之接触互动。这家名为“Neko no Jikan”的咖啡馆(店名可译为“猫咪时光”)是日本最早建成的猫咪咖啡馆之一,也是21只猫咪的家,其中包括一只缅因猫,该品种以“体形庞大”而闻名。

猫咪咖啡馆的整体氛围十分令人放松,顾客们都低声交谈,柔和的背景音乐从人声爵士乐到神游舞曲一应俱全。这里的猫咪居民们也似乎很能适应自己的工作,被顾客爱抚,并任由爱猫人士拍照留影。

店里还有许多外国品种的猫咪,像挪威森林猫、布偶猫、缅因猫,从帝王似高雅的猫咪到长相可爱有趣的猫咪无一不全。不同颜色和个性的猫闲逛在两个宽敞的大房间内,审视着新到的客人和他们的饮料,或是找个合适的地方小睡一下。第一个房间配有沙发、矮咖啡桌,还有摆满与猫相关的书籍和小装饰品的架子。而另一个房间则更像是猫的乐园,有攀爬的树、喷泉和猫沙盆。

除了猫咪偶尔的“喵喵”叫声,咖啡馆里很安静。“猫咪时光”的一些猫一听到顾客招呼就会走过来,而其他的猫则在沿墙排列的架子上或坐或卧,还有一些猫四肢伸开着躺在桌子上。“猫咪时光”按时收费,一小时840日元,一杯饮料1,050日元。

该店是由53岁的吉田洋子经营的。就在2005年狗狗咖啡馆在日本大受欢迎之时,吉田在大阪北区开了她的第一家猫咪咖啡馆,成为开设猫咪咖啡馆的先驱者。吉田原先在一家宠物店工作,为狗修剪毛发。她说,“我觉得自己像是在一家日托中心,每天都被狗包围着,感到有些厌倦了。”她也喜欢狗,家里还养着一只长毛贵宾狗和一只拉布拉多猎犬。

在猫咪咖啡馆,重点不在于食物和饮料,而在于有猫咪陪伴的那份轻松愉快。吉田说,她希望顾客走进猫咪的“天地”来放松自己。她还说,并不是所有的顾客都是喜欢与动物玩或给它们喂食的爱猫人士。许多人穿着西装进来,就跟其他咖啡馆的顾客一样。

39岁的咖啡馆经理坂井纯一将咖啡馆里的21只猫咪称为自己的“员工”,还说“当猫咪觉得累了”,可以在第二层一个单独的房间休息。

(来源:英语学习杂志)

Vocabulary:

1. Osaka: 大阪,日本本州岛西南岸港市。

2. outlet: 经销店,专卖店;“America mura” section: 美国村,位于大阪南区,是模仿美国风情的都市型休闲地,那里集中了很多娱乐景点和个性化商店,是深受当地年轻人喜爱的地区。

3. Maine Coon: 缅因长毛蓬尾家猫,亦称缅因猫,是北美最古老的自然形成的品种猫,因产于美国东海岸缅因州而得名。

4. vocal jazz: 人声爵士,是一种歌手占据主要位置的爵士乐形式。通常爵士歌手即兴无歌词演唱,或者是即兴自由地唱出旋律和歌词;trip-hop: 神游舞曲,是种慢板的、有爵士感觉的、带点Hip Hop节奏的音乐。

5. acclimate: 即acclimatize,使适应(或习惯于)。

6. Norwegian Forest Cat: 挪威森林猫,这是斯堪地半岛特有的品种,其起源尚不明确;Ragdoll: 布偶猫,又称布拉多尔猫,是猫中体型和体重最大的一种,多为三色或双色猫。布偶猫性格温顺好静,对人非常友善;regally: 像王地,帝王似地。

7. knick-knack: 小装饰物,小摆设,小玩意儿。

8. trailblazer: 开拓者,先驱者。

9. poodle: 长毛狗,贵宾狗,一种玩赏狗,长卷毛可修剪成各种形状;Labrador retriever: 拉布拉多猎犬,是一种中大型狩猎犬,亦可训练作警犬及导盲犬。

10. patron: 主顾,顾客。

 
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