VOA文化艺术2024--Japan's Cafés Where People Can Pet Pigs

Japan's Cafés Where People Can Pet Pigs

　　In Japan's big cities, small restaurants that serve coffee, called cafés, are known for starting trends. First there were pet cafés, then cat cafés. The latest trend in Japan is a café that has pigs.

　　"It was wonderful. Very relaxing and enjoyable," said Brad Loomis. He is a software engineer from the city of Pullman, in the U.S. state of Washington. He was talking about his recent visit to Tokyo's Mipig Café with his 21-year-old daughter, Paige.

　　On a recent morning in late January, the father and daughter were among many people in the café, smiling and taking selfies with the pigs.

　　The pigs are very small. They move around the room, looking for a comfortable place. They are surprisingly quiet, making little snorts now and then. Unlike the stereotype¹, they are very clean and do not smell bad.

　　The pigs do not like to be alone. So, this makes them good company for people. Customers pay $15 for the first 30 minutes of time with a pig. Customers must contact the café to set a time for the experience.

　　"Each pig is unique. Each one has his or her own personality. You may notice one may be strong-headed, and another may be gentle," said Shiho Kitagawa. She is an executive² at Mipig Café. She calls the pigs "buta-san," or "Mr. and Mrs. Pig."

　　The Mipig Café in the trendy Harajuku neighborhood. It is among 10 such pig cafes the owner has opened around Japan. The first one opened in Tokyo in 2019. Two more are planned for later this year.

　　The animals are known as "micro pigs." Micro means very small. The pigs do not grow to be bigger than a small dog, even when they are fully³ grown.

　　Pig lovers say they make great pets. They can be bought for $1,350 from Mipig. The pigs sold at Mipig have been house-trained and are used to being with people. Micro pig food is also for sale. Mipig says it has sold about 1,300 pigs as pets.

　　Foreign visitors to the café said they found out about it on the service Instagram and other social media platforms. The café does not pay for advertising⁴.

　　Australian Ben Russell smiled when a pig finally climbed onto him. Although this was the first time he touched a real pig, he said they have always been his favorite animal.

　　A visitor from New Zealand, Sophie Mo'unga, was in Japan with her husband and two children. She was very popular with the pigs, with several of them fighting over her.

　　"They were cute," she said. "I think they were all keeping each other warm."

　　The pig café is the latest in a series of coffee shops with animals that have appeared in Japan. There are coffee shops that have owls⁵, hedgehogs, birds, and even snakes.

　　Some people have raised questions about whether the animals enjoy the experience as much as humans do.

　　"It must be stressful to be touched...by a bunch of strangers," said Sachiko Azuma. She is head of Tokyo-based animal rights group called PEACE.

　　"The animals have become tools for a money-making business," she said.

　　Her group opposes animal experiments and "petting zoos." Azuma said cafés are small and do not provide enough of a natural environment for cats or small pigs. She added that businesses that entrap⁶ wildlife are abhorrent⁷, or extremely bad. However, she said she approves of cafés run by shelters that try to find homes for homeless animals.

　　Some people believe that such interactions are good for human health.

　　Dr. Bruce Kornreich teaches at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York. He said that interacting⁸ with animals can reduce headaches and lower a person's blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease. It can also increase a sense of well-being⁹ and help people deal with stress, he said.

　　"How they do these things, I'm not sure we know the answer," said Kornreich. He is also part of the Cornell Feline¹⁰ Health Center, which supports the study and well-being of cats.

　　He told the Associated Press that there is growing evidence that being around pets can help people both mentally and physically¹¹.

　　Even with dogs, it is not clear if walking a dog helps its owner's health or being around a friendly animal does. Whatever it is, people seem to be calm and happy around their animals.

　　"Very cute and very sleepy," Paige Loomis said of the pigs. "They made me sleepy."

　　Words in This Story

　　trend –n. something new that gets increasingly popular

　　selfie –n. a picture taken of oneself with a mobile phone that is shared on social media

　　snort –n. a short sound made through the nose

　　stereotype –n. a person's idea of what something or someone is, does or looks like which is transferred to all similar things

　　customer –n. a person, or group, that pays for goods or services

　　unique –adj. unlike anything else, one-of-a-kind

　　personality –n. the sum of all qualities that make up a person

　　cute –adj. having a pleasing appearance

　　stressful –adj. causing tension or worry

　　cardiovascular –adj. related to the heart or blood vessels in the body

1 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

2 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

5 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

6 entrap   

v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套

参考例句：

• The police have been given extra powers to entrap drug traffickers.警方已经被进一步授权诱捕毒贩。
• He overturned the conviction,saying the defendant was entrapped.他声称被告是被诱骗的，从而推翻了有罪的判决。

7 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

8 interacting   

adj.相互影响的；相互作用的

参考例句：

• The interacting surfaces were lubricated with a mineral oil. 相互作用表面是用矿物油润滑的。
• Proteins which have two separate but interacting sites are called allosteric proteins. 这种具有两个不同而又相互作用位置的蛋白质叫做变构蛋白质。

9 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

10 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。