There is a moment when a binturong stops looking like an animal you’ve never heard of and starts looking like something assembled from several animals at once.
The body is heavy and shaggy.
The face has long whiskers and small rounded ears.
The tail is enormous, and strong enough to wrap around branches almost like another limb.
Then there is the smell.
Binturongs are famous for producing a scent regularly compared with buttered popcorn.
None of this sounds like something you’d expect to encounter a few minutes from Shin-Okubo Station.
Yet at Hanimaru Cafe in Tokyo, the binturong is one of the animals visitors specifically come to meet.
This isn’t a conventional cat cafe with one unusual animal added for attention. Hanimaru specialises in exotic animals, with its current collection extending well beyond reptiles into mammals such as kinkajous, fennecs and its well-known binturong.
The experience is also much more structured than simply paying an entrance fee and touching every animal in the room.
You choose a timed course.
Depending on the course, you can interact with one or two selected animals.
And if meeting the binturong is the whole reason you’re going, there are a few things worth knowing before turning up.
Quick Answer
Hanimaru Cafe is an exotic-animal cafe in Shin-Okubo where visitors can potentially interact closely with a binturong as part of the cafe’s timed animal-interaction system.
Current adult prices are ¥2,000 for 30 minutes, including interaction with one animal and one drink, or ¥3,000 for 60 minutes, including interaction with two animals and one drink.
There is also a 20-minute ¥1,500 viewing course, but that does not include animal interaction or a drink.
Animal treats cost another ¥300.
Hanimaru currently opens from 11am to 9pm every day, with last orders at 8:30pm.
You don’t have to make a reservation simply to enter.
If the binturong is the specific reason for your visit, however, we’d contact the cafe beforehand rather than treating interaction with one particular animal as guaranteed. Animals can rest, be unavailable or simply not be suitable for interaction at that moment.
For most people interested specifically in the binturong, we’d choose the 30-minute course rather than 60 minutes.
Thirty minutes is enough to make this feel like an unusual Tokyo stop without asking a single animal cafe to occupy a large part of the day.
👉 Best Things to Do in Tokyo 2026: 25 Must-See Attractions for First-Time Visitors
First: What Exactly Is a Binturong?
“Bearcat” is the nickname you will see most often.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the animal much easier to explain.
A binturong is neither a bear nor a cat.
It belongs to the civet family and naturally lives in forests across South and Southeast Asia.
Adults are substantial animals. Depending on sex and individual size, they can weigh well over 10 kilograms, with females generally larger than males.
They spend much of their lives around trees and are particularly unusual among carnivorous mammals because of their prehensile tail.
That means the tail can grip.
Watch a binturong moving around branches and it begins to make sense. The tail isn’t decoration trailing behind the body. It can wrap around branches and help stabilise the animal as it climbs.
That’s also part of the reason seeing one close up feels quite different from seeing a normal domestic animal.
The proportions are strange until you understand what the body has been built to do.
And Yes, They Really Can Smell Like Popcorn
This isn’t one of those animal facts that has been exaggerated through a thousand TikTok captions.
Binturongs produce a scent containing 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, the same aromatic compound strongly associated with the smell of cooked popcorn.
The animal uses scent for communication and marking.
Humans happen to recognise the aroma as something belonging in a cinema.
That doesn’t mean every visitor is going to walk into Hanimaru and immediately think somebody has opened a bag of microwave popcorn beside them.
Smell is subjective, the strength varies and there are plenty of other animals sharing an indoor space.
But the association is real.
It also makes the name of Hanimaru’s binturong rather fitting.
The cafe calls her Popcorn, often shortened to Pop.
Popcorn Isn’t a Random Animal That Appeared on Social Media Last Week
Hanimaru documented Popcorn joining the cafe while still young.
By 2024, the cafe was already publishing updates about her development and beginning interaction with visitors.
The cafe has continued featuring her since then, including later food and interaction videos.
In June 2026, Japanese television visited Hanimaru Cafe and described the binturong as its most popular animal.
That’s useful context because exotic-animal cafes can change their collections.
An article written years ago may describe an animal that is no longer there.
As of our October 2026 research, the binturong remains part of Hanimaru’s identity.
Even so, we’d never promise that a particular individual animal will be available to interact with at the exact time you arrive.
That’s not how animal experiences should work.
What Does the Binturong Interaction Actually Mean?
This is where expectations matter.
Hanimaru doesn’t operate on a system where paying ¥2,000 gives you unlimited access to every animal.
The cafe calls its animals “casts”.
On the 30-minute course, you choose one animal for interaction and receive one drink.
On the 60-minute course, you can interact with two animals and also receive a drink.
Additional animal interaction can currently be added for ¥500 per animal, subject to availability.
The cafe has previously shown Popcorn being comfortable with close human contact, and recent visitor footage shows the binturong climbing onto and around people.
But don’t arrive expecting a staged photograph in exactly the pose you saw online.
A binturong is not a stuffed toy.
Follow the staff.
Let them decide how the interaction happens.
And accept that the animal may behave differently from the one in a viral video.
That’s a much better way to approach the experience.
Which Course Should You Choose?
For somebody arriving primarily because they want to meet the binturong, we’d start with 30 minutes for ¥2,000.
It includes one animal interaction and a drink.
That is the cleanest option.
Sixty minutes for ¥3,000 makes more sense if you’re genuinely interested in Hanimaru’s wider collection and already know there is a second animal you want to meet.
The cafe has featured animals including kinkajous, fennecs, reptiles and other exotic species, although the exact animals available for interaction can change.
There is also a 20-minute trial course.
It costs ¥1,500 for adults but includes neither animal contact nor the drink.
That’s useful if you’re curious about the cafe but uncomfortable committing to interaction.
It doesn’t make much sense if the whole reason you’re coming is specifically to meet Popcorn.
Ignore Older ¥1,500 Prices
This is one of the most important practical details in the article.
Search Hanimaru Cafe and you may still find 2026 social posts or television segments quoting:
¥1,500 for 30 minutes
and
¥2,500 for 60 minutes.
Those figures were real.
They are no longer the current prices on the cafe’s official information page.
The current adult prices are:
30 minutes: ¥2,000
60 minutes: ¥3,000
and the viewing-only course is now:
20 minutes: ¥1,500
This is precisely the sort of Tokyo attraction where checking a recent Instagram Reel isn’t enough.
A video can still be recent while the price shown in it has already changed.
What About Children?
Hanimaru currently treats guests aged 12 and over as adults.
Children aged 4–11 pay lower rates:
the 20-minute viewing course is ¥1,000, the 30-minute interaction course is ¥1,500, and the 60-minute course is ¥2,000.
Children aged three and under currently enter free.
That does not mean every animal is appropriate for every young child.
The better question for parents is whether your child can follow staff instructions around an unfamiliar animal.
If the answer is yes and they’re genuinely interested, this could be one of the more memorable small Tokyo experiences for them.
If the child is likely to grab, chase or become frightened when a large shaggy animal moves unexpectedly, choose something else.
👉 Japan Family Itinerary: 10 Days in Japan With Kids (Stress-Free Plan)
Is 30 Minutes Actually Enough?
For one animal, yes.
We wouldn’t automatically upgrade simply because 60 minutes sounds better value per minute.
Tokyo itineraries have a habit of becoming overfilled with experiences that were meant to be quick.
Hanimaru works particularly well because it doesn’t have to consume half a day.
Arrive in Shin-Okubo.
Spend half an hour with an animal you’ve probably never been this close to before.
Then continue exploring the neighbourhood or walk towards Shinjuku.
That’s a satisfying use of the experience.
If exotic animals are a major interest, take the hour.
For everybody else, 30 minutes feels right.
Where Is Hanimaru Cafe?
The cafe is at:
1-16-19 Okubo, Shinjuku City, Tokyo
on the ground floor.
It’s only around four minutes on foot from Shin-Okubo Station.
That location matters.
Shin-Okubo sits immediately north of Shinjuku and is best known as the centre of Tokyo’s Koreatown, with Korean restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, beauty stores and pop-culture shops packed around the station.
So we wouldn’t travel here, spend exactly 30 minutes inside Hanimaru and immediately get back on the train.
Have lunch.
Explore Shin-Okubo.
Then continue to Shinjuku on foot or by train.
It turns one unusual animal experience into part of a proper half-day.
👉 Shinjuku Travel Guide: Best Things to Do, Food & Nightlife
Do You Need a Reservation?
Not for normal entry.
Hanimaru’s current visitor information explicitly says the cafe is not reservation-only and that people can arrive without booking.
That doesn’t mean we’d treat all interactions as guaranteed.
Certain animals may have their own requirements. The cafe, for example, currently asks visitors wanting fennec interaction to reserve by the previous day.
We couldn’t find a similar published advance-reservation rule for the binturong.
Still, if your entire reason for travelling to Shin-Okubo is Popcorn, contacting the cafe before the visit is sensible.
A five-minute check is better than arriving and discovering that the animal is resting.
The ¥300 Treat Is Optional
Animal treats currently cost ¥300.
Whether you buy one depends on what the staff recommends and what animals are available.
We wouldn’t view feeding as something you’re entitled to simply because there is an extra charge on the menu.
If staff pause treats or say a particular animal shouldn’t be fed at that moment, that’s the end of the discussion.
The animal’s needs matter more than getting a video.
Is This Really a Cafe?
Technically, yes.
But don’t choose it because you’re looking for Tokyo’s best coffee.
The drink is part of the experience package rather than the reason to visit.
Current included choices are simple drinks such as coffee, iced tea, cafe latte, orange juice, cola, ginger ale and tea.
Beer is available separately for ¥500.
Think of Hanimaru as an animal experience with drinks, rather than a serious cafe that happens to contain a binturong.
That sets expectations much more accurately.
Is It Ethical to Visit an Exotic-Animal Cafe?
This is the section we don’t want to pretend doesn’t exist.
People reasonably have different views about exotic animals being kept in interactive cafes.
Binturongs are wild mammals, not domesticated pets. The species is currently considered Vulnerable, with wild populations affected by habitat loss and hunting.
That matters.
So does the individual animal’s behaviour and management.
We’re not going to claim from a travel article that every aspect of one animal’s welfare can be fully assessed from outside the organisation.
What we can say is how we’d approach the decision as a visitor.
If close interaction with exotic animals makes you uncomfortable in principle, don’t force yourself to go because it looks good online.
Tokyo has alternatives where the emphasis is more heavily on observing animals.
If you do visit Hanimaru, follow staff instructions, don’t chase interaction, don’t restrain an animal for a photograph and accept immediately if a particular animal isn’t available.
An experience becomes much easier to defend when the animal is allowed to have boundaries.
What If You’d Rather Observe a Binturong?
There is another Tokyo option worth knowing about.
AniTouch Tokyo Dome City currently lists binturongs among its collection of more than 300 animals across around 50 species.
It’s a much larger indoor animal facility rather than a small cafe focused on one timed interaction.
Current weekday admission starts at ¥2,000 for adults, with no general time limit during normal operation.
The important distinction is that we would not go there assuming you’re guaranteed to hold or touch a binturong.
AniTouch itself warns that some animals may not be out and that individual interaction or treat availability can change according to animal welfare and conditions.
So the choice is less:
“Which place guarantees I can cuddle a binturong?”
and more:
Hanimaru if the close, staff-managed binturong encounter is your main interest.
AniTouch if you want a broader animal experience where seeing a binturong is only one part of the visit.
Is Hanimaru Worth Crossing Tokyo For?
For someone who specifically loves binturongs or exotic animals, yes.
It’s unusual enough to justify the journey.
For a first-time visitor with three days in Tokyo and no particular interest in animals?
Probably not.
Tokyo has too much else competing for your time.
The great thing about Hanimaru is not that everybody needs to visit.
It’s that the right person may remember it more clearly than several much more famous attractions.
That’s how niche experiences should work.
👉 Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary: Perfect First-Time Route for 2026
It Makes More Sense if You’re Already Visiting Shinjuku
This is where we’d place it in a real itinerary.
Shin-Okubo and Shinjuku sit close together.
So instead of constructing an entire day around Hanimaru, combine the areas.
Visit Shin-Okubo for food and the binturong experience during the afternoon.
Then head into Shinjuku for the evening.
Now the transport makes sense.
You haven’t sacrificed an entire Tokyo sightseeing block for a 30-minute animal encounter.
You’ve added something unusual to an area you were already visiting.
Is It Good for Couples?
Yes, assuming both people genuinely want to go.
It’s short enough not to dominate the day and strange enough to become a story from the trip.
There’s also something inherently amusing about discovering that the animal your partner insisted smelled like popcorn actually does.
But this is not the place for a surprise date if one person is uneasy around animals.
That surprise can go badly very quickly.
What About Solo Travellers?
No problem at all.
The experience doesn’t depend on having someone else with you.
A solo traveller can take the 30-minute course, interact with the selected animal under staff guidance and continue with the day.
In some ways, a small structured experience like this is easier solo because nobody has to negotiate which animal the group wants to meet.
What We’d Do
If meeting a binturong were the goal, we’d go on a weekday if possible.
We’d choose the 30-minute ¥2,000 course.
We’d arrive knowing Popcorn is the animal we hope to interact with, but we’d ask staff rather than assume.
If she isn’t available, we’d decide whether another animal makes the visit worthwhile rather than demanding an interaction.
Afterwards, we’d spend time eating around Shin-Okubo and then continue into Shinjuku.
That’s enough.
There is no need to turn a wonderfully strange half hour into an over-engineered day.
Binturong Experience Tokyo FAQ
Where can you meet a binturong in Tokyo?
Hanimaru Cafe in Shin-Okubo currently keeps a binturong and offers timed interaction with selected animals.
What is the binturong’s name?
Hanimaru’s binturong is called Popcorn, or Pop.
Can you actually touch the binturong?
The cafe offers animal-interaction courses, and the binturong has been one of its interactive animals.
Actual availability and the form of contact depend on the animal and staff on the day.
How much does Hanimaru Cafe cost in 2026?
Current adult prices are ¥1,500 for 20 minutes viewing only, ¥2,000 for 30 minutes with one animal interaction and a drink, or ¥3,000 for 60 minutes with two animal interactions and a drink.
Why do older websites show ¥1,500 for the 30-minute course?
Those prices are outdated.
The cafe’s current official pricing has increased.
Do you need a reservation?
The cafe is not fully reservation-only, and walk-ins are accepted.
If seeing one particular animal is important, checking availability beforehand is sensible.
What are Hanimaru Cafe’s opening hours?
Current hours are 11am–9pm daily, with last orders at 8:30pm.
Is it close to Shinjuku?
Yes.
Hanimaru is in Shin-Okubo, immediately north of the main Shinjuku area.
How far is it from Shin-Okubo Station?
Roughly four minutes on foot.
Do binturongs really smell like popcorn?
Yes. They produce scent containing a compound also strongly associated with the aroma of cooked popcorn.
Are binturongs bears?
No.
Despite the nickname “bearcat”, binturongs belong to the civet family.
Are binturongs endangered?
They are currently classified as Vulnerable, rather than Endangered.
Wild populations face pressures including habitat loss and hunting.
Is Hanimaru Cafe good for children?
It can be, particularly for children who are interested in animals and can follow handling instructions.
Children aged 4–11 receive reduced admission pricing.
Is 30 minutes enough?
For most travellers interested primarily in meeting one animal, yes.
We’d choose 60 minutes only if you want to spend time with more of the cafe’s animal collection.
Is Hanimaru Cafe worth it?
For someone specifically interested in binturongs or unusual animals, yes.
¥2,000 is reasonable for a short experience that is genuinely difficult to replicate elsewhere on a normal Tokyo itinerary.
For someone uncomfortable with exotic-animal interaction, we’d skip it rather than trying to convince yourself to enjoy it.
Final Thoughts
The binturong is exactly the sort of animal that sounds made up until one is standing in front of you.
It’s called a bearcat but isn’t either.
It lives in trees despite being surprisingly heavy.
Its tail works almost like another limb.
And somehow an animal from the forests of Southeast Asia became famous for smelling like a cinema snack.
That would already make seeing one interesting.
Hanimaru takes the experience further by allowing close, staff-managed interaction with selected animals in the middle of Tokyo.
That isn’t going to appeal to everybody.
It shouldn’t.
People have legitimate concerns about exotic-animal cafes, and nobody needs to ignore those concerns because a video looks cute.
But for a traveller comfortable with the concept, willing to respect the animal’s boundaries and genuinely interested in seeing a binturong close up, this is one of Tokyo’s more unusual small experiences.
We’d choose 30 minutes.
We’d go because of Popcorn, while accepting that no specific animal owes us an interaction that day.
And we’d combine the visit with Shin-Okubo and Shinjuku rather than travelling across Tokyo for one isolated stop.
The strangest part?
After all the unusual anatomy, the long gripping tail and the fact that you’ve just met a Vulnerable Southeast Asian mammal in Shin-Okubo, there’s a good chance the detail you’ll tell people about first is still:
It actually does smell a bit like popcorn.
Continue Planning Your Tokyo Trip
👉 Best Things to Do in Tokyo 2026: 25 Must-See Attractions for First-Time Visitors
👉 Shinjuku Travel Guide: Best Things to Do, Food & Nightlife
👉 Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary: Perfect First-Time Route for 2026
👉 Japan Family Itinerary: 10 Days in Japan With Kids (Stress-Free Plan)
👉 Where to Stay in Tokyo for First-Time Visitors (Best Areas & How to Choose 2026)