By MASAHIDE MIYAJIMA/ Staff Writer
October 13, 2023 at 07:00 JST
Sitting on the terrace, customers enjoy drinks at the Tefutefu cafe and gallery in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on July 19 as butterflies fly around them. (Masahide Miyajima)
ASHIYA, Hyogo Prefecture--Customers at a little cafe here step into a dream world when they sit on a sunlit terrace, surrounded by the dazzling sight of hundreds of live butterflies.
The dreamer behind Tefutefu, a cafe and gallery that opened in July, is architect and butterfly enthusiast Katsunori Shiraki.
"As far as I can tell, there are no other cafes where customers can come in contact with butterflies," said Shiraki, 58.
Tefutefu has a 20-square-meter terrace inside a beautiful greenhouse. Customers can enjoy their drinks on the terrace while watching almost 300 butterflies of about 10 species swirl around the room.
Asian swallowtails, yellow swallowtails, cabbage butterflies and more can be seen flying overhead, drinking nectar from flowers, or even laying their eggs.
Shiraki established a butterfly conservation group in 2012 with the help of about 10 like-minded friends.
He later renovated an old dormitory building into this surreal cafe by himself. The architect also raised all the butterflies kept in the cafe after he and his friends collected them in Ashiya and adjacent Nishinomiya.
"I'll be happy if more and more people can find wonder in butterflies," Shiraki said.
Tefutefu is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Tuesdays.
Visit the official website at (https://tefutefu-shop.com/).
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