Robot Cats Roam the Mall: Only in Japan

    The biggest new shopping experience in Miyagi since the pandemic began is the opening of the massive Aeon mall in Rifu. It's easily the largest mall in the area, sporting three floors with more than 150 shops including a movie theater and virtual reality park that I am sure will be a hit with my family as soon as we are all vaccinated and feel safe using that kind of public entertainment facility. They even have an animal cafe with owls and a sloth. I haven't been inside yet but from the outside of the front window, it appears the sloth can be observed and photographed but not touched, so as to not harm the poor thing. 

Sloth in a cafe? So Japan.

    Since the opening last year, we have been ambivalent about venturing over that way but decided to go ahead and check it out carefully the other day while our daughter was at school. As it was midday on a weekday, the place was at less than 50% capacity according to the electronic displays posted near the information desks.

    Unlike the folks on the street of our small town of Shiogama, people in the mall were all wearing masks (though admittedly a few noses were out) and there was enough space to avoid people if necessary. While a lot of the clothing seemed overpriced, it was neat to see some of the new shops that were open and check out the variety of food options available now.

    In addition to a bunch of interesting shops and restaurants, something I had genuinely never seen before caught my eye.

Where do you get your mall maps? If it's a moving cat robot, you've got to be in Japan.

    This adorable electronic creature wandered through the mall, delivering maps and information guides on the shelves located behind its pretty face.

    I was a little worried about what would happen if someone jumped in front of it but I should have known better. This is Japan after all! The cat apparently has motion and position sensors that enable it to maneuver out of the way of stagnant foot traffic, continuing on its path without missing a beat.

    When I tried to find more information about this very cool thing, the search terms took some work but eventually I found an interview from some Japanese news broadcast regarding a similar bot in an Aeon in Saitama.

All rights to this video belong to the people who uploaded it to youtube, where I found it.

    I was so surprised to see that the Saitama bot could deliver food and reacted to being touched on the head. It never occurred to me to pet the robo-cat but I am definitely going to try it next time. Even though the Rifu version seems to be a bit scaled down and relegated to just the first floor, I am excited to know it isn't alone in the world of fun mall electronics.

    Next month, the old Rifu Aeon will finally be fully annexed into the massive Aeon facility, opening even more shops and restaurants, and maybe even a few more robot cats. One could always hope. After all, it's still Japan.