What Neko Yado Research values

Neko Yado Research is an information site that aims to help the resident cats who live in inns, the hosts who support their lives, and the travelers who visit them maintain comfortable, sustainable relationships without pressure.

We don’t just evaluate inns where you can interact with cats a lot, we also tell you about the cats’ choices to leave people, the host’s decisions about a cat’s rest or retirement, and the work and culture of the inns themselves.

Another mission is to reduce the work of the host

Neko Yado Research’s mission is not only to increase the number of people who go to see cats, but also to use technology to make life a little easier for people who continue running inns while living with cats.

At small inns, in addition to customer service, cleaning, and cat care, a small number of people may also be responsible for managing the website, reservations, payments, SNS, and servers. We publish the knowledge about WordPress, AI, automation, and safe server operations gained from running this site in a form that inn owners can use at their own discretion and pace.

Our goal is not to impose new work or difficult systems on people. This reduces the burden of repetitive tasks and research, and allows the host time to interact with cats and guests. The starting point for practical work is summarized in Web Operation Guide for the Host.

Cats are not an inn facility, they live there.

The resident cat is an important presence that conveys the charm of the inn, but it is not a facility that serves customers at set times. Cats can choose to sleep, hide, stay out of sight, or avoid being touched.

Therefore, on this site, we do not guarantee the cat’s behavior, such as “you will definitely meet the cat,” “the cat will definitely visit your room,” or “anyone can pick up the cat.” We prioritize the cat’s current health and the inn’s guidance on the day over what was possible in the past.

We do not rank accommodations based on the amount of interaction.

Neko Yado Research organizes the distance between guests and cats by A, B, and C.

• A: You can check examples of cats coming to the guest room and applicable plans.
• B: Guests can interact with cats inside the inn or in a dedicated space.
• C: The presence of resident cat can be confirmed, but the range of contact is unconfirmed.

These categories do not describe inn quality or a ranking of recommendations. This classification indicates what has been confirmed so far regarding contact with cats. Inns where you can meet cats peacefully in a common area, and accommodations where you can watch them from a distance, each have their own charms.

Detailed criteria are published in Reasons for dividing distance from cats into A, B, and C.

Distinguish between interview articles and research articles

I will introduce the actual accommodation I stayed at as an experience after indicating the time of visit. Inns that we have not visited yet are classified as research articles that have been checked from official websites, official SNS, tourist associations, current reservation information, etc.

I will not write about things that I have no actual experience with, but I will separate things that have been confirmed and things that are unconfirmed, such as the presence of cats, places where you can meet them, and guest-room visits. Since the information changes, we will indicate the confirmation date and update the same page after the interview.

I will also tell you about the inn and the work of the host.

If cats are your only reason for going, a night when you cannot meet them can seem like a failure. However, a cat inn is a place where the cooking, hot springs, building, area, cleaning, customer service, and daily cat care all overlap.

This site not only introduces the cuteness of cats, but also introduces how to spend time at the inn, transportation, meals, the host’s thoughts, and ways to protect cats’ rest. We believe that conveying the value of an inn where you can be satisfied even when cats don’t come out will help you avoid concentrating the burden of customer service on cats.

We will treat your photos and personal information with care.

We use photographs of inns and resident cats that we took ourselves, that the inn supplied or permitted us to publish, or whose usage conditions we have checked. We do not reproduce photos from official websites or reservation sites without permission.

For articles that do not have photos of real inns or cats, we will make it clear that they are illustrative images, and when accepting photos, we will check the rights of the photographer, the person’s consent, and the inn’s disclosure rules. Information that has not been made public by the inn, such as medical history, shelter location, staff information, etc., will not be speculated and published.

What we want to protect together with our readers

• Check the latest rules for the inn
• Do not chase the cat, do not pick it up, and respect the cat’s choice to move away.
• Do not give food or toys without permission
• Separately check permissions for filming and posting on SNS
• Do not judge the entire inn solely because you could not meet the cat.
• In reviews, give the time of your visit and make clear that it was your own individual experience.
• Respect the host’s decisions regarding rest, non-disclosure, and retirement.

Specific actions are summarized in Accommodation etiquette that resident cats like and 7 ways to support cat inns.

Know, enjoy, and support

“Knowing” the culture of cat inns means understanding the behavior of cats and the circumstances of the inns. “Enjoying” means having a chance encounter with a cat and enjoying the time of the entire inn. “Supporting” means not putting too much stress on the cats, using the inn in a way that helps it continue operating, and conveying information accurately.

Centering around these three points, we will conduct interviews with the host, records of resident cats, lodging etiquette, and research on cat inns across the country. If you notice any errors in information or information that needs updating, please let us know along with the official guidance that supports it.