Korean Cafes

Korea loves themed cafes.  There are cafes for everything.  My two favorite cafe finds are the dog cafes and Dr. Fish.

Dog Cafe

We took the kids to this dog cafe in Gangnam over Christmas break.  It was awesome!  Since so many people here live in apartments, you really can't own a big dog.  These cafes are a place for people to experience playing with dogs while enjoying a drink or some food.  We opted not to eat here.  Somehow the idea of putting food on a table where dogs have been sitting was not appealing.  You do, however, have to order something to play with the dogs, so we got some drinks.

You can see this dog was coming over to check out what we had.  

He thought he'd pull up a chair and be part of the family.

It took a little while for the dogs to warm up to us, but after they did, they were very friendly.





You can also purchase dog treats to feed the animals.

Feeding them, of course, made the dogs love us even more!

The kids had a blast!  They enjoyed their doggie day.  

Dr. Fish

So after the Dog Cafe, I had to look into what other cafes were around.  That's when I found Dr. Fish.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I love Dr. Fish!  Who would have thought that having fish eat dead skin off your feet would be something people would pay for!?!  Well, we found a bunch of couples to come with us who did!

When you first enter, you have to order something to eat or drink -- just like all the themed cafes.  Here, though, we weren't afraid to order food.  (There was no fear of dirty animals sitting on the tables this time.)  Surprisingly, the food was delicious.  We loved the honey bread.

After you're finished with your food, it's time to head over to the fish area.

I always love to read the English translations in Korea.  Our languages are so different that it really does make translating quite difficult...but always good for a laugh. (Seeing as how I recently tried to give honor to a light bulb in Korean instead of the person I was talking to, I feel justified in laughing about translations. I know I'm offering my own funny ones going from English to Korean!)

First you wash your feet to get off any lotions or dirt.  The water here was freezing.

Next, you choose which tank you want to start with.  There are two different kinds of fish -- big and small.  I decided to start with the big fish.  Go big or go home, right?   Well, here's the video to show my reaction.

It tickled so badly!!!  Seeing as how my Thai massage in Phuket tickled my feet, I knew I these fish would make me laugh.  You could actually feel them biting at your legs and feet.  It didn't hurt though.  It felt like soft little pinches.

Next I headed to the small fish area.  These fish tickled but were much more tolerable.  They felt more like little electric shocks all over.  Not painful shocks, but soothing!  I could actually relax in this tank -- except when they got between my toes.  That sent me into laughing spasms again.

We were only supposed to have twenty minutes in the tanks, but I think the lady forgot about us.  I'm not sure how long we ended up staying in there, but I can testify that the next day my feet felt the smoothest they have ever felt in their entire lives.  Thank you Dr. Fish!