Yundou! Dadou! Wandou! Tudou! Kafeidou! Maodou! Heidou! Xiao Dingdang! With our powers combined, it’s bean time!
The only full-sized Shiba guards the door with an adorable backpack
Meet the mini shiba inus of 豆柴犬院子柴犬主题咖啡馆, which roughly translates as the Mini Shiba Inu Themed Coffee Shop. Not to be confused with the 大黄家柴犬主题咖啡馆 (Huang Family Shiba Inu Themed Coffee Shop) upstairs that has full-sized shibas, all of the dogs here except for one who dutifully guards the door are 豆柴犬 (mini shibas), the 豆 dòu meaning “bean.”
Customers getting to know the shibas
Even though they are slightly larger than a real bean, these adorable pups are still pretty tiny and you can play with them for just RMB 88. For that price, you also get coffee, tea, and other drinks from the vending machine for free.
Upon entering, friends of the shibas are given single-use socks and hand sanitizer to help keep the dogs’ space clean. They can then sit on the Japanese-style floor and let the cuddling commence!
Meet the beans
Maodou (Edamame) has a black stripe of firm fir that runs down her back and tail, making her look a bit like a fox. By our estimates, she is the second laziest Shiba in the house.
A sleeping Maodou
The laziest is the appropriately named Tudou (Potato), who is the sister of the more active Kafei Dou (Coffee Bean).
The baby of the house is Yundou (Kidney Bean). A beautiful and rare cream shiba, she is not only the youngest but also the hungriest. The shopkeepers may encourage you to feed her treats in exchange for her handshakes.
Maodou, the baby, may have had a little accident during out visit…
There are also two black shibas. Heidou (Black Bean) was waiting outside to greet us when we visited, while the only one without a “dou” in the name, Xiao Dingdang (Little Ding Dong) made trouble inside. He is the naughtiest of the bunch and likes to roughhouse with the others. He’s also a talented jumper who can easily take on the fence that is meant to keep the shibas inside.
Xiao Dingdang, being naughty!
All the shibas seem happy and well taken care of. The shopkeepers walk them twice a day and they drink from a filtered water bowl. The shibas are certain to make you happy, too.
Our rating: 11/10 Shibas.
Read: Get a Case of the Warm-Fuzzies: 5 Cat Cafés in Beijing
豆柴犬院子柴犬主题咖啡馆
B1, Bldg 5, Sanlitun Soho, (downstairs from Yidiandian Milk Tea), Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯Soho 5号楼地下一层下沉广场底商一点点奶茶大楼地下来右侧
Photos: Joey Knotts
