OWND Cafe brings O2 to your K9

Written by: Michael Keferl on June 13, 2008 at 9:19 am | In Technology & Gadget Trends | 1 Comment

While we’d heard about oxygen tanks for dogs in Japan (and seen them in doghouse form), but a cafe in Tokyo is taking the idea and running with it.

The OWND Cafe (Oxygen, Water, Nutrition, Detox + Dog) in Yoyogi Uehara was closed for the day when I stopped by, but, being dog-less, I probably avoided a potentially awkward situation anyway. The concept of OWND is to come along with your dog, have dual oxygen treatments together, and then share a snack. Who needs Frisbees anymore to spend quality time with man’s best friend?

Photo from the Airpress booth at a recent Pet Expo.

We’re not going to pretend that every Tokyoite with a dog is scrambling to oxygenate their dogs (or themselves for that matter), but this is another great example of Concept Retail in Tokyo that is original and working to create its own niche. After all, ten years ago it would have been hard to imagine maid cafes exploding like they did, but (though they’ve already peaked and are leveling out) the most successful concepts are still going strong.

Yes, perhaps it has a “wacky Japan” tinge to it, but this is Japan after all. If testing out offbeat ideas and innovations is impractical, you can count me in anyway.

Tags: Cafes, health, Oxygen, pets, Retail
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage