(FORTUNE Magazine) – Okay, we all understand U.S. culture isn't superior to Japanese culture--or vice versa--it's just different. With that in mind, let us introduce the latest hot Japanese business: Rent-A-Pet.

At Tokyo's Perro Moco, you can rent any one of more than ten kinds of dogs and cats, from half a day to a week. Prices are $50 a day (eight hours) for small dogs like Chihuahuas, $70 for mediums, and $80 for biggies such as Labrador retrievers.

Young professionals who live in apartment buildings, most of which have strict no-pets rules, are the biggest customers. Says shop owner Masahiro Kobayashi: "Young couples take the dogs with them on dates to do something better than going to movie theaters and game centers."

Kobayashi says he worried about psychological pressure on the dogs, which must spend long periods with total strangers, though now he's satisfied their fragile personas can handle it. Management at a store called Zoo disagrees. Its dogs are chaperoned by their owners, employees of the shop.

Some customers rent a rover to see if they want to own one. Mayumi Miyamori and her daughter, Fuyuka, were thrilled when Okasan (translation: "Mother"), a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, arrived at their home for one night. "I was worried about keeping a dog even for a day," says Mayumi. "But we loved Okasan. We decided to keep her one more night." Now they may buy a pooch for keeps.

And for those with a yen for exotic beasts, Animal Japan Pro rents raccoons, hedgehogs, and, to transplanted Texans, armadillos.

--Cindy Kano