The thought of dining alone can be daunting in a city full of ‘ladies who lunch’ and salarymen who go out. But Japan has added on to the many services you can receive when you feel lonely, in a very PG way.
Although the idea has been set in place since the opening in 2003, media outlets all over have recently covered the solo dining experience at Moomin Cafe in Tokyo Dome, after twitter user Haru posted her story that went viral.
When Haru sat down alone in Moomin Cafe, she found an unexpected guest joining her. Enrocketnews24 reports, that after taking her seat and placing her order, she was approached by the waitress who told her that if she didn’t mind, someone would like sit with her.
It turned out to be the girlfriend of Moomin’s main character, The Snork Maiden, in the form of a life-size stuffed animal. “The waitress had such a big smile on her face, I couldn’t say no,” Haru recalls, embarrassedly. “But it was also so cute!”
Similar experiences have been documented, and it probably won’t be the last as lonely diners now have a companion to share that stack of pancakes and moomin-shaped food with at all Moomin Cafe locations in Japan. And Moomin fans can also check out the last weekend of the Moomin Exhibit at Matsuya.
