Dining alone in a restaurant can get a bit, well, lonely. Although solitude can make for a peaceful meal, sometimes you wish you had a soft, cuddly friend to watch you dine. Well, at least that's what the people at Tokyo's Moomin Café think, and they're proving it by sitting parties of one with stuffed animals.

Japan's Moomin Café restaurants ars designed with a "Moomin" franchise theme. "Moomin" started as a series of illustrated children's books from Finland. The stories starred creatures that resembled hippopotamuses and resulted in Japanese spin-off cartoons, done with the collaboration of the Finnish. There has not been a new "Moomin" show in 20 years, but the franchise is still popular in Japan.

Moomin Café celebrates the Moomin craze with drinks, food and decorations resembling the happy creatures. There is more than one café, but the one in LaQua in Tokyo Dome City seems to have a knack for setting patrons up with dinner dates.

Listen to Haru's story:

'"...she was sitting by herself, waiting for her food to come, she was approached by one of the staff, who came over to inform Haru there was someone who'd like to sit with her, if she didn't mind," RocketNews24 reports. "It turned out the server was making the request on behalf of The Snork Maiden, the girlfriend of 'Moomin's' main character, Moomintroll."

Haru couldn't resist because the character "was also so cute!"

"The waitress had such a big smile on her face," Haru said. "I couldn't say no.

Apparently, this tradition has been going on since 2003, when the café first opened.

"Guests to Moominhouse are welcomed by the Moomin family," a Moomin Café PR spokesperson explained.

Patrons may also be seated with a Moomintroll, Moominpappa, Moominmamma, Sniff or Stinky doll.

Stuffed animal pairing is also available at Moomin Cafés in Tokyo Skytree and Fukuoka.

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @SH____4.

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