Moomin Bakery & Café (Fukuoka; Tokyo)
Based on a family of mythical hippo-like characters by Finnish writer-illustrator Tove Jansson, the Moomin are hugely popular in Japan. Understandably, the café is always packed, so weekday mornings are your best bet. What’s great about this place is that giant Moomin plush toys can accompany patrons (especially solo diners) while they have their Moomin-themed European-Japanese fusion meals, which is probably why it’s dubbed as an “antiloneliness” café.
Although there are several Moomin merch shops and stands within Japan, the café has 3 branches as of this writing: two in Tokyo ( Skytree and Dome City areas) and one in Fukuoka (Canal City Hakata). If you can wait a bit longer, the first Moomin lakeside theme park is reportedly set to open in Saitama near Tokyo real soon.
Super tips: If you want to hit as many themed cafés as possible, Tokyo would be the best option. If you’re lucky, you can catch the many popup themed cafés that have a limited run. For those going to Yokohama, there’s a “Beauty and the Beast” themed café with matching old-world interior straight out of a movie set. It’s probably not related to the Disney franchise, but with the live-action film coming out soon, this might be worth checking out.