March 2, 2021
OSAKA (THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN) – Feline friends saved the day for one restaurateur in Osaka who was on the verge of shuttering his business because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Diorama Restaurant in Tennoji Ward, Osaka, is well-known for its elaborate model train system set in intricate landscapes. Nowadays, though, the eatery has caused a buzz on social media as previously stray cats walk amid the miniature display and watch the trains come and go.
“At first, I wanted to save the cats,” said owner Naoki Teraoka. “But it turns out they saved me.”
Diorama Restaurant opened in 2018, but was temporarily closed between March and May 2020 due to the pandemic. The restaurant gradually resumed operations in June, but customers were so slow to return that Teraoka seriously began to consider closing up shop.
March 01, 2021
A cat watches a model train traversing a bridge.
Twitter/The Japan News
OSAKA Feline friends saved the day for one restaurateur in Osaka who was on the verge of shuttering his business because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Diorama Restaurant in Tennoji Ward, Osaka, is well-known for its elaborate model train system set in intricate landscapes. Nowadays, though, the eatery has caused a buzz on social media as previously stray cats walk amid the miniature display and watch the trains come and go.
“At first, I wanted to save the cats,” said owner Naoki Teraoka. “But it turns out they saved me.”
Masahiro, foreground, and Yoshito, seen here at Osaka Tennoji Zoo in the city’s Tennoji Ward on Dec. 8, get along better these days than they did before. (Kengo Yasui)
OSAKA They may have combs instead of tusks, but for the current occupants of an elephant house at a zoo in this western city here, that is something to crow about.
Two roosters who have dodged death many times have taken a starring role while occupying a space designated for pachyderms.
The cage at Osaka Tennoji Zoo in the city’s Tennoji Ward was left without its inhabitants when the last of the zoo’s herd of elephants died three years ago.