Adorable cats invade a miniature Japanese railway diorama

Giant cats have invaded Japan!

Or so you would believe, checking out the residents of a café in Osaka.

Naoki Teraoka originally created the model railway-themed Diorama Restaurant for children with disabilities.

However, when the pandemic happened his business struggled and he almost had to close completely.

But an unlikely saviour appeared in the form of a stray cat and her kittens.

When the visitors started to sit and sleep among the miniature railway sets, they unwittingly created hilarious photo-opportunities.

Diners started to flood in to check out what looked like the set of a quirky monster cat movie.

Naoki found himself opening a cat shelter on the second floor of the restaurant and giving the residents free reign over the scale models.

After word got out, business started to boom, and Naoki now looks after more than forty cats.

He has now become active in trying to reduce the slaughter of dogs and cats, and is involved in conservation activities abroad as much as possible.

Naoki explains: “We are a small downtown dining room and, originally, I put a diorama in the cafeteria for children with disabilities.

“The cafeteria where our diorama is located has been in operation for 18 years, but since 6 years ago we have been running a facility for children with disabilities and continue to this day.