Mori no Miyako Natsumi Clinic treats stuffed animals like household, offering specialised look after these cherished companions. After opening in Sendai in 2016, the clinic moved to Tokyo in 2018 and now cares for about 100 toys each month. We spoke with clinic director Hakozaki Natsumi about what Tokyo brings to her work and the way stuffed animals turn out to be a part of the household.
From dressmaking to stuffed animal care
Hakozaki grew up in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan, the place her grandmother taught her to stitch. As a baby, she made doll garments and luggage, sparking her curiosity in dressmaking. After graduating from style college, she labored at a ladies’s customized clothes salon and later at a clothes alteration store, the place she found stuffed animal restore.
“On the alteration store the place I labored, we fastened every kind of cloth gadgets—curtains, tablecloths, luggage, you identify it. One of many companies was stuffed toy restore, and that is how I first realized about their construction and the way to repair them,” says Hakozaki.
As Hakozaki got here to take pleasure in repairing stuffed toys, she realized they had been completely different from different material gadgets—they held a particular place. What struck her most was seeing how deeply moved homeowners had been once they obtained their companions again.
“When prospects obtain their restored toys, they usually cry and hug them tightly, saying issues like, ‘I am so glad you are higher,’ simply as if their very own little one had come dwelling from the hospital. That is once I realized how many individuals deal with their toys like household,” says Hakozaki.
Impressed to make use of her abilities and expertise for individuals who treasure their stuffed toys, Hakozaki envisioned what she calls a “stuffed animal hospital.”
Two years in Sendai, prepared for Tokyo
As soon as she settled on the thought of a “stuffed animal hospital,” it took about two years to arrange. Hakozaki spent that point honing her restore abilities, learning advertising and marketing and social media, studying accounting and tax fundamentals, and taking a course in web site design.
Hakozaki opened Mori no Miyako Natsumi Clinic in her renovated household dwelling in Sendai in January 2016. Tucked away within the mountains close to the Yamagata Prefecture border, the clinic nonetheless attracted requests from throughout Japan and even abroad, primarily by its on-line store.
Most shoppers used the mail on the time, however some mentioned they wished to fulfill in particular person or didn’t really feel comfy delivery their toys. Round 10 % traveled lengthy distances—taking the Shinkansen (bullet prepare) or native trains—to carry them to the clinic. In 2018, Hakozaki made a significant determination.
“As extra shoppers got here, I started to really feel it was an excessive amount of to ask them to journey all the way in which to Sendai. I assumed, ‘Then we should always transfer nearer,’ and determined to relocate to Tokyo with my total employees,” says Hakozaki.
Tokyo opens new doorways for toy care
After the transfer to Tokyo, about half of the shoppers started coming to the clinic in particular person. This not solely made visits simpler but additionally widened the probabilities for toy restore. In Sendai, material and elements had been onerous to search out, however in Tokyo Hakozaki gained entry to a wealthy number of supplies at craft outlets in Shinjuku and material wholesalers in Nippori.
“I store for supplies a minimum of as soon as every week. Yarn for re-rooting is very delicate, since I’ve to match refined shades to the way in which completely different elements of a toy have light within the solar. With the ability to see and select the supplies instantly makes all of the distinction,” says Hakozaki.
Tokyo didn’t simply supply higher supplies. Hakozaki additionally discovered a tradition that overtly embraces love for stuffed animals.
“I used to be amazed by how many individuals in Tokyo are open about their love for toys. Some cafés even serve sweets for them in order that homeowners can benefit from the expertise collectively. It looks like a metropolis that actually welcomes those that cherish their toys,” Hakozaki explains.
Cautious counseling on the coronary heart of specialised care
Mori no Miyako Natsumi Clinic now treats about 100 toys every month. Above all, the clinic values considerate counseling that actually helps its shoppers.
“We begin by asking three questions: What sort of remedy does the consumer need, what can we offer, and what is going to it price? We be certain these line up earlier than starting any remedy. Counseling normally takes about two weeks, throughout which we current an in depth remedy plan for the consumer to approve,” Hakozaki says.
Throughout remedy, the clinic focuses on preserving every toy’s individuality.
“When new toys are lined up in a retailer, all of them look the identical. However as soon as one is welcomed right into a household and spends years collectively, it develops its personal character. Its expression adjustments, and the fading and worn texture turn out to be a part of its story. We all the time attempt to protect that individuality when discussing remedy with shoppers,” Hakozaki says.
One consumer requested to depart a scorch mark from a heater, calling it “proof that this toy had protected me.” For Hakozaki, the purpose is to not make toys look model new, however to revive them to well being whereas protecting their individuality.
Discovering your self by stuffed animals
In as we speak’s world, everybody faces the complexity of human relationships. For these dwelling with loneliness and stress, conversations with toys can supply actual consolation, in line with Hakozaki.
“I feel lots of people at college or work maintain in stress as a result of they can not say what they actually really feel. In these moments, I hope they fight speaking to a toy. It is gentle, has a mild scent, and brings consolation. With its eyes and expression, it feels as if it is actually listening to you,” Hakozaki says.
With individuals, we frequently maintain again, worrying about how they could react, and find yourself protecting our true emotions inside. Toys are completely different—they settle for each phrase and are all the time there for us.
“Talking your ideas out loud helps arrange them,” Hakozaki says. By conversations with toys, individuals can face their emotions and discover the push they should transfer ahead.
A survey launched by toy and passion firm Bandai Spirits in February 2025 discovered that 53.8% of respondents had owned a stuffed animal for over 10 years. The outcomes confirmed that individuals of all ages proceed to worth them for years. The survey additionally highlighted rising demand for care companies, with 27.1% fascinated with specialised cleansing and 17.7% in skilled repairs.
As delivery charges fall and extra individuals dwell alone, the that means of household is altering. Alongside pets and houseplants, stuffed animals are more and more being cherished as relations—a pattern that’s prone to continue to grow.
A part of as we speak’s altering households
Mori no Miyako Natsumi Clinic will have fun its tenth anniversary in 2026. In 2025, Hakozaki is embracing new initiatives, together with publishing a photograph ebook of stuffed animals, holding pop-up clinics in Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka, and even Singapore, and sharing her work on YouTube. We requested her in regards to the motivation behind these efforts and her imaginative and prescient for the clinic’s future.
“I’ve by no means had huge ambitions, however I’ve all the time tried to tackle what I wished to do and make it occur. There have been failures alongside the way in which, however I centered on what labored and saved constructing from there—that is how I obtained to the place I’m as we speak. Now, almost 10 years after opening the clinic, some toys I handled 5 and even 10 years in the past return for checkups. I worth the belief I share with shoppers and hope to proceed the clinic for a few years to return,” Hakozaki says.
Mori no Miyako Natsumi Clinic is greater than a restore service for stuffed animals—it’s a place that gives particular look after treasured relations. In Tokyo, a metropolis that welcomes range, Hakozaki continues to help new types of household on the heart of a rising international love for stuffed animals.
Mori no Miyako Natsumi Clinic
Interview and writing by Kato Natsuko
