Nobody wants to see their beloved companions in rough shape. When a loved one falls ill, you can always have a sense of hope in medical care to remedy an illness or at the very least, see that person through it with comfort. Stuffed animals, however, often have to carry the wear-and-tear of age and injury with them forever. Unless of course, you send them to Japan's stuffed animal hospital, which is a fantastically adorable service for applying maintenance to stuffed animals and keeping the innocent joy of children alive.

"Take it easy until the day of your operation!"

The service has actually existed for a while, and is not entirely different from those offered for certain lines of plushies and action-figures, but the adorable attention to detail and sense of humor with which this stuffed animal hospital operates recently became a hot topic thanks to this Tweet by Anzu, who found the hospital after searching because their stuffed bear of 12 years was beyond the point of recovering from simple washing and cleaning.

It's called the Nuigurumi Byouin, or "Stuffed Animal Hospital". And outside of how heartwarming the idea of the hospital is, one detail that is getting a lot of attention is how remarkably similar the website and system of the stuffed animal medical center is to actual hospitals in Japan--right down to all the detailed forms you have to fill out.

Website design based off of actual hospitals in Japan.

Patient forms to identify where your plushie is hurting.

Making arrangements for the hospital is rather simple. You fill out the patient charts above, detailing exactly what is ailing your stuffed animal. After that you ship your plushie companion to the hospital, where they will receive extensive care based on their symptoms. The hospital also appears to be staffed by certified stuffed animals--after all, who knows how to better treat them than their own kind?

Internal medicine: old guts are replaced with fresh new stuffing.

External medicine: a thorough cleansing and massage...

...by licensed professionals, of course!

The pricing for stuffing replacement starts at 2,300 yen ($20.26 USD) and hospitalization plus operation comes to 3,300 yen ($29.07 USD), or the price of looking at a doctor in the U.S. While there are various price packages for different medical services, upon completion, you'll be treated to a DVD documenting your stuffed animal's hospital experience, which includes making friends with other patients. You'll also be given some supplementary medicine to aid in your plushie's recovery--although it comes in the form of candy!

The facility is manned by the finest medical staff in the stuffed animal kingdom.

Patients can spend some time rehabilitating together and making friends.

Stuffing of all kinds are available for your internal medicine.

And these nurses sure look like they know what they are doing!

Medicine candy to help your stuffed animal recover even after they get home!

And of course, your stuffed animal shipped back as good as new!

So while sometimes it may seem like a heartbreaking goodbye is the only end to the long journey of companionship between a person and their treasured stuffed animal, it's good to know that there is a service like this available--not only to repair and refresh your plushie friend, but also perhaps to protect the innocence of a young child who can take comfort in the fact that their stuffed animal is getting the best medical care available at a professional hospital.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.