Unable to get to that must-see tourist site but can't bear for your
teddy to miss out? Then Japan has just the thing for you -- a
travel agency that takes stuffed toys on package tours and even
provides the holiday snaps to prove it.
Tokyo-based Unagi (Eel) Travel has a range of offers to suit every
cuddly companion's purse.
For instance, a day trip around sightseeing spots in the Japanese
capital is $45, plus travel -- by parcel post -- from and to the
toy's home address.
The more adventurous bear might like to see some of the grand
temples and shrines of the ancient capital of Kyoto for $95, or
unwind in the hot spring baths that dot volcanic Japan -- a snip at
$55.
"Some clients join tours simply because it seems fun but there are
also people who want to send stuffed animals as their proxies since
they can't travel by themselves, because they are in hospital,
handicapped or too busy," tour operator Sonoe Azuma told AFP.
"A client asked me to take her companion up some stairs and walk
through narrow streets she can't go into with her
wheelchair.
"Another client wanted her animal to get a lot of sunshine as she
can't go outside because of a skin disease."
A form sent to teddy owners ahead of the trip asks for the
tourist's name, if they are prone to car-sickness or sea-sickness,
and if they are allergic to a particular food.
Owners are invited to give a bit of background about the
participant's character, such as what their hobbies are and why
they are joining the tour.
On a recent tour of Tokyo, to which an AFP team was invited, a
menagerie of creatures were entrusted to Azuma's care.
The group included a tiger from Osaka, a shark from Kanagawa, a
rather well-loved Hello Kitty from Hyogo and a small version of
Sesame Street's Big Bird from Hokkaido. They were escorted around
Tokyo by the agency's resident tour guide, eel girl Unasha.
After an early morning briefing on what to expect, participants
were gently packed up and taken to the expansive Meiji Jingu Shrine
before heading for the Imperial Palace gardens, where Azuma
carefully spread out a towel for the gang to sit on as they posed
for one of many group photos of the day.
While it may sound a little far-fetched, 39-year-old Azuma, who
used to work in finance, takes her task very seriously and objects
to the idea that she is just firing off snaps at famous
locations.
"Anyone could do it if it was simply about taking pictures of
stuffed animals... You must do this with the belief that 'I'm
taking care of other people's children'," she said.
Azuma, who has been running Unagi Travel for three years,
live-blogs her tours, uploading pictures on Facebook and Twitter
(https://www.facebook.com/unagitravel,
https://twitter.com/unagitravel).
Each photo is captioned with comments from tour participants,
ranging from the simple "yummy!" when sampling food to a more
considered "Always important to look at things from a different
perspective" as they stand in front of a tall building.
Azuma even prepares tiny costumes for her pint-sized charges that
match tour locations -- such as kimonos for a sleepover at a
Japanese-style inn. She says this helps to add a little surprise to
owners who are monitoring the trip online.
And she uses the photos she takes to map out a story that chimes
with the background each owner has provided.
On one tour, a Tokyoite bunny carried a frog from a provincial town
on her back through the din of the capital city because the frog
was not used to crowded places.
And her human clients seem to appreciate the personal
attention.
One woman said she had never seen her rabbit looking so happy as in
a photo of it eating at a restaurant with other stuffed toys, Azuma
said.
A satisfied customer in her 40s told AFP she did not think it was
strange at all to send two cuddly companions on a mystery tour.
"I enjoyed the scenery or the food through their eyes, even if I
was not physically there," said the woman, who did not want to be
named.
With digital photography, mocking up a picture of your bear at a
tourist spot would be easy, concedes the woman, but that rather
misses the point.
"I think it is very different when they go there physically by
themselves and take pictures," she said. "They must have their own
fond memories of the travel."
She acknowledges that to many non-Japanese people, the practice may
seem a little strange.
"I would be a little more (circumspect) if a non-Japanese friend
asks me if I would be interested in the service. But if I talk with
my Japanese friends, it's a very natural thing," she said.