Travelling with a plushie? Japan hotel offers mini beds for stuffed toys
Growing numbers of young people are no longer travelling alone. Instead, they hit the road with carefully dressed plush toys. Some place them in backpacks with transparent windows, while others carry them in their arms.
Many social media users have shared their travel adventures with plush toys, most of them young people or fans of popular cartoon characters.
One traveller always takes Chiikawa, a shy and tearful white hamster from a Japanese manga series, on his trips across Asia. He takes it to restaurants, arranges it in different sleeping positions on hotel beds and styles it in cute outfits.
Another person posted photos of two Japanese amberjack plush toys on a bullet train. 'My little fish loves watching the scenery roll by. It was so happy it flipped onto its belly,' they wrote.
Seriously cute: psychologist explains Chiikawa's popularity among Hong Kong youth
Wang Liufeng, a psychology consultant with the Chinese Association for Mental Health, noted that stuffed toys offer comfort and companionship.
'They do not talk, they do not judge, but they are always by your side. It is a form of unconditional emotional support,' said Wang.
On June 25, the Japanese hotel chain Toyoko INN launched a new service for guests visiting with plush toys. For an extra 300 yen (US$3), guests receive a mini bed for their toy, along with free toy-sized pyjamas to use during their stay.
A hotel representative told J-Cast News he often travels with stuffed animals and hopes the service will resonate with Generation Z travellers.
The response has exceeded expectations, and the hotel plans to roll it out to more locations soon.
This toy frog is clearly enjoying his stay. Experts say the cuddly companions offer their owners comfort. Photo: QQ.com
Many people on the internet welcomed the move.
'Affordable and heartwarming, this is truly a hotel with love,' said one person.
'I feel like my five teddy bears will fight over who gets to sleep in the special bed,' another said.
The trend is also catching on in China, with related topics garnering more than 10 million views on mainland social media.
In April, an internet user called 'do not Wanna Get Up' took two stuffed dog toys on a tour of Europe, snapping photos of them at 18 tourist spots.
'Everywhere I went, strangers wanted to take pictures with my plushies. It made me even happier than being in the photos myself,' she said.
Happy birthday, Moo Deng! Thai internet sensation turns one
In January, a woman in Shanghai took a stuffed eggplant toy on a flight and placed it in the seat beside her. A flight attendant even buckled it in, earning smiles from fellow passengers.
One online observer put it best: 'One look at my plush toy, and all the memories from that trip come rushing back. That is their magic.'
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