Luggage-free Travel and Clothing Rental Makes Traveling in Japan Even Easier

Now you can travel light within Japan and still have all you need

travelers at an airport
travelers at an airport

With the number of tourists visiting Japan on the rise and the 2020 Olympics around the corner, the need to make travel around the country as easy as possible is one at the forefront of people’s minds.

Visitors to the country can now avail of services that will take some of the stress out of navigating a foreign country.

Let someone else ‘lug’ your luggage

A new luggage delivery service has been set up by the sponsors of the 2020 Olympics JTB, Panasonic and Yamoto Transport.

The service, Luggage-Free Travel, transports travelers’ baggage from the airport to their accommodation. That way, they are free to travel without worrying about lugging their baggage with them on public transport.

People wishing to avail of the service must create an account on the Luggage-Free Travel website and arrange the delivery in advance. You can check how much the delivery will cost you by getting an instant quote online. Then you select the date and time you’ll be needing the service. You will receive a QR code and email confirmation once you’ve made your booking. At the airport you leave your bags, quoting your QR code, at the Luggage-Free Travel desk and the staff will take care of the rest.

The billing service is secure and you will receive emails when your luggage is collected and delivered. Insurance is available, and you can also track your baggage’s journey or use live chat for further peace of mind.

Travelers can pack lightly and borrow the things they need easily when they arrive at their destination

Travel light by renting clothes

Entrepreneur, Shimpei Watanabe’s new startup, Locarry, allows people to rent a whole range of clothing items instead of having to pack and carry heavy bags when traveling. People can rent things like hiking boots, workout clothes, suits, or even yoga mats and other bulky items that are difficult to transport. This allows people to save on paying excess baggage fees and travel lightly wherever they go.

Locarry is not an entirely new idea. There are already businesses that rent out their own products to customers but Watanabe’s startup is different in that it allows anyone at all to lend their items to users of the service. The focus of Locarry is convenience. Travelers can pack lightly and borrow the things they need when they arrive at their destination.

Lenders post a list of items that they have available to use and borrowers input their measurements, so items can be filtered by size.  Borrowers and lenders then meet up to exchange the clothing or other items and the fee for renting them. A five-star review system ensures the quality of items being lent.

Watanabe believes Locarry can be a handy side hustle for people wanting to earn a bit of extra cash or a full-time job for people living in popular tourist destinations. It’s a little like Airbnb in the fact that anyone can earn money from it.

Worldwide travel is increasing all the time so it’s not surprising that people are coming up with news ways to make the experience more convenient. Transporting heavy luggage and having to be economical with the things you can bring are difficulties faced by most travelers so the services we mentioned can certainly solve those issues. Now, if only someone could find a solution to the leg-room problem on flights …

Today’s “otsumami” – a bite size snack:

Convenience when traveling to Japan can certainly lead to a further increase in the number of visitors to the country.

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Close-up of a stock market graph

Asian Stocks Stronger as Japan’s Economy Strengthens

A man holding a drone in his hands

Japan-Based Drone Startups To Keep An Eye On