Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2013
Remember the travelling gnome prank from the movie Amelie? Now anyone in the world can send their favorite cuddly toy on a similar adventure around Japan, thanks to Unagi Travel, perhaps the world’s only travel agency for stuffed animals. Sign up for one of the four available tours ($35-95) and wish bon voyage to your little explorer (up to 250 grams) before sending them on by post. The Tokyo Tour ($45) will take your friend to five top sightseeing spots around the capital, all documented on Facebook, before the flight back home (via airmail) with a CD of photos. You can also send your teddy to a hot spring, Kyoto or a mystery tour of surprise location. Tour groups are limited to ten spaces so proper care can be given to each traveller. In addition to being good, silly fun, the tours offer a way to learn about Japan without the cost of actual travel. Such is the case with students from low-income families in New Mexico whose class mascot is getting a sponsored tour this season.
