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Unagi Travel
Nov. 21st, 2015 03:18 pmBy chance, I stumbled across a news article about Unagi Travel, a Japanese travel agency that will send your stuffed animals on a tour (in Japan or abroad), and send you pictures from their "vacation". There are a couple of online articles about it here and here. The concept sounds silly at first, but some of their clients are people who are homebound and unable to travel for health reasons, and they get a vicarious thrill out of seeing their favorite stuffed animal go on vacation in their place, which is really kind of sweet.
And even if someone is physically capable of traveling, there's still no harm in sending one's favorite plushie buddy on a vacation if it gives them enjoyment. Certainly the cost is much less than a tour package for a human traveler, and it's just a step farther than people who get vicarious enjoyment out of reading travel books to exotic locations they'll never actually go to.
Actually, it reminds me a bit of the "Flat Stanley" project the daughter of a friend was working on. A paper cutout of the "Flat Stanley" book character was mailed out to (in this particular case) friends and relatives of the child's family living in other cities and/or states, and Stanley's hosts sent back pictures and a short journal or letter detailing the local spots that Stanley visited. Of course, this was an educational project as opposed to a professional travel agency, but the concept is pretty much the same.
And even if someone is physically capable of traveling, there's still no harm in sending one's favorite plushie buddy on a vacation if it gives them enjoyment. Certainly the cost is much less than a tour package for a human traveler, and it's just a step farther than people who get vicarious enjoyment out of reading travel books to exotic locations they'll never actually go to.
Actually, it reminds me a bit of the "Flat Stanley" project the daughter of a friend was working on. A paper cutout of the "Flat Stanley" book character was mailed out to (in this particular case) friends and relatives of the child's family living in other cities and/or states, and Stanley's hosts sent back pictures and a short journal or letter detailing the local spots that Stanley visited. Of course, this was an educational project as opposed to a professional travel agency, but the concept is pretty much the same.
