Stuffed animals are cooped up! They want to ditch your bed and bookshelves. They want to see the world. They want to travel. And in Japan, they can. Enter Unagi Travel. It dubs itself as a “travel agency for stuffed animals.” For the past three years, 38 year-old Sonoe Azuma has been taking stuffed animals on vacation and day-trips. This allows the owners of the stuffed animals, some of which are physically impaired, to live vicariously through the plush toys.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); Travelogues are uploaded to Facebook, where the owners can follow what activities their stuffed animals are up to. “So far, more than 200 stuffed animals have participated in the trips, and some of them sign up regularly. I would say 40 percent of my business is repeat customers,” Azuma told The Yomiuri Shimbun. She now organizes ten trips a month and has even taken stuffed animals abroad to the U.S. and Europe. Azuma got the idea for the tours after her blog, which followed the exploits of her stuffed animal eel, was a bit hit among friends and readers. The stuffed animal tours offer encouragement to their owners. “I want to see and walk around the sights that I viewed through my stuffed animal’s journeys someday,” a 51-year-old woman from Saga Prefecture told Yomiuri. The woman had become a recluse because an illness had made walking difficult. However, she was inspired to rehabilitate her legs and go out in the world after seeing her stuffed animal on an Unagi w69 slot ทาง เข้า Travel tour. “Seeing my stuffed animal traveling encouraged me,” she said. “I began to think that I should do what I can do, instead of lamenting yono all app over things that I can’t.” Others said the tours helped them overcome social anxiety and even depression. Tours are priced at between around $20 and $55, depending on the trip and the activity. There are also “mystery tours,” which are priced at $35, and involve your stuffed friend getting on an airplane and jetting off to a mysterious location. And no, they don’t need passports! There are travel restrictions, such as each stuffed animal must weigh under 250 grams, and you are responsible for getting your plush toy to Tokyo, where Unagi Travel is located. Stuffed animals that participate get a commemorative photograph, along with a CD-ROM filled with pics and precious memories. Unagi Travel [Japanese Official Site] Unagi Travel [English Official Site] Heartwarming tours: Stuffed animal tours inspire owners [Yomiuri via TokyoReporter] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku yono all app East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.