Rent anything it seems in Japan ...
Rental services add variety to users’ lifestyles / Clothes, pets, fatherly counsel available to those who pay fee
Four-legged friends
Even pets, long considered companions to love and grow old with over the years, have become another offering in the rental market.
Every weekend, 48-year-old housewife Rie Aoyagi from Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward visits Wanpaku Land, a pet shop and rental service in Adachi Ward. Her reason for going is Asu, a 2-year-old female golden retriever. Aoyagi has rented time with Asu nearly every week since she was a 4-month-old puppy, and the dog is thoroughly attached to her. When Asu sees Aoyagi, she wags her tail and leaps toward her excitedly.
Aoyagi lives in government housing for civil servants. She wants to own a dog, but the management bans pets, and there is also the possibility of her having to transfer to another location. For now, she’s happy to rent her canine friend, but hopes to “live with Asu-chan some time in the future.”
Wanpaku Land rents out 16 different dog breeds at ¥3,000 for two hours, ¥50,000 per month or through other arrangements. Customers can buy the dog if they are compatible with each other.
Wanpaku Land’s customers include young people secretly hiring a dog to break the ice on a first date, and elderly customers who cannot look after a pet but want to play with one.
I decided to try it out for myself and rented Buru, a 2-year-old male French bulldog. When I took him for a walk, he practically dragged me along the riverbank with his vigorous pace. Although he sometimes responded to my playful gestures, when it was time to return, he padded into the store without so much as a backward glance. It all seemed a little businesslike, to this first-time customer.
Rental services add variety to users’ lifestyles / Clothes, pets, fatherly counsel available to those who pay fee
Four-legged friends
Even pets, long considered companions to love and grow old with over the years, have become another offering in the rental market.
Every weekend, 48-year-old housewife Rie Aoyagi from Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward visits Wanpaku Land, a pet shop and rental service in Adachi Ward. Her reason for going is Asu, a 2-year-old female golden retriever. Aoyagi has rented time with Asu nearly every week since she was a 4-month-old puppy, and the dog is thoroughly attached to her. When Asu sees Aoyagi, she wags her tail and leaps toward her excitedly.
Aoyagi lives in government housing for civil servants. She wants to own a dog, but the management bans pets, and there is also the possibility of her having to transfer to another location. For now, she’s happy to rent her canine friend, but hopes to “live with Asu-chan some time in the future.”
Wanpaku Land rents out 16 different dog breeds at ¥3,000 for two hours, ¥50,000 per month or through other arrangements. Customers can buy the dog if they are compatible with each other.
Wanpaku Land’s customers include young people secretly hiring a dog to break the ice on a first date, and elderly customers who cannot look after a pet but want to play with one.
I decided to try it out for myself and rented Buru, a 2-year-old male French bulldog. When I took him for a walk, he practically dragged me along the riverbank with his vigorous pace. Although he sometimes responded to my playful gestures, when it was time to return, he padded into the store without so much as a backward glance. It all seemed a little businesslike, to this first-time customer.
