TOKYO >> Kimiko Suzuki offers a unique service for people unable to travel: She will take their favorite stuffed animals on a trip instead and take commemorative photos for clients to enjoy.

Suzuki, 47, photographs stuffed animals on tours of Tokyo and uploads them on social media. Watching the “journeys” of their favorite toys, her customers feel a sense of healing.

Posting photos

A group of seven stuffed toys, including a bear and a rabbit, arrived in a toy box on wheels at a cafe in Adachi ward in late May. “Welcome! How cute!” a woman at the cafe said with a smile.

These toys had been sent to Suzuki from Osaka, Fukuoka and other prefectures. On the same day, the group also toured an onigiri (rice ball) shop, a library and other locations. At the onigiri shop, the staff asked: “Did you enjoy the food?”

When they visited a small shrine for stuffed toys at another store, they received a goshuin (red ink stamp), which represents proof of one’s connection to the divine. Suzuki took pictures of smiling local residents with the stuffed animals and posted them on Instagram.

Overcoming disapproval

Suzuki has always loved stuffed toys, and she cherished them even after growing up. One day, she learned that other lovers of stuffed animals had endured comments such as, “You’re not mature enough.”

“Why is it wrong to treat stuffed animals with respect, when it is good to treat things with care? I want to create a place where people who love stuffed toys and suffer from a lack of understanding can connect with each other,” she said.

Nine years ago, Suzuki set up a miniature cafe for the toys in her home. She was sent stuffed animals from all over Japan and treated them as guests, serving them real pancakes and pizza, and taking photos that she shared on social media.

Later, she began offering tours of the city each month, with more than 500 toys participating so far. The tours are conducted at stores that have embraced her activities.

Loved like family

Suzuki’s clients are mostly women, in their 20s to 50s, who cherish their stuffed toys as if they were family members. Some of them have particular reasons for treasuring the toys and sending them to Suzuki, such as being unable to travel due to illness, nursing care duties and being childless.

Yumi Hirata, a 42-year-old Osaka office worker, entrusted a stuffed bear named Rira-san to Suzuki. Hirata is expecting a baby in September. She said she has been hurt by the stares of her parents and others who do not like that she treasures her stuffed animals even in adulthood.

Hirata was pleased when she saw a photo of Rira-san visiting a shrine posted on Suzuki’s Instagram page. “I was anxious to be giving birth at my late age, but Rira-san … prayed for a safe delivery at the shrine. It was reassuring,” she said.

Suzuki receives several thousand yen for the tours, but since she adds a souvenir when she sends the stuffed animals back home, she doesn’t make much profit.

“Stuffed toys are often seen as something only for children, but that’s not the case,” Suzuki said. “I hope that society will be kind enough to respect and accept what people like.”