JTB has teamed up with a technology firm and a delivery service to provide foreign visitors with luggage-free travel.
With an eye on the 40 million overseas tourists who are expected to arrive in Japan in 2020, JTB is working with Panasonic and Yamato Holdings to make it easier for visitors to travel within Japan without having to worry about their baggage.
To date, tourists who wish to send their luggage ahead of them have encountered difficulties, primarily because parcel delivery companies require a lot of paperwork, all in Japanese.
The companies have combined to overcome that hurdle by enabling travellers to provide information in advance on the hotels where they will be on staying each evening of their trip.
After arriving in Japan, the new arrivals drop their luggage off at a counter at the airport, where the bags are then delivered to their hotel. When they check out, the luggage is again picked up and sent on to the next destination. The cost for transporting an item of luggage will depend on its weight and size.
Travellers are able to update or alter destinations via a website.
A two-month trial period commenced on September 1 and the companies intend to launch the full service by the end of March 2017.
At present, six hotels in Tokyo are taking part, but the consortium aims to extend the service to 5,000 hotels with links to JTB across Japan by 2020.
