Tokyo’s Umbrella-Sharing Service Has 100% Return Rate

Japan has always been one of the top destinations of people all around the world. There are so many things to love about the place. Their culture, eccentric fashion, trustworthy people, and more.

With that said, Tokyo launched an umbrella-sharing service called iKasa (kasa is a Japanese word for umbrella). This idea was meant to help those who keep forgetting their umbrellas at home. Japan has unpredictable weather, so an umbrella is definitely a must-have item.

The umbrella-sharing service is available at several locations in Tokyo, including the Shibuya area.

Here’s how it works:

• Add iKasa on LINE
• Click “Talk” then press the “Rent an Umbrella” button
• Choose a spot closest to you from the provided map. You can also check here if there are available umbrellas on the establishment.
• If there are, you can go straight to the area, scant the umbrella’s QR code, and it’s all yours for the day.
• You can then scan the QR code at the return stand if you’re finished with it.

The rental umbrellas come at a very reasonable price of ¥70 (approx. USD 0.63) per day. You can pay through a registered credit card. For that very low fee, renters can take and return umbrellas in available locations as many times as they want in the day. The umbrellas are returned by scanning the QR code at a return stand.

If you forget to return your umbrella, you’ll be charged for extra days, but only up to ¥420 (approx. USD 3.78). And since you will not be charged beyond that said amount, you can keep the umbrella.

The management happily reported that the return rate for the umbrellas is at 100 percent. Although this is not the first time that a service like this was done as other countries like China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia also did almost the same thing, but Japan certainly took the cake when it comes to trust.