My friend and I had made plans to meet up at a café a station over, and although it was raining that morning, it had cleared up around one that afternoon. I decided, against my better judgment, not to take an umbrella. All was well until a few hours later, just as we were walking to the station, big, fat, raindrops began to fall from the sky.
I thought I'd brave the 15-minute walk home from the station, but my friend spotted an umbrella rental stand at the entrance of the station, and I thought it was the perfect time to check it out!
If you live in Japan, you may have seen these umbrella stands at various stations. I know I have, but I've never really paid attention to them. Well, these umbrella stands are owned by a company called "アイカサ" or "Love Umbrella", and you can rent an umbrella for as little as 110 yen a day!
What I recommend you do before getting started is to confirm the location of the umbrella stands. You can do this easily by downloading their app (Which you'll need to do anyway if you plan to use the service) or by visiting their homepage.
Right now, they have locations all over Japan! However, you do need to know that you can't exchange umbrellas just anywhere, such as taking an umbrella rented in Tokyo and returning it in Kyoto. If you don't plan on taking it across regions, I say this service is easy and convenient to use.
After downloading the app by scanning the QR code on the umbrella stand, you need to select a plan. Right now, they have an unlimited plan and a pay-as-you-go plan. The unlimited plan seems really convenient for those who frequently forget their umbrella or hate carrying around umbrellas. It's 280 yen a month and you can have two umbrellas "rented out" at the same time! There are no extra fees or charges, and it seems like an economical deal.
If you're like me and have tons of umbrellas and get caught in the rain only once in a while, then I think the pay-as-go-plan is sufficient enough! It's 110 a day and you'll only be charged up to 550 yen a month, as additional fees will roll over to the next month.
After you've decided on a plan, you'll need to add a payment method. I tried using LINE pay, but for some reason, it wasn't working or I wasn't understanding, and I had to add my credit card. It was easy and painless, but beware that the app is only in Japanese. You can find an English explanation/tutorial online here!
After that's all setup, you just need to rent your umbrella! You'll select "borrow/借りる" from the app, select your area, and then you'll scan the QR code on the stand. After that, you'll just slide out the umbrella of your choice!
I was really surprised at how big the umbrella was but also that it was lightweight! The one I got was the basic gray color, but it seems like there are umbrellas available with different designs as well.
I was glad that I could bring my umbrella home and not worry about returning it until the next day. Not only was I dry, but I also had peace of mind, which is so important during the rainy season. No one likes wet socks and soggy pant bottoms.
When it came time to return the umbrella, everything was just done in reverse by pushing the "return/返す" button! So far, I've only had to use it once, but I hope to be able to use it in the future...not intentionally though! If you've used "Aikasa", definitely leave a comment below sharing your experience!
*This post is not sponsored in any way!
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