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Tokyo company takes your stuffed animals on vacation ... without you

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 08:13 PM PDT

Sounds like the latest version of "Toy Story," but for some the service is proving to have therapeutic benefits

We try hard not to promote the whole "Isn't Tokyo kooky?" cliché -- we really do.

Then along comes a story like the piece on the Japan News website about a woman who runs a travel agency for people who want to send their stuffed animals on holiday -- while they stay home.

No joke.

For the last three years, Sonoe Azuma, 38, of Unagi Travel has been organizing stuffed animal tours throughout Japan, Europe and the United States.

The upcoming November Tokyo tour for plush toys includes visits to Shibuya, historic Asakusa and Tokyo Tower.

"We've seen better Buddhas." There's also an onsen (hot spring) tour.

Do the plush toys actually go in the baths? No telling yet.

The cost of the Tokyo tour is $45, while the onsen trip is $55.

It's up to the client to foot the cost of shipping their stuffed toys to Tokyo, but Unagi will cover the return flight.

Sorry, no overweight toys allowed.

According to Unagi rules, furry friends must be lighter than 250 grams/0.55 pounds.

If at this point you're thinking, "Where can my stuffed animals get some of that action," there's good news.

Azuma has an English-language site that accepts bookings, giving even more people the chance to travel vicariously through their cuddle toys.

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Who in the he-- sends their stuffed animals on a trip?

So who is this service geared toward?

Plushophiliacs? Agoraphobics? Adults who have seen "Toy Story" too many times?

"I'm going to watch the waves wash away my footprints."

Easy as it is to mock Azuma's clients as victims of a fiberfill-fueled ruse, it seems there's actually a therapeutic benefit to her service.

According to the Japan News, one woman became reclusive after it became difficult for her to walk due to illness.

That changed after she saw the photos of her stuffed animal on one of Azuma's tours. She worked to rehabilitate her legs and visited a neighboring prefecture for the first time in several years.

"Seeing my stuffed animal traveling encouraged me," said the woman. "I began to think that I should do what I can do, instead of lamenting over things that I can't."

Other clients reported that seeing their toy on tour cheered them up after a family death, or inspired them to do things they normally wouldn't.

A wheelchair-restricted woman is a regular client.

If Azuma's service gives people the courage to get out and see the world themselves, or comfort when they can't, it's hard to fault her for what at first seems to be a ridiculous enterprise.

Would you send your stuffed toys off into the world without you? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

More on CNN: Are these the world's cutest creatures?

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Best Dubai brunches: The good, the very good and the 'drunch'

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 07:00 PM PDT

The multi-hour banquet has become a Dubai institution. Here's why and where

It's Friday in Dubai: the first day of the weekend (the break runs Friday-Saturday in the UAE) and the clock has struck midday.

The distant call to prayer forms a somewhat ironic soundtrack to the (mainly) expat revelers making for the week's main event: brunch.

The best Dubai brunches are all-inclusive, multi-hour banquets frequented mostly by glammed-up expats and held at hotels citywide one day a week, every week.

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The big come-down

"People work so hard in Dubai they come to rely upon brunch as an extended come-down after a heavy week," says Sally (who only wanted to give her first name), an expat for six years.

"Dubai is transient, there's a welcome party, a leaving party, a birthday party virtually every week," says British-born James Leetham. "Brunches are an easy way to get lots of people who don't necessarily know each other in one place."

Risqué image

Al Qasr, where the brunch drinks look like dessert (or the other way around).In the United Arab Emirates -- where only non-Muslims can drink alcohol, women are expected to dress modestly and it's illegal for anyone to be drunk on the street -- brunches retain a slightly risqué image.

Come 11:30 a.m., all over Dubai, it's not uncommon to see gaggles of foreign girls in thigh-skimming dresses tottering out of apartment towers to flag down cabs to brunch.

"Everyone always puts in more effort when going for brunch," Sally says.

"It's a great opportunity to eat like a pig and have a drink or three while pretending to be classy."

It's not uncommon to spend $100 plus on brunch -- the limitless drinks quota ups the entry price.

The food spread put on at many of Dubai's best brunches stands up on its own. But when drinking, brunchers are always aware of the tight regulations around alcohol in Dubai and the UAE.

Dubai has a reputation as a cosmopolitan city with Western influences, where visitors can drink at bars and restaurants and unmarried couples can share hotel rooms. But the country still adheres to Islamic laws and traditions.

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"Your Louboutins look cheap"

Some brunch-goers handle the atmosphere better than others.

"At Yalumba a fight broke out between two girls after one told the other her Louboutins looked cheap," recalls Belinda Harrington.

"Everyone headed out to the terrace to see what the ruckus was all about, but first I remember stepping over a tattooed man who was sitting on the floor crying."

While Dubai brunches often carry with them a less than appetizing reputation for mild debauchery, they also serve an important social function for lonely expats.

What follows is a selection of the best Dubai brunches, presented in no particular order.

Saffron

Best Dubai brunch - Atlanties on the Palm, Dubai Saffron has an excellent selection of desserts.
A DJ blares out disco beats here while groups in party mode hit the food line (Time Out Dubai estimates 220 dishes) that's as abundant as the product at the manned drinks stations.

The watermelons filled with punch give a taste of the mood.

Saffron, Atlantis The Palm, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai; 12:30-4 p.m.; +971 4 426 2626; 435 dirham ($118)

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Traiteur

This is the classiest of Dubai's brunches.

You won't catch any expat depravity at Traiteur, rather linen-clad Europeans swanning about the upscale food counters (eggs Benedict, snails, lobster ) with flutes of Veuve Cliquot.

Outside, yachts bob on the harbor.

Traiteur, Park Hyatt hotel, Deira; 12:30-4 p.m.; +971 4 602 1234; 495-670 dirham ($135-$182)

Toro Toro

The sit-down and a la carte menu at this slick Latin outfit make it one of the less raucous -- but no less glamorous -- brunch options.

Fare spans quality ceviches and churassco-style meats, while drinks are limited to quality South American wine and cocktails.

Toro Toro, Grosvenor House, Tower 2, Dubai Marina; 12:30.-4 p.m.; +971 4 399 8888; 400 dirham ($109)

Al Qasr

Best Dubai brunch - Al Qasr, Dubai Al Qasr: Just part of the multi-restaurant offerings.
For sheer La Dolce Vita scale and excess, Al Qasr can't be beaten as a brunch setting.

Life-sized gold horses line the hotel's driveway.

The colossal brunch spreads itself over three restaurants.

There's also a chocolate room and a huge, sea-facing terrace where cocktails are an extra to the free-flowing bubbly.

Al Qasr, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai; 12:30-3.30 p.m.; +971 4 366 6730; 525 dirham ($143)

Double Decker

Held in a British pub, the menu here appeals to homesick Brits: Yorkshire puddings, roast beef, sausages.

The rowdy atmosphere and cheap-as-chips prices mean it's mainly a brunch for the young crowd or people with an undying appetite for tomfoolery.

As James Leetham recalls: "At Double Decker, someone threw my flip flops over the wall, I tickled a fat man and stole a watering can."

Double Decker, Al Murooj Rotana, Downtown Dubai; noon.-3 p.m.; +971 4 321 1111; 170 dirham ($46)

Yalumba

Best Dubai brunch - Yalumba The frenzy at Yalumba isn't always around the food.
The action at Yalumba doesn't always take place around the impressive food counters.

A clue can be found on the back of Yalumba waiters' uniforms, where the number of bottles he or she's uncorked so far is recorded.

Balloons, party hats and noisemakers line the tables, the less snooty variety of Brit makes up the crowd and a DJ gets under way at 3 p.m.

Yalumba, Le Méridien Dubai, Garhoud, Dubai; 12:30-3.30 p.m.; +971 4 702 2455; 499 dirham ($136)

Mina A' Salam

Billed as "family friendly" (so, an indoor kids' zone packed with games, sugary snacks and manned by nannies), this waterside haunt attracts a mixed crowd.

With fish and chips on the menu and a room dedicated entirely to pork (yes, really), the food is geared to expats.

Drink perks include Slush Puppy-style machines spawning icy cocktails.

Mina A'Salam, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai; 12:30-4 p.m.; +971 4 366 6730; 465 dirham ($127)