Arab News Japan 

TOKYO: If you face a sudden downpour just as you reach your destination at central Tokyo station, especially when the rainy season in Japan is in full swing, you don’t need to worry. Stands to rent umbrellas are at the exits offering a fee of ¥70 per day (about 65 cents.) Rain is common in Japan, and providing umbrellas for people is one of the many amazing services available at the station.

iKASA combines it with a special anti-theft umbrella to rent umbrellas located in multiple locations and return them wherever you want.

The number of umbrellas and plastic umbrellas owned by each Japanese person is the highest in the world. Plastic umbrellas are sold at convenience stores and other places at a low price of about 500 yen, and many people have to buy them when it rains suddenly. About 120 million umbrellas are consumed annually in Japan, of which 60 percent, or 80 million, are plastic umbrellas.

To eliminate this waste, Nature Innovation Group Inc. launched an umbrella sharing service in 2018.