i-kasa umbrella rental service

Some grape Japan readers may recall the Weathering with You clear umbrellas with Hina floating in the sky which we introduced at the beginning of the year. These umbrellas were provided by アイカサ i-kasa, an umbrella rental service established in 2018.

Now for the summer and fall season, opaque umbrellas which can serve as parasols will be available within the sprawling Sunshine City urban complex in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

Sunshine City Co., Ltd. has installed these i-kasa umbrella racks following an agreement signed on July 27th with Toshima Ward, Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT), and Nature Innovation Group Inc. to implement this service in the Ikebukuro area.

Rethink Project

Protecting people's health, reducing plastic waste, and improving pedestrian traffic flow.

The agreement is part of the "Rethink Project," sponsored by JT to address social issues, and aims to create a city that is easy to get around and environmentally friendly. By doing so, Toshima Ward also intends to reduce the amount of plastic waste from plastic umbrellas and improve the flow of pedestrian traffic during rainy weather as well as days when high temperatures create an elevated risk of heat exhaustion.

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i-kasa Locations within Sunshine City

Sunshine City Co. has installed a total of four umbrella racks at three locations within the Sunshine City urban complex. Here are the locations:

Near Sunshine Vision: 1 rack

Sunshine 60 Building first floor lobby: 2 racks

Near Sunshine 60 Building first floor South Entrance 3: 1 rack

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Using i-kasa only requires 70 JPY a day. To register, see their website here or use the following QR code:

The umbrella racks will be installed at the abovementioned locations until October 27th, 2021.