Latest News

‘Depressed people in particular should come’: Funeral company in Japan opens café where customers can lay inside coffins

Funeral company in Japan has café allowing customers to lay inside coffins

A funeral company in Japan has started a café that allows their customers to lay down inside coffins to experience what it’ll be like.

According to The Mainichi, the company began offering this service in September as a way to encourage people to reflect on their lives.

Customers allowed unlimited time in coffins

The 120-year-old funeral company based in Chiba has encouraged people suffering from depression to visit its coffin café.

Source: 和葬空間 か志”屋 on Facebook

“While we want people to take pictures and have a lively experience, we also want people who are down or have hit a wall in their lives to enter the coffins,” said the company’s president.

He said he felt frustrated not being able to help his grieving customers who had lost their loved ones to suicide. He also added that he felt people would be able to reflect on their lives while inside the coffin and come out feeling refreshed.

I want them to feel that they can start their lives anew.

The café features three elaborate coffins made by a custom coffin maker who goes by “Grave Tokyo”. The company allows unlimited time inside the coffins and customers are free to photograph their experience.

Source: 和葬空間 か志”屋 on Facebook

Customers will have to make a reservation with a cost of just under S$20 for the coffin experience. So far, the company has received around 20 reservations, reportedly from mostly younger people.

Idea met with some criticism

The president also acknowledged that he is broaching a topic that is often taboo in Japan. However, thinking about death is inevitable while lying down inside a coffin.

“In the pitch-black darkness of the coffin, one can think about their remaining life and the final days of loved ones,” he said.

The concept has been met with some criticism. According to comments received in the article, netizens have said that it is “disrespectful” and a “bad omen”.

 

In response to his critics, the president said: “This is the result of thinking about what we could do as a funeral company.”

Also read: ‘Grandma, I hope you understand’: Family in the Philippines places coffin on ceiling amid Typhoon Trami flood

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from 和葬空間 か志”屋 on Facebook.

Buranond Kijwatanachai

I'm the kind of guy who says he loves reading, but the books I actually read have more pictures than words.

Recent Posts

Underage teen in S’pore buries stillborn in house yard, police digs up bones during investigation

The coroner said this was the first case of its kind he had encountered in…

23 Dec 2024, 7:05 pm

M’sia Airlines grounds new Airbus just days after maiden flight, cites technical issues

The brand-new jet suffered a series of technical issues since its first-ever flight on 19…

23 Dec 2024, 6:17 pm

Family in S’pore finds snake on side view mirror mid-drive, netizens quip ‘Snake Year is coming’

The Paradise Tree Snake may have misjudged its landing and ended up on the car.

23 Dec 2024, 4:48 pm

69-year-old man dies after fight with 71-year-old neighbour over bumping into each other

The 69-year-old was reportedly upset over his neighbour's refusal to apologise.

23 Dec 2024, 4:33 pm

Bloomberg issued POFMA order over S’pore GCB transactions article, Govt addresses ‘falsehoods’

False claims include that GCB transactions occur without government checks on beneficial owners' identities.

23 Dec 2024, 3:35 pm

Woman set on fire aboard New York subway train, suspect allegedly watches her burn

The suspect casually watched as the woman became consumed by flames.

23 Dec 2024, 3:14 pm