Well then Japan has just the thing for you a travel agency that takes stuffed toys on package tours and even provides the holiday snaps to prove it.

Tokyo-based Unagi (Eel) Travel has a range of offers to suit every cuddly companion's purse.

The package holidays are quite reasonable, for instance, a day trip around sightseeing spots in the Japanese capital is $45, plus travel from and to the toy's home address.

For a more exciting trip, your teddy might like to see some of the grand temples and shrines of the ancient capital of Kyoto for $95, or go to the hot spring baths in Japan which would cost $55.

The tour operator Sonoe Azuma told news agency AFP that "Some clients join tours simply because it seems fun but there are also people who want to send stuffed animals as their proxies since they can't travel by themselves, because they are in hospital, handicapped or too busy

"A client asked me to take her companion up some stairs and walk through narrow streets she can't go into with her wheelchair.

"Another client wanted her animal to get a lot of sunshine as she can't go outside because of a skin disease."

Before the trip, a form sent to teddy owners to ask for the tourist's name, if they are prone to car-sickness or sea-sickness, and if they are allergic to a particular food.

The trip is also personalised, owners are invited to give background about the participant's character, such as what their hobbies are and why they are joining the tour.

On a recent tour of Tokyo, to which an AFP team was invited, a menagerie of creatures were entrusted to Azuma's care.

The mixed group included a tiger from Osaka, a shark from Kanagawa, a rather well-loved Hello Kitty from Hyogo and a small version of Sesame Street's Big Bird from Hokkaido.

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