Plush toys are becoming the latest travel essential for stress relief and self-soothing.
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hey’re not just for kids anymore. More adults are turning to the comfort of stuffed animals and soft toys when they travel. In Japan, this practice is part of the fandom subculture known as Oshikatsu, which involves strong support of an oshi, or an object of fan-like devotion, like an idol, mascot, or favorite character. In many cases, such support revolves around minis, soft toys, or other emblems to be carried with them. When the oshi is a plush toy, the devotion is termed nuikatsu, and often involves reveling in accessories and taking the plush toy on outings—particularly for the benefit of social media.
But outside Japan, too, more adults are turning to stuffed animals for comfort. While in the past it may have been considered juvenile, clinical psychologists and therapists now see benefits, particularly for adults who are coping with trauma, stressed during travel, or need self-soothing.
At least one Japanese hotel chain is offering support for travelers who travel with a plushie: budget hotel brand Toyoko Inn is offering guests the Oshi-Katsu Sleepover Plan, which offers guests a tiny bed and bathrobe for their plushie to use during their stay. The fee to rent the items is 300 yen, which is just under $2 at press time.
Until the end of the year, guests who post to Instagram, TikTok, or X using a specific hashtag during their stay can also receive a small gift at checkout. As of this writing, it appears several dozen guests have posted to their plushies to Instagram using the hashtag (which is in Japanese).
Although there’s a lack of scientific literature on the subject (a 2017 study commissioned by Build-A-Bear is hardly impartial), some psychologists note that as a stress alleviator, keeping a stuffed animal is eminently less harmful than say, overindulging in drugs or alcohol. The Build-A-Bear study also cites that the incidence of adults who keep stuffed animals increases significantly among Gen Z and Millennial populations.
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Social media has also proved an outlet for travelers who tote stuffed animals along with them (I’m not immune), with the plush friends frequently popping up in travel snaps with or without a hotel-provided bed and tiny pair of pajamas.
It’s also far from the first time a hotel chain or other travel company has put plushies front and center. Seattle’s Fairmont Olympic Hotel decorates a suite with teddy bears to raise money for charity each Christmas, and most of The Peninsula Hotels locations have branded teddy bears in their gift shops. The Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific issues a new plush each lunar new year to commemorate that year’s animal in the Chinese zodiac. At the Grand Hyatt at SFO, it’s a smiley airplane.
The conversation itself also isn’t new—it gets periodically covered in media every few years, including in 2018, 2022, and 2025’s Labubu, the current trend in oshikatsu, popular with celebrities ranging from Dua Lipa to Rihanna.
There’s also a distinct comfort in familiarity, which can explain why traveling with familiar soft toys or to familiar places has been recommended as a stress-reliever (bringing a familiar soft toy is also a top tip for parents traveling with small children). It can help lessen the feeling of being far from the comforts of home.
As adults, we’ve long been expected to leave many of the trappings of our youth behind, setting down our treasured soft toys one last time without realizing it, growing up and away from the things that comforted us when the world seemed bigger and scarier. But even for seasoned travelers, the world can seem big and scary, and the comforts of a familiar friend can take that edge off—regardless of how far our childhoods have receded in the rear-view.
