MIYAZAKI -- A taxi company has expanded its services to include visiting family grave sites on behalf on their clients as a means of coping with the "new normal" amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Miyazaki Daiichi Kotsu expected this year that due to the prolonging pandemic many people would forgo visiting their hometowns during the Bon holiday break that often includes paying respects at family graves.
Last Friday at the Miyazaki Reien cemetaries, the taxi company held a training workshop on how to conduct grave cleaning rituals. A 52-year-old driver wiped a gravestone, changed flowers, replaced water, and offered incense. He put his hands together in prayer before and after the procedure and then took pictures to send to the client via post.
"We'll visit graves as if they were our own. You're in good hands," the driver said.
The taxi fare is calculated based on the one-way distance between the company's nearest office to a cemetery plus 5,000, yen which should be paid in advance by bank transfer.
The company also offers a service to accompany elderly people who have difficulty visiting grave sites.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
