Joining the worldwide movement to combat plastic waste, two international hotels in Osaka are moving toward paper straws.

"We switched to paper straws on July 1, and the response from our customers has been very good, as they understand the problems of plastic straws," said Naoko Nishida, marketing communications senior director at the Intercontinental Osaka.

"We began introducing paper straws earlier this month after we stopped using plastic ones. They've drawn interest from some female customers and those with children," said Akiko Furusawa, marketing communications manager at the Hilton Osaka.