Having your luggage stolen or losing it while traveling can easily ruin a trip, but dragging bulky baggage around crowded tourist spots can hijack your itinerary, too.
The latter is more likely in Japan, especially in major destinations like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto where the tourism boom is making the task of finding a vacant coin locker a major challenge for domestic and international visitors alike.
The problem has sparked the rise of digital platforms aimed at helping travelers go hands-free by matching them with providers of storage space.