Japan Now Has a Digital Drive-Thru Funeral Service

The unique new drive-thru funeral service will open its doors in Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, starting in December.

Service operators will tend to funeral attendees through a window, but instead of taking orders, they’ll take the names of attendees via a digital touchscreen. Attendees also get the option of paying condolence money by using an offertory box.

Funeral hosts can also see the presence of the drive-thru attendees through a digital monitor inside the home. Company head Masao Ogiwara believes that their service is a hassle-free solution to funerals, especially for older people who use wheelchairs.

In an interview with Japan Times, Ogiwara explained how “burdensome” it is to attend funerals not just for disabled people, but also for those who don’t get an opportunity to leave their home. Ogiwara believes that drive-thru funerals can give people a chance to pay their respects regardless of their schedule, while saving a lot of time in the process.

“All in all, it will cut down the time it takes to attend a funeral by around one-fourth,” Ogiwara added. While the concept of attending a funeral from inside a vehicle certainly sounds strange, this isn’t the first time such a concept has been utilized by a funeral home.

Drive-thru funerals are quite popular in certain parts of the U.S. such as in California and Michigan, according to MailOnline.

The funeral service becomes yet another addition to the rising number of innovative and quirky services that Japan has to offer. The country already has funeral conducting robots as well as dad rental services.

Featured Image via Irish Times