Tourist finds the most absurd way of exploring Japan — by renting an old man for company

Finding friends in a new country is no easy feat. A new place is bound to have a different culture, unfamiliar cuisine, a unique of living and more. Amid the chaos of moving, most people might need friends to help them settle in comfortably. To make this process easier, Nick Lange—who goes by @landlordnick on TikTok—found a one-of-a-kind solution while in Japan. Lange discovered a website where one could rent an elderly man to be one's friend. He had an interesting experience exploring the East Asian country in this manner and shared it through a video that has garnered over 97K views on the video-sharing platform.

"I am about to rent an old man," Lane shared in the video. "I am here in Japan to buy a house, but to be happy here, I am going to need friends. So I am going to rent one. Japan being Japan, it wasn't entirely surprising to find that old people are available for rent. The website for this is called 'Ossan Rental.' Ossan means old man." Lange continued, "You can choose a normal old man, a kind old man, a cultural old man, or even a small, snuggly old man." He joked, "I wasn't sure what kind of old man I wanted, but I knew I didn't want a snuggly one. So I added a few of them to my cart. But I couldn't check out online because I didn't have a Japanese phone number."

Lange then realized that some of the old men had added their email addresses to their profiles. "So I emailed them. I wasn't expecting a response since I personally would not respond to an email from a stranger asking to rent me," he stated. But fortunately, one of the men responded to his request. "I was a little thrown off when I met Sakurai. Because despite being 58 years old, he looked much younger. He'd made a good living and retired early. Then, he spent his free time playing tennis and cooking elaborate meals for his family. But he found himself looking for something more," Lange shared. "So he put himself on the market."

"Now people hire him to play sports, go to movies and shop with them. Sometimes, they also take him drinking or on a long drive, but never at the same time. He does not do anything illegal or evasive," he clarified. "Sakurai was glowing with positivity. He loves his life and he loves helping people." Lange also asked Sakurai how he could make friends in Japan and the senior replied that he could do so by learning the language. "But what I discovered today is there's another easier way of making friends: renting." The video caption reads, "Best $7 I ever spent. I'm here in Japan to buy a house. But to be happy, I'm going to need friends. So I rented an old man in Tokyo who taught me about Japanese culture, food, dating and real estate. The site is called Ossan Rental, and I highly recommend renting an old man there."

People expressed their thoughts on the unique experience in the comments. @dwight.okita wrote, "This is cool. In Chicago, I am a professional therapeutic male cuddler. I love the work. I'm also a writer." @virgoinretrogradee commented, "It seems pretty wholesome, glad you had a good time making a new friend!" @briiziianna remarked, "I’d totally do this and just pay to listen to their story and take them out to dinner. Such a cool idea."

You can follow Nick Lange (@landlordnick) on TikTok for real estate content.