Woman flies to Japan 'rent a Dad' hoping to heal all her generational trauma of toxic parents

Japan has a thriving business where lonely people can rent everything from a companion to even a family for a day. But Japan isn't the only country that has an overwhelming amount of lonely folks who seek out some company and are willing to pay for it. Tyen Rasif, a 28-year-old personal trailer and singer-songwriter from Singapore, caught a flight to Japan to rent a dad for a day. Rasif, who goes by @tyenrasif on TikTok, was renting a surrogate dad for a day and she had an emotional reason behind it. Rasif also captured the whole encounter in a video. 

"I flew to Tokyo to meet my dad," Rasif started her video, standing alongside a smiling old gentleman and waving at the camera. "In Japan, you can rent a girlfriend, boyfriend and even family. And because mine walked out when I was 11, I rented an old man. This is Mr. Natori." As the pair walk and keep chatting, she informs her viewers that Mr. Natori is 63 years old and he goes on about doing the duties of a regular dad who is out on a trip with his daughter for the day.

"We visited a temple, got matcha and he gave me life advice. I get why you might raise eyebrows over this but after chatting with him, I realized why services like these are so beneficial, especially in one of the world's loneliest countries," Rasif continued. Mr. Natori revealed that one of the most interesting requests he had taken so far was from an actress. She paid him to come watch her show. Rasif admitted that she could understand why the whole experience was healing for others too. "He told me that instead of going to retirement, he rather spends his time helping people every day," she further mentioned.

Mr. Natori, who spent about 20 years living abroad in China and Singapore, tagged along with Rasif to visit the Asakusa Sensoji Temple where they offered their prayers. They also got some traditional fortune-telling done where Rasif was told that she would have a good relationship with her future husband. "Today is your youngest day but maybe, tomorrow won't come," Mr. Natori spoke in the end, effectively explaining how one needs to live in the present and enjoy it to the fullest. Saying goodbye to this dad for hire was difficult for Rasif as they parted away with her hoping to meet him once again and with the knowledge that she had a father in Japan. 

The TikTok community also shared their thoughts on hiring people to give them company and how it might help them to heal from past trauma. @loveontok joked, "Sending this to my dad now to show him how easily he can be replaced." @fairymothmother wrote, "I’ve been saying for years that I wish there was a rent-a-grandparent service so I can have grandparents and you’re saying it exists." @boneology080 commented, "This is probably great for him too! He gets to meet a lot of people, give fatherly advice, show people around and do all sorts of new things." @danika_la_magpie added, "I don't find this weird I think this would help heal many who are working on generational trauma dealing with toxic parents."

You can follow Tyen Rasif (@tyenrasif) on TikTok for more videos on lifestyle.