Cute Robot Sells Souvenirs in Trial Run at Narita Airport as Part of Proposed Solution to Labor Shortages

By Junichiro Takeda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:19 JST, November 6, 2025

CHIBA — A robot is selling merchandise as part of a trial run at an unstaffed souvenir store at Narita Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture.

Pickru Store was installed on Oct. 10 near domestic boarding gates at the airport’s Terminal 3, which is used by many passengers for budget airlines.

The trial, the first of its kind at a Japanese airport or commercial facility, is being jointly conducted by Narita International Airport Corp. (NAA) with Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (NRI), which developed the store. They are evaluating the approach as a possible solution for labor shortages in the future.

With an adorable, animal-like face, the robot is 1.2 meters tall with a length of 1.8 meters and a width of 60 centimeters. It moves on a rail to fulfill customer orders. The store, which is a glass booth measuring 7 meters wide and 2.7 meters deep, has stacks of 12 different kinds of boxed souvenirs. The robot uses its tail, which serves as an arm with a sucker at its end, to pick up a box, place it down and bring it to the delivery window.

To buy souvenirs, shoppers browse via a panel showing the contents of the boxes and their prices. Payment is accepted via credit card or by QR code. A purchase can be made in a minute and without a shop assistant. According to NAA, the store is used by an average of 20 people every day.

NRI is studying the potential of robots to provide an answer to serious labor shortages caused by the decline in Japan’s working-age population. Narita Airport faces the issue of how to secure enough staff to handle growing numbers of arrivals and departures at its facility in the future. The airport’s operator decided to take part in the trial run as a potential source of help.

NRI lists the advantages of Pickru Store compared to regular unstaffed shops and vending machines as follows: The initial investment is small; there is no risk of shoplifting; the store can accommodate souvenir boxes in various sizes; and the robot’s physicality is eye-catching to passersby.

“In this country, it is presumed that there will be a shortage of about 7 million people in the working-age population in the near future,” said Kenichiro Hiroto of NRI. “Labor shortages will pose a serious problem to the retail industry as well. We are exploring various styles of retailing by using robots. In this trial run, we’d like to examine customers’ reactions, too.”

Pickru Store will be open at the airport until Dec. 15. NAA is planning to review the data from the trial run at the end of this year or early next year.