Spring is the prime time for moving. Entering a new stage for education, starting a new job, being transferred…there are several reasons for you to leave the place you are already familiar with to start a new life. It is a bittersweet event in life that can make you feel sentimental and lonely, but also can be a great opportunity for change. In any case, it is a huge burden to pack up every tiny thing in the house and move those heavy pieces of furniture, but the high quality of Japanese moving companies to help those people are attracting attention from overseas. What is especially unique about them beyond their techniques is the extreme attention to detail and care they take. At Sakai moving company, which started in 1971, they certify the experienced employees with deep industry knowledge and high level techniques as ‘Sakai Meisters (Master)’. Currently there are only 2 Sakai Meisters in Japan and Mr. Yasuo Yamazaki, who is one of them, says “Not breaking our customers’ stuff is the standard. I always think about how happy I can make the customer with our service.”

Tools to help move a wide variety of furniture safely and quickly are being developed every day. While they used to wrap every single breakable dish with newspaper, nowadays they only need to slide those into the “Rakuraku Panda Box” which was specially developed for that purpose. The sponge attached inside the box firmly holds each dish so there is no need to worry about breakage. They also firmly fix flat-panel TVs with a special box before carrying them. Heavy pieces of furniture such as wardrobes can be moved easily by sticking a thin plastic board underneath and sliding them. All furniture gets wrapped with materials made from quilting cloth and protectors are put on the floors, the doors and the walls of the house in order to ensure they are not damaged. There is some innovation applied to the boxes for carrying books and miscellaneous items. There are spaces to write down what’s inside and which room it should be taken to on the top and the side of the box so it is instantly clear what the box contains. These small details make unpacking at the new place so much easier. Also, almost all of the materials used for moving are reusable. This minimises the amount of trash generated by moving.

Moving can cause neighbours and pedestrians hassle, as they need to park a truck in front of the house. Mr. Yamazaki says, “Because of that, maintaining good manners and morals is more important than the technique.” He greets people in the neighbourhood and also keeps his appearance neat and clean. Moreover, he changes his socks to the new ones when entering the new place and he deliberately changes the colour of the socks so that it is clearly shown to his customer. “We keep progressing our technique such as installing driving recorders to improve the driving technique and developing the new methods and tools to carry household items more conveniently but the basis of our business is between people. The most important ‘tool’ to carry our customers’ valuable items is our care and sincerity.” Sakai’s business ethics and good manners go beyond their service itself. Everyone’s new life starts supported by the love and care that those people put into their move.

In cooperation with: Sakai Moving Service Co., Ltd.
 
Reference:
Statistic Bureau of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications ‘2016 Result of Basic Resident Register Report Population Movement’