Items that make business trips and travel more comfortable: how to choose and use them

It's become travel season.

Where should I go, and who should I go with?

A beach basking in bright sunshine sounds nice,

but heading somewhere with fresh air for some forest bathing is also tempting.

While enjoying such holidays, before you know it, a business trip comes along too.

What you pack for travel changes depending on your destination and schedule.

This time, we'll introduce items that make business trips and travel more comfortable.

Strangely enough, personality shows through in the amount of luggage.

Some people worry "what if I need this while traveling?" and pack all sorts of things

into their travel bag,

while others travel light, bringing just minimal clothing and a credit card, planning to buy anything else they need locally.

Naturally, the amount of luggage you pack at first

will increase with souvenirs if you're traveling,

and if it's a business trip, how you carry your belongings while in transit differs from

when you're meeting someone at an appointment.

There are bags that respond to these ever-changing luggage needs during travel.

Normally you use it as a handbag, but when your luggage increases, you use it as a backpack.

If a single bag could change shape to suit its purpose, that would be very convenient.

QWSTION is the brand that solved this wish through design.

For business trips, this stylish-looking brand is recommended, but the size can be tricky to choose.

QWSTION offers bags with very similar designs called "Overnighter," "Office Bag," and "Daypack,"

but

for a one-night business trip, the "Overnighter" is perfect.

As the name suggests, the Overnighter, sized perfectly for short trips, can change its shape in three ways.

 
1. Use as a regular handbag 
2. Transform into a backpack with the included shoulder strap 
3. Reattach the included shoulder strap to transform it into a shoulder bag 

The shoulder strap that allows these various transformations is called the "One for Two system,"

a design unique to QWSTION.

The bag's ability to transform into various shapes is

thanks to a special circular buckle attached to it.

If you stretch the buckle straight on both sides, it becomes a single shoulder strap,

while fastening both sides at the center of the buckle instantly turns it into backpack shoulder straps.

Along with the bag, there's another item that's hard to find the perfect answer for.

That's the matter of wallets while traveling.

Especially for overseas travel or business trips, you need to switch to foreign currency, so

having ample storage space becomes a concern.

Of course, within Japan your everyday wallet is fine, but

a long wallet can be bulky, so some want to switch to a smaller wallet just for travel,

while others want to use a lightweight wallet that's easy to carry, and so on—

there are actually many different wishes at play.

■For overseas travel, bellroy is the clear choice

When you want to store everything compactly and travel light, bellroy is recommended.

bellroy, which declares "making wallets compact" as its top mission,

offers wallets and gadget cases that combine the seemingly contradictory traits of large capacity and compactness,

and these thoughtfully designed, feature-packed wallets are perfect for "travel."

For example, this Card Pocket has a compact design suited for everyday carry,

and is designed to hold cards, coins, spare bills, and a SIM card,

covering the basics while functioning as a versatile, all-purpose wallet.

It truly gives the impression of being a savior for travelers, and with just this one wallet, you can enjoy exploring the city with ease.

■SIWA's paper wallet, for lighter travel

If you prioritize "lightness," SIWA｜Shiwa items are also recommended.

Being compact and light (weighing only 18g), it's also handy as a travel wallet.

Since it's simply secured with a rubber band, your important cards stored inside

and bills won't fall out while you're traveling.

To make it more compact, the coin pocket has been eliminated, and instead there are 6 card holders,

and 2 bill compartments, so you should carry a separate coin case;

this is convenient for keeping Japanese yen and foreign currency separate during overseas travel.

For overseas travel or business trips, a passport case is handy to have.

Preparing one along with your wallet makes packing for travel much smarter.

In particular, bellroy's ELEMENTS TRAVEL not only protects your passport but

is packed with convenient features, such as slots for storing a pen you might need during travel and cards you'll need along the way.

It has a pull tab, so you can quickly retrieve tickets and other items stored inside whenever you need them.

Travel experts want their luggage to stay slim. By bundling your passport, tickets,

cards, and pen together, your belongings stay neat and tidy.

When packing for a trip, there are always "things you're unsure whether to bring."

Even things you might think you don't need for a 2-3 night trip,

might be better to bring if the trip is longer,

That said, if you try to bring everything you're unsure about, your luggage ends up huge.

With that in mind, here are a few items that come in handy and make travel more comfortable.

■Relax even at the hotel with Le dd slippers

And for trips with long travel times, we recommend

Le dd's "Slipper Le dd DREAM."

The material has openings throughout for good breathability, so your feet won't get sweaty even after wearing them for a long time,

and since they don't take up much space and are easy to carry,

they're useful for travel (business trips), both on the plane and in your hotel room.

As shown in the photo, if you fold them up small and keep them in your bag,

you can quickly slip them on while traveling, which is very convenient.

What's great about Le dd is that when they get dirty, you can wash them in the washing machine.

After returning from your trip, care for them at home, and you'll be able to enjoy them for a long time.

■An eye mask to make your travel time comfortable

Every trip involves travel time.

Long-distance travel by plane or shinkansen can be an exciting, thrilling

experience, but you also want to rest well so you're ready for active pursuits once you arrive.

At times like that, it's handy to have your own eye mask.

When traveling by plane, disposable simple eye masks are often

provided at your seat, but if you can use one of your own favorites instead,

that alone gives off a more polished impression.

Putting on an eye mask blocks out the light around your eyes,

and if you then put in your own earphones and play your favorite music, it instantly transforms into a comfortable space.

Even a somewhat cramped travel time should become much more comfortable.

■A shoe brush perfect for shoe care on business trips

And one more thing we recommend for businessmen who travel frequently for work:

the habit of carrying a small shoe brush with you.

Traveling in a suit and leather shoes can be quite tiring, can't it?

After a long journey, when you finally arrive at your meeting,

it's hard to feel confident if your leather shoes are splashed with mud or covered in dust.

At times like that, if you quickly clean your shoes with a palm-sized little shoe brush before

heading into your business meeting, you can stride in confidently with sparkling clean shoes.

This time, we picked out and introduced items that make travel and business trips more comfortable.

When it comes to belongings for travel—which is, in a sense, an out-of-the-ordinary event—

we tend to make do with "stopgap" storage solutions and items.

But it's precisely at times like this that, if we can choose items we'll cherish for a long time,

with the thought "so that I can keep using this on my next trip, and the one after that,"

that may well be the path to becoming truly skilled at packing for travel.