For foreign tourists to Japan, staying at traditionalryokaninns is a popular way to enjoy their trips, but home-sharing services are growing as an alternative form of accommodation.

Legally speaking, some home-sharing services fall in a gray zone because existing accommodation rules were drafted before such services began on the Internet.

The rising popularity can be traced to the fast-growing U.S.-based agency Airbnb Inc., which mediates between “hosts” offering to share their homes and “guests” seeking to stay in them.

By staying at local homes, “travelers can enjoy real local experiences as if they were living there,” instead of the perspective travelers have when staying in hotels, Airbnb said in an email.

bbabo.Net