Tokyo-based Retty, the startup behind the restaurant finder app of the same name, announced today that it has raised 330 million yen (approximately $3.2 million) in a series B round from Itochu Ventures, Mizuho Capital, and other investors. Prior to this round, the company raised $22 million yen ($285,000) from CyberAgent Ventures and an angel investor back in August of 2011, and 100 million yen ($1.2 million) from Gree Ventures, NTT Investment Partners, and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital back in October of 2012.
Our readers may recall the app surpassed 1 million monthly unique visitors back in October. The app renewed its interface back in its interface back in August, which has helped spur user growth to almost twice its previous rate.
But Retty still has a huge obstacle to overcome. Its competitor Tabelog has 25.77 million desktop users, 22.97 million users on mobile, and a surprisingly 1.14 billion unique page views in a month [1].
It will be interesting to see how Retty will position itself in this race. We’ll explore the company’s future plans in an upcoming chat with CEO Kazuya Takeda. So please stay tuned!
This is according to the announcement from Tabelog’s parent company Kakaku.com. As of October 2013. ↩
According to article from Japanese economic news outlet Sankei, roughly one in three married couples in Japan end up getting a divorce [1]. The needs of people trying to get married for the first time and for those who have already been married and divorced are probably not the same. One Japanese company, Bridal Recipe, has launched the first ever Japanese online dating site for divorced people looking for a spouse. The new website is called Re:Marriage. The site only allows divorced people to register, so that they can find people who are sympathetic and understanding of each other’s conditions. Although the site can be used anonymously (without revealing any real name or identity), users are asked to provide basic information such as age, residential area, yearly income, job description, as well as the reason for the divorce and whether or not they have any children. Since these sort of awkward topics are disclosed from the start, people can jump right in to getting to know each other. Registered users can search for partners on their own, but Re:Marriage also suggests partners by matching up users by various criteria like age, interests, and hobbies. For safety reasons, the site requires…
According to article from Japanese economic news outlet Sankei, roughly one in three married couples in Japan end up getting a divorce [1].
The needs of people trying to get married for the first time and for those who have already been married and divorced are probably not the same. One Japanese company, Bridal Recipe, has launched the first ever Japanese online dating site for divorced people looking for a spouse. The new website is called Re:Marriage.
The site only allows divorced people to register, so that they can find people who are sympathetic and understanding of each other’s conditions. Although the site can be used anonymously (without revealing any real name or identity), users are asked to provide basic information such as age, residential area, yearly income, job description, as well as the reason for the divorce and whether or not they have any children.
Since these sort of awkward topics are disclosed from the start, people can jump right in to getting to know each other. Registered users can search for partners on their own, but Re:Marriage also suggests partners by matching up users by various criteria like age, interests, and hobbies.
For safety reasons, the site requires that all members provide identification such as a drivers’ license or passport, but this will not be disclosed on the site.
Re:Marriage requires a monthly membership fee of 3,980 yen (or about $39). To mark the site’s launch, the membership fee is free for the entire month of December.
While this number seems extreme, it is apparently based on figures from the Japanese Ministry of Health, and likely not far fetched. ↩
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Cerevo, a startup focused on manufacturing internet-enabled gadgets, recently introduced Otto, a smart power strip that lets you control your home appliances even while you’re out. Our readers may recall we mentioned the prototype shown at CES 2013. But we’re happy to tell you that the company has finally begun accepting pre-orders, with shipments coming in January or February for a retail price of 23,800 yen (approximately $232). Cerevo is known for having introduced interesting hardware like the livestream encoder LiveShell, as well as SmartTrigger a remote shutter for your DSLR camera that can be used from your iPhone or Mac. Otto, the new product, has been developed using the company’s own crowdfunding site Cerevo Dash. It has eight power supply sockets and can enclose AC adapters, keeping them hidden from sight. A power supply for every single socket can be controlled over the internet using the mobile app which is provided for free. Two of them can even be controlled by a dimmer, letting you dim or brighten lights with your smartphone. This enclosure was designed by UK-based Japanese product designer Satoshi Yanagisawa, who is famous for having designed portable power generator…
Tokyo-based Cerevo, a startup focused on manufacturing internet-enabled gadgets, recently introduced Otto, a smart power strip that lets you control your home appliances even while you’re out. Our readers may recall we mentioned the prototype shown at CES 2013. But we’re happy to tell you that the company has finally begun accepting pre-orders, with shipments coming in January or February for a retail price of 23,800 yen (approximately $232).
Cerevo is known for having introduced interesting hardware like the livestream encoder LiveShell, as well as SmartTrigger a remote shutter for your DSLR camera that can be used from your iPhone or Mac.
Otto, the new product, has been developed using the company’s own crowdfunding site Cerevo Dash. It has eight power supply sockets and can enclose AC adapters, keeping them hidden from sight. A power supply for every single socket can be controlled over the internet using the mobile app which is provided for free. Two of them can even be controlled by a dimmer, letting you dim or brighten lights with your smartphone.
This enclosure was designed by UK-based Japanese product designer Satoshi Yanagisawa, who is famous for having designed portable power generator Cyclus.
The below demonstration video shows you how the device can control lighting with its pre-programmed ‘bonfire’ dimmer mode.
Here in Japan, internet giant Yahoo Japan holds its ‘Internet Creative Awards‘. The awards began back in 2006 to discover and support digital creators. Winning products are carefully selected by participating judges, and the final results were just announced from a list of 340 nominees. The awards are divided into general (individual creators or projects) and corporate creators. Let’s take a look at some of the winners from the ‘general’ portion. The grand winner was Dots Dog, a cute app designed for children ages one to three years old. All a child needs to do is to touch the iPhone screen at three points to draw three dots. The dots, wherever they’re placed, will be turned into a face of a dog. The app recognizes the size of the dots, making the dog’s expression unique each time. Kannon is a soon to be released iPhone app that turns everyday sounds into a real-time animation. The app picks up on surrounding noises like the squeak of a chair, breathing sounds, or people chatting. The resulting animation could look like a face, or a mysteriously random letter. The app will be available for download soon for the price of 170 yen. Kigurumi…
Here in Japan, internet giant Yahoo Japan holds its ‘Internet Creative Awards‘. The awards began back in 2006 to discover and support digital creators. Winning products are carefully selected by participating judges, and the final results were just announced from a list of 340 nominees.
The awards are divided into general (individual creators or projects) and corporate creators. Let’s take a look at some of the winners from the ‘general’ portion.
The grand winner was Dots Dog, a cute app designed for children ages one to three years old. All a child needs to do is to touch the iPhone screen at three points to draw three dots. The dots, wherever they’re placed, will be turned into a face of a dog. The app recognizes the size of the dots, making the dog’s expression unique each time.
Kannon is a soon to be released iPhone app that turns everyday sounds into a real-time animation. The app picks up on surrounding noises like the squeak of a chair, breathing sounds, or people chatting. The resulting animation could look like a face, or a mysteriously random letter. The app will be available for download soon for the price of 170 yen.
Kigurumi Camera is an app (for iPhone and Android) that turns any facial photo into a kigurumi. Kigurumi is a costume people put on when they’re tyring to represent cartoon characters or animals. The app doesn’t do much but it makes a sort of a weird twisted photo of your face putting on your kigurumi. It was awarded for it’s mysteriousness and since people often shared the resulting photos online.
A few friends of a soon-to-be-married couple invented a new kind of ring. It’s called ‘Sao-ring’ (Sao comes from the name of the bride), and it’s sort of a prank because when the ring is placed on the groom’s finger, it sends out his location to his wife. When he takes it off, the signal is turned off. But why would he ever if he loves her truly? This project is fun, but the use of geolocation technology here is intriguing.
Arart (AR-art) is an iPhone app that breathes life into things on the screen. When a user holds up an iPhone to an art work, the art expresses itself on your iPhone screen. Check out the video below.
Few companies in the world are as creative, collectively, as Tokyo-based teamLab. Their recent digital creations cover an incredible range, including an interactive TV game played by over a million people simultaneously. Their exhibitions (you can browse them here) combine cutting-edge technology and awe-inspiring aesthetics, and the results are invariably jaw-dropping. TeamLab’s most recent project is a Christmas tree installation at Canal City in Fukuoka, Japan, called The Crystal Tree of Wishes. But in typical teamLab fashion, this would not be just any Christmas tree. I spoke to teamLab’s Takashi Kudo, who explained how his company erected a two-ton, nine-meter tall LED tree, capable of being controlled by spectators using mobile devices. The Bridge: Where did the Christmas tree idea first come from? Takashi: It all started about a year ago when Canal City Hakata came to us wanting to create an installation that would attract people. So we thought, why not create an installation that would get people talking around the world? We came up with the idea of the world’s first 3D visual display with a user-directed, interactive animation. We looked for ideas that could only be done using digital technology, but in contrast to the existing concept…
Few companies in the world are as creative, collectively, as Tokyo-based teamLab. Their recent digital creations cover an incredible range, including an interactive TV game played by over a million people simultaneously. Their exhibitions (you can browse them here) combine cutting-edge technology and awe-inspiring aesthetics, and the results are invariably jaw-dropping.
TeamLab’s most recent project is a Christmas tree installation at Canal City in Fukuoka, Japan, called The Crystal Tree of Wishes. But in typical teamLab fashion, this would not be just any Christmas tree. I spoke to teamLab’s Takashi Kudo, who explained how his company erected a two-ton, nine-meter tall LED tree, capable of being controlled by spectators using mobile devices.
The Bridge: Where did the Christmas tree idea first come from?
Interact with the tree using an iPad or smartphone
Takashi: It all started about a year ago when Canal City Hakata came to us wanting to create an installation that would attract people. So we thought, why not create an installation that would get people talking around the world? We came up with the idea of the world’s first 3D visual display with a user-directed, interactive animation.
We looked for ideas that could only be done using digital technology, but in contrast to the existing concept of a tree as “physical material,” we thought of making one with light. By making it digital, we could also make it interactive, or have it display dynamic 3D visuals. This mindset, of making things digital, is shared by all of us team members at the Lab, and our process of finding a way, or method, to make it work, took us through an extensive process of experimentation, which saw us through this project.
The Bridge: So how does it work exactly?
teamLabVisualSculpting are physical sculptures that you can animate, just like in a projection, using teamLab’s own Interactive 4D Vision display technology. It incorporates a 3D projection system that you can control even from a smartphone. Interactive 4D Vision makes use of commonly used control systems to project a simple recreation of real objects that move in three dimensions. It is also compatible with smartphones, Kinect, music and other inputs, allowing for interactive creations.
Comprised of numerous lines, Interactive 4D Vision projects do not have to be cylindrical displays, but can also be rectangular prisms or long, complex curved surfaces. For now, we have decided to depict a Christmas tree with Interactive 4D Vision, so until December that is what you will see. But after the Christmas season, we have plans to use it as a 3D image display.
teamLab’s 4D animated LED Christmas Tree in Fukuoka, Japan
The Bridge: What was the most difficult part about this Christmas tree project?
Takashi: It’s probably the fact that nobody had actually seen or even imagined anything like this before. The client seemed uncertain so it was hard for them to give us the OK. And a lot of it was new territory for us anyway, so we had to figure everything out as we went along.
In the planning stage, in order for the 3D holographic image to display properly, we created a layout for 4D Vision LED lights, and conducted over 20 simulations of the display. There were two things to address at this stage:
We wanted to make the 4D Vision effect look as dynamic as possible. For the visuals to be as sharp as possible, and to make it work structurally, we had to carefully calibrate to show the inside as a structural object, which was an extremely difficult task. Once we finished with those simulations, we then did the layout for the flat, 2D layer of lights wrapped around the central 3D cylinder and on the outside of the structure.
Second, we had to make the tree function as a structural object. It had to be large and heavy in order to appear imposing to viewers, but as it was going to be hung from above, there were size and weight limitations we had to take into consideration. So we had to keep safety in mind and keep the tree’s weight down to two tons. We worked under the assumption that people would be walking under the tree, and that it would have to withstand the wind. We made the appropriate blueprints and structural calculations, including where the wires would attach it to the ceiling.
When it came to the development stage, even constructing the initial nine-meter long core was a huge task in itself. But in addition to that, to make the visuals project proper three-dimensional images we had to pay attention to the overall function of the whole structure – including waterproofing, dampening electromagnetic noise, and ensuring it didn’t flicker when being photographed.
The strings of LEDs that make up the structure are 9 meters long
We also developed our own software for the projection of three-dimensional images in 4D Vision. In order to translate the 3D object data into a physically three-dimensional visual, we had to split up the data across the array of LED lights and control its coordinated display. We managed to achieve with 4D Vision. And as long as we had our 3D animation in FBX format, we had the means to display it as-is [1].
The 4D Vision structure itself is made up of 413 nine-meter long strips of LED lights. Its construction involved carefully removing each nine-meter strand from the 413 boxes they came in, and hanging it in place without getting it tangled or caught in anything else. After hanging them all up, we then had to measure their alignment, to ensure they displayed correctly. Amazingly our workmen got together and completed this monumental task in just four days! When the whole thing was put together and some of the LED strips were malfunctioning, the workers climbed up 14 meters and replaced one of the strips. This was, of course, another extremely difficult job, not possible without great teamwork.
But most challenging part was the fact that almost all the final adjustments had to be made on-site at Canal City Hakata. We had to work within a tight schedule to install the tree there for the very first time, and then calibrate it so that the visuals displayed correctly.
The Bridge: How was the visitors reaction on the first day?
Takashi: As you can see from our video (above), it was very inspiring. The installation had attracted a lot of attention beforehand, with over 20 media outlets sending reporters out to our preview event. On the day of the lighting ceremony, we had an estimated turnout of about 7500 people, with 500 people (according to our app logs) actually downloading the LinkedCandle application to take part in the candle relay.
Our special guest on that evening was Chara, a famous singer, who gave a live performance to intensify the mood. The Christmas Decor event that followed saw, over just a few hours, approximately 500 people decorating the Crystal Tree of Wishes with about 800 ornaments. Everyone who took part, young and old, seems to be having great fun.
We think we managed to change the concept of a Christmas tree from something you just look at, into something you can interact with. The 2D objects (decorations) on people’s phones became, with a simple swipe, a physical, three-dimensional thing before their own eyes. That experience proved to be a lot more interesting than we thought.
The Bridge: TeamLab does many innovative projects. Do you have some method to spark creativity within a company, as a team? Or are your projects more individual creations?
TeamLab’s ever-thoughtful Takashi Kudo
Takashi: We craft things as a team. New ideas tend to arise from the cross-pollination of technical insights from all kinds of different areas. One person can’t possibly do all the thinking, and is unlikely to come up with anything.
You also can’t have non-technical people coming up with the ideas — because without an understanding of existing technology, you won’t know what’s currently possible with it.
That’s why at teamLab, we encourage constant communication between members, and it’s through our process of contributing ideas, taking action, and making prototypes together, as well as brainstorming together, that we provide our products and services. We also have common mindsets and values.
Of course, each of our members has their own field of expertise, spanning a truly wide range from mathematics to architecture. And by taking these professionals from different fields and mashing their specialties together, we hope to keep putting out things that can only arise from their collaboration and co-creation, one piece at a time.
The Bridge: Thanks!
Editor’s note: This is a file format for storing motion data. More information on Wikipedia. ↩
The Tokyo Bureau of Transportation announced several months ago that it would start its first 24-hour bus service in Tokyo, connecting Roppongi and Shibuya, two busy commercial districts that never sleep. Coinciding with the launch on December 20th, the bureau announced today it will offer in-bus wi-fi service to passengers for free. Looking ahead to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, this might be part of the government’s efforts to make the city more usable for foreign visitors, given that international data roaming charges are so high. Many public transit operators in Japan are deploying in-train or in-bus wi-fi equipment to serve passengers better. But most of them require a subscription to a wi-fi service provider, and that’s likely troublesome for most visitors coming to Japan. The bureau’s in-bus wi-fi service is available for any passengers, and allowing them to enjoy internet browsing for up to 180 minutes in a single session. Deployment of the equipment will be completed on all 1,452 buses by next March.
Photo by yoppy on Flickr, creative commons.
The Tokyo Bureau of Transportation announced several months ago that it would start its first 24-hour bus service in Tokyo, connecting Roppongi and Shibuya, two busy commercial districts that never sleep. Coinciding with the launch on December 20th, the bureau announced today it will offer in-bus wi-fi service to passengers for free.
Looking ahead to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, this might be part of the government’s efforts to make the city more usable for foreign visitors, given that international data roaming charges are so high. Many public transit operators in Japan are deploying in-train or in-bus wi-fi equipment to serve passengers better. But most of them require a subscription to a wi-fi service provider, and that’s likely troublesome for most visitors coming to Japan.
The bureau’s in-bus wi-fi service is available for any passengers, and allowing them to enjoy internet browsing for up to 180 minutes in a single session.
Deployment of the equipment will be completed on all 1,452 buses by next March.