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Japanese social network helps you find great souvenirs

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.08.09

Besides giant social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Mixi, there are smaller social networks for niche markets, like dieting, pets, or traveling. I recently came across one such social network here in Japan called ‘Omiyagate’. ‘Omiyage’ means ‘souvenirs’ in Japanese, and this is a community that was built to allow people to talk about souvenirs they like. This idea may sound strange to many people outside of Japan, but here in this country, there is a very strong Omiyage culture. Wherether your trip is for business or pleasure, there is an underlying expectation that you bring back souvenirs. And if you’re giving out omiyage, it’s always better to be original. The Omiyagate social network gives you new ideas for souvenirs in the form of photos. Users on the site can upload photos of souvernirs that they have bought or received, and add a short text description. If you like what you see, you can show your interest by pushing the ‘suteki’ button (which means ‘nice’ or ‘lovely’ in Japanese) or bookmark souvenirs for reference. Souvenirs can be shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Mixi. The site could be even more useful if it let you find souvenirs from specific locations, so…

Besides giant social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Mixi, there are smaller social networks for niche markets, like dieting, pets, or traveling. I recently came across one such social network here in Japan called ‘Omiyagate’. ‘Omiyage’ means ‘souvenirs’ in Japanese, and this is a community that was built to allow people to talk about souvenirs they like.

This idea may sound strange to many people outside of Japan, but here in this country, there is a very strong Omiyage culture. Wherether your trip is for business or pleasure, there is an underlying expectation that you bring back souvenirs. And if you’re giving out omiyage, it’s always better to be original. The Omiyagate social network gives you new ideas for souvenirs in the form of photos.

Users on the site can upload photos of souvernirs that they have bought or received, and add a short text description. If you like what you see, you can show your interest by pushing the ‘suteki’ button (which means ‘nice’ or ‘lovely’ in Japanese) or bookmark souvenirs for reference. Souvenirs can be shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Mixi.

The site could be even more useful if it let you find souvenirs from specific locations, so that you’ll know what to look for before you go on your trip.

Currently Omiyagate is available on the web, as well as on iOS and Android. To see what kind of souvenirs people are giving and receiving, check out the standout submissions on the Omiyagate popular list.

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Nail art startup puts Cute Japan at your fingertips

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.08.08

There are many ways to spread Japan’s Kawaii culture to the rest of the world. One common way, as we’ve seen recently, are mobile apps like Decopic or CocoPPa. But another Japanese startup called MiCHi has its sights set on something else: Finger nails. The company operates an ecommerce service that sells made-in-Japan nail tips, and so far it’s proving to be an easy sell. Hand-made nails designed by Japanese people are highly valued outside of the country. For many women all over the world, getting your nails done is an essential part of fashion. In Japan, so-called ‘Gel Nail’ is far more popular than regular manicures. The process involves a gel that dries quickly under special light, and it lasts up to three to four weeks, much longer than the average manicure. But these nails can be expensive. And that’s where MiCHi comes in, providing nail tips designed by Japanese specialists starting at $18. There are over 10 new designs made available every week. Interestingly, MiCHi was first made available to people outside of Japan, instead of launching in its home market. The ecommerce site was launched back in April of 2013, and unveiled its Japanese version only recently…

There are many ways to spread Japan’s Kawaii culture to the rest of the world. One common way, as we’ve seen recently, are mobile apps like Decopic or CocoPPa. But another Japanese startup called MiCHi has its sights set on something else: Finger nails. The company operates an ecommerce service that sells made-in-Japan nail tips, and so far it’s proving to be an easy sell.

Hand-made nails designed by Japanese people are highly valued outside of the country.

For many women all over the world, getting your nails done is an essential part of fashion. In Japan, so-called ‘Gel Nail’ is far more popular than regular manicures. The process involves a gel that dries quickly under special light, and it lasts up to three to four weeks, much longer than the average manicure. But these nails can be expensive. And that’s where MiCHi comes in, providing nail tips designed by Japanese specialists starting at $18. There are over 10 new designs made available every week.

Interestingly, MiCHi was first made available to people outside of Japan, instead of launching in its home market. The ecommerce site was launched back in April of 2013, and unveiled its Japanese version only recently on August 6th.

In an interview with TechWave, the CEO Shun Nakazaki explains:

I’m sure that there are many Japanese women who have received compliments from people about their nails when they visit overseas countries. Hand-made nails designed by Japanese people are highly valued outside of the country. Since these nail tips are light in weight, the cost of shipping them is cheap. It is a good material to bring to the rest of the world.

MiCHi has over 370,000 fans of its Facebook page, and its users are mainly from New York and Paris. By launching a site for Japan as well, the company plans to acquire more nail design specialists to work for MiCHi. There are currently over 30 ‘nailists’ registered, with the hope to have 100 by the end of the year.

MiCHi was one of five startups from recently included in Movida Japan’s acceleration program.

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Hey Stinky! Japanese website sends anonymous body odor notifications

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.08.02

The humid summer in Japan makes many of us extra conscious about how we smell. Perhaps you’re packed into a rush hour train huddled among bunch of people without much space to breath. But that situation might be even more difficult is when you know someone — maybe a co-worker or a friend — who is struggling with a case of body odor. Maybe they’re not even aware of it themselves. You may not want to tell the person directly, and you certainly don’t want to hurt their feelings. In this sort of situation, Wakiga kokucchi might be the easy solution you’ve been looking for. The website’s name roughly translates as ‘Coming out with armpit odor’, and it works in a very simple way, sending an anonymous email to the recipient when you input their email address. Just chose the location of where the person resides, and the email is sent out. The recipient will never know who it was exactly who sent the mail. So far, there have been 74 people who have been notified of their smell by Wakiga Kokucci. This sort of service is a little bit harsh but maybe in some serious cases, it might be…

The humid summer in Japan makes many of us extra conscious about how we smell. Perhaps you’re packed into a rush hour train huddled among bunch of people without much space to breath. But that situation might be even more difficult is when you know someone — maybe a co-worker or a friend — who is struggling with a case of body odor. Maybe they’re not even aware of it themselves.

You may not want to tell the person directly, and you certainly don’t want to hurt their feelings. In this sort of situation, Wakiga kokucchi might be the easy solution you’ve been looking for.

The website’s name roughly translates as ‘Coming out with armpit odor’, and it works in a very simple way, sending an anonymous email to the recipient when you input their email address. Just chose the location of where the person resides, and the email is sent out. The recipient will never know who it was exactly who sent the mail.

So far, there have been 74 people who have been notified of their smell by Wakiga Kokucci.

This sort of service is a little bit harsh but maybe in some serious cases, it might be a reasonable way of informing without disrupting your relationship with that person.

The site wisely provides some tips and cautions for using the service. It is best not to use it with someone who is already aware of their problem. Furthermore, the site will not be responsible for any subsequent troubles that occur as a result of using the site.

news

Japan’s ANA enlists Tokyo Otaku Mode to help revive tourism

Rick Martin 2013.07.28

When Japanese startup Tokyo Otaku Mode passed 10 million Facebook fans, I jokingly noted that their efforts in promoting Japan and its culture have yielded far better results than those of the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry. Well, now it looks like another organization has taken notice of TOM‘s efforts, and is enlisting its help in trying to boost the amount of incoming tourists to Japan. TOM recently announced a partnership with All Nippon Airways to help promote its ‘Is Japan Cool?’ campaign. That effort is similar to Tokyo Otaku Mode in that it emphases things like cosplay and ‘kawaii’, with the goal of bringing international travelers to Japan. But it will now get a boost from TOM’s huge fan base, as the startup has set up a special landing page to feature ‘Is Japan Cool?’ Content. The startup declined to disclose any financial details of the partnership, but it is good to see the company serving a need, and ostensibly generating some revenue as a result. TOM previously also partnered with one of Japan’s most famous convenient stores, Lawson, in helping to build awareness of that brand as it expands to regions around Asia.

japan-ana-otaku-mode — Artwork from ‘Is Japan Cool? – Dreams‘

When Japanese startup Tokyo Otaku Mode passed 10 million Facebook fans, I jokingly noted that their efforts in promoting Japan and its culture have yielded far better results than those of the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry. Well, now it looks like another organization has taken notice of TOM‘s efforts, and is enlisting its help in trying to boost the amount of incoming tourists to Japan.

TOM recently announced a partnership with All Nippon Airways to help promote its ‘Is Japan Cool?’ campaign. That effort is similar to Tokyo Otaku Mode in that it emphases things like cosplay and ‘kawaii’, with the goal of bringing international travelers to Japan. But it will now get a boost from TOM’s huge fan base, as the startup has set up a special landing page to feature ‘Is Japan Cool?’ Content.

The startup declined to disclose any financial details of the partnership, but it is good to see the company serving a need, and ostensibly generating some revenue as a result.

TOM previously also partnered with one of Japan’s most famous convenient stores, Lawson, in helping to build awareness of that brand as it expands to regions around Asia.

news

Japanese social gifting startup launches purchase behavior analysis solution

Junya Mori 2013.07.27

See the original story in Japanese. Earlier this week KDDI Mugen Labo, held a demo day event which included a presentation from Giftee, a past graduate from its program. The startup allows you to send friends an e-voucher which they can then redeem at certain retailers. To give a gift, all you need is a connection to that person on a social network, and you can easily send presents to friends without even asking for their physical mail addresses. During their demo day presentation, the company unveiled a new voucher issuing system for businesses. This SaaS solution allows them to issue one-time validity e-vouchers to their customers, who can redeem it at local stores. For retailers, this new solution lets you check the validity of a voucher using the barcode scanner of a POS register at a shop. Extra equipment isn’t required to operate the service. Companies can easily distribute vouchers and analyze user behavior. When companies connect the system with their own CRM systems, they can narrow their target of who can receive e-vouchers according to certain attributes or purchasing histories. If you collect purchasing data of your target users, you can compare their behaviors before and after giving…

See the original story in Japanese.

Earlier this week KDDI Mugen Labo, held a demo day event which included a presentation from Giftee, a past graduate from its program. The startup allows you to send friends an e-voucher which they can then redeem at certain retailers. To give a gift, all you need is a connection to that person on a social network, and you can easily send presents to friends without even asking for their physical mail addresses.

During their demo day presentation, the company unveiled a new voucher issuing system for businesses. This SaaS solution allows them to issue one-time validity e-vouchers to their customers, who can redeem it at local stores.

For retailers, this new solution lets you check the validity of a voucher using the barcode scanner of a POS register at a shop. Extra equipment isn’t required to operate the service. Companies can easily distribute vouchers and analyze user behavior.

When companies connect the system with their own CRM systems, they can narrow their target of who can receive e-vouchers according to certain attributes or purchasing histories. If you collect purchasing data of your target users, you can compare their behaviors before and after giving away the voucher.

Giftee was initially launched back in 2010 by three founders who all previously worked with Accenture. The startup received seed funding of 18 million yen (approximately $180,000) from KDDI Mugen Labo, Digital Garage, Kakaku.com, NetPrice, Inspire, and other angel investors back in 2011. Subsequently the company also raised an unknown amount of funds (thought to be in the hundreds of thousands) from Digital Garage and Sunbridge Venture Partners back in 2012.

news

Business reporting tool Gamba now integrates with GitHub, BitBucket, and more

Masaru Ikeda 2013.07.25

Yokohama-based startup Gamba announced today that its business reporting tool has been integrated with four code- and task-tracking tools: GitHub, BitBucket, Pivotal Tracker and Google Tasks. Some of our readers may recall that we featured Gamba in our coverage of Samurai Venture Summit. Their app app was launched back last December by Masahiro Morita who previously work with Rakuten as a business development producer. To date it has acquired more than 1,000 corporate accounts in Japan ranging from listed companies to SMEs. For sales representatives or engineers, the app provides an easy way to share your updates with colleagues or management, at the beginning and the end of business hours. For management who has difficulty finding time to speak with employees face-to-face, it provides information on the progression of tasks and what are employees focusing on. In terms of differentiation from similar services, the app lets users post just an excerpt of their daily updates, which keeps things from being too troublesome. If you there are any additional details that you want to share with colleagues, that information will be submitted to the integrated third-party services mentioned above. In this way, coworkers get a brief update first can later explore…

Yokohama-based startup Gamba announced today that its business reporting tool has been integrated with four code- and task-tracking tools: GitHub, BitBucket, Pivotal Tracker and Google Tasks.

Some of our readers may recall that we featured Gamba in our coverage of Samurai Venture Summit. Their app app was launched back last December by Masahiro Morita who previously work with Rakuten as a business development producer. To date it has acquired more than 1,000 corporate accounts in Japan ranging from listed companies to SMEs.

For sales representatives or engineers, the app provides an easy way to share your updates with colleagues or management, at the beginning and the end of business hours. For management who has difficulty finding time to speak with employees face-to-face, it provides information on the progression of tasks and what are employees focusing on.

In terms of differentiation from similar services, the app lets users post just an excerpt of their daily updates, which keeps things from being too troublesome. If you there are any additional details that you want to share with colleagues, that information will be submitted to the integrated third-party services mentioned above. In this way, coworkers get a brief update first can later explore more details if needed.

I had a chance to speak with Morita, and he explained how they plan to improve the business moving forward.

We actually received many requests from users who expected us to launch mobile apps. We’re currently working on those, and the iOS app will go live next month, with Android following later on. Subsequently we’ll to add a paid service and exploring series A funding in October.

Regarding possible overseas service expansion, he believes there is a need for this kind of task tracking and reporting beyond Japan too. And in that case, possible competitors would include IDoneThis.com, a notable task tracking tool based in San Francisco.

The company aspires to acquire 5,000 corporate accounts. Here in Japan, we have seen more than a few possible competitors including Chatwork, Co-work, and Talknote.

Gamba is backed by Tokyo-based startup incubator Samurai Incubate.

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Japanese web platform lets fans send gifts to college sports teams

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.24

Photo via Sashiire Sports fans usually show support for a team simply by cheering. But here in Japan, there is a mechanism that lets enthusiastic fans to do something more. Sashiire is a platform that allows fans and supporters to give sports-related gifts to college sport teams. This act is called ‘sashiire’, and the platform was first launched back in October of 2010. To date 180 teams from 48 universities have joined up, including one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, Waseda university, which leverages the platform for all of its 44 sports teams. On Sashiire, fans can start by choosing their favorite team, and then choose the item they want to send. There are over 60 items available on site including protein, supplements, healthy snacks, and even sportswear, and payment can be made either by bank transfer or credit card. The gift will be sent directly to the sport team with a message of support from that fan. Many users on Sashiire are alumni from those same teams. The platform was launched by Daigaku Sports Channel to create a better overall environment for college sports teams, lending them a helping hand. Funding or support provided from universities can sometimes…

Photo via Sashiire

Sports fans usually show support for a team simply by cheering. But here in Japan, there is a mechanism that lets enthusiastic fans to do something more. Sashiire is a platform that allows fans and supporters to give sports-related gifts to college sport teams. This act is called ‘sashiire’, and the platform was first launched back in October of 2010. To date 180 teams from 48 universities have joined up, including one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, Waseda university, which leverages the platform for all of its 44 sports teams.

On Sashiire, fans can start by choosing their favorite team, and then choose the item they want to send. There are over 60 items available on site including protein, supplements, healthy snacks, and even sportswear, and payment can be made either by bank transfer or credit card. The gift will be sent directly to the sport team with a message of support from that fan. Many users on Sashiire are alumni from those same teams.

The platform was launched by Daigaku Sports Channel to create a better overall environment for college sports teams, lending them a helping hand. Funding or support provided from universities can sometimes be scarce, and many students juggle their sport and a part-time job in order to purchase their equipment. Compared to professional sports, there is a definite lack of support for college sports and games in Japan, and many competitions are played in front of little to no spectators. Sashiire was built as a solution to these problems.

We had a chance to speak briefly with Takuya Kato, the CEO of the company. He explains:

By showing support in ways other than just cheering, by actually giving to players, it not only helps teams financially but it will likely motivate players as well. So instead of building a platform to collect funds, we made Sashiire so that actual items that can be delivered right to the players.

The company plans to add sashiire for businesses, where (for example) an energy drink company could support college teams by sending its products.

With a platform like this one, college sports become a more engaging form of entertainment people, especially for local residents who may live near a particular school.

You can see more about how the Sashiire platform works in the video below.

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NTT Docomo Ventures establishes a work space for its startups

Junya Mori 2013.07.16

See the original story in Japanese. NTT Docomo Ventures [1], the incubation arm of Japan’s largest telco, unveiled its new office today, which features a co-working space and an event space for its startups. The company launched an incubation program called Docomo Innovation village back in February. 124 startups initially applied for inclusion, and six teams of those made the cut for the first batch in April. The selected teams will receive grants of 2 million yen (approximately $20,000) each, as well as support in the form of work spaces and mentoring. The participating teams explained their reasoning for applying to the program, citing Docomo’s successful investment in Evernote and possible partnerships opportunities with the telco as potential benefits of inclusion. Regarding their experiences at the incubation program thus far, they say they have learned much from mentors, with lots of opportunities to reach other companies through Docomo’s business network, helping them learn more about app development. They are obliged to visit the office at least every Tuesday, where they have a meeting to share recent developments with each other. These six teams will unveil the results of their six-month incubation program on Thursday, September 26th. Previously known as Docomo Innovation Ventures,…

See the original story in Japanese.

NTT Docomo Ventures [1], the incubation arm of Japan’s largest telco, unveiled its new office today, which features a co-working space and an event space for its startups.

The company launched an incubation program called Docomo Innovation village back in February. 124 startups initially applied for inclusion, and six teams of those made the cut for the first batch in April. The selected teams will receive grants of 2 million yen (approximately $20,000) each, as well as support in the form of work spaces and mentoring.

The participating teams explained their reasoning for applying to the program, citing Docomo’s successful investment in Evernote and possible partnerships opportunities with the telco as potential benefits of inclusion.

MG_8697 — Representatives of the 6 first batch teams

Regarding their experiences at the incubation program thus far, they say they have learned much from mentors, with lots of opportunities to reach other companies through Docomo’s business network, helping them learn more about app development. They are obliged to visit the office at least every Tuesday, where they have a meeting to share recent developments with each other.

These six teams will unveil the results of their six-month incubation program on Thursday, September 26th.

Previously known as Docomo Innovation Ventures, but it was rebranded on July 1st, 2013. ↩

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Japanese team pitches game app engine at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

Masaru Ikeda 2013.07.10

The Imagine Cup is an annual global competition organized by Microsoft, with the aim of nurturing students to be competitive in the international arena. The finals are taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia, where finalists from 71 counties come together to competing for the top awards in five categories, with the winners will be announced late on Thursday night (Japan Time). It will be livestreamed here if you’d like to tune in. The team of Teppei Yoneyama and Chester Lee Chin Zhen (who are both attending Japan’s oldest computer vocational school) are finalists from Japan, proposing a new gaming app development environment. It’s called the Knowall Library, and it has taken about four years to complete. The development suite allows game developers to create a 2D or 3D gaming app relatively easily. To date many people have already developed several gaming titles using the environment, giving it high praise since it is just as sophisticated as many existing products in terms of technical features. The video below shows you how Yoneyama presented the work at his vocational school. It’s in Japanese, but it will give you a better but idea of how it works. We are told that it’s not…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Project N at World Finals venue: Chester Lee Chin Zhen, Teppei Yoneyama
(Picture courtesy of Microsoft)

The Imagine Cup is an annual global competition organized by Microsoft, with the aim of nurturing students to be competitive in the international arena. The finals are taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia, where finalists from 71 counties come together to competing for the top awards in five categories, with the winners will be announced late on Thursday night (Japan Time). It will be livestreamed here if you’d like to tune in.

The team of Teppei Yoneyama and Chester Lee Chin Zhen (who are both attending Japan’s oldest computer vocational school) are finalists from Japan, proposing a new gaming app development environment. It’s called the Knowall Library, and it has taken about four years to complete. The development suite allows game developers to create a 2D or 3D gaming app relatively easily. To date many people have already developed several gaming titles using the environment, giving it high praise since it is just as sophisticated as many existing products in terms of technical features.

The video below shows you how Yoneyama presented the work at his vocational school. It’s in Japanese, but it will give you a better but idea of how it works. We are told that it’s not common for gaming app development environment to be chosen as a finalist for the Imagine Cup event.

We certainly wish them the best of luck during the rest of the competition!

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Japanese startup Fluxflex launches easy-to-install card payment solution

Masaru Ikeda 2013.07.04

Led by Japanese serial entrepreneur Kei Kubo, FluxFlex is a startup working out of PariSoma, a notable co-working space in San Francisco. It recently announced the launch of WebPay, an easy-to-install, freemium card payment solution for Japanese e-commerce companies. The service was previously made available last April to a limited number of developers for testing purposes. Compared to conventional solutions, the WebPay service is not difficult to install, and its API is compatible with Stripe, a leading payment processor in the US. Because cross-border transactions are not permitted under international card transaction rules, WebPay aspires to fill card transaction needs for web payment services in the Japanese market. In order to give developers an easy-to-install interface for payments, the startup has partnered with GMO Payment Gateway, one of the oldest and biggest payment processing companies in Japan. Upon its official launch, the company also received an undisclosed amount of funding from CyberAgent Ventures, Architype, and GMO Payment Gateway. In terms of use cases, Japanese startups such as accounting SaaS Freee and subscription-based Japanese sake delivery service Sakelife are using Fluxflex’s solution to fulfill their payment needs.

Led by Japanese serial entrepreneur Kei Kubo, FluxFlex is a startup working out of PariSoma, a notable co-working space in San Francisco. It recently announced the launch of WebPay, an easy-to-install, freemium card payment solution for Japanese e-commerce companies. The service was previously made available last April to a limited number of developers for testing purposes.

Compared to conventional solutions, the WebPay service is not difficult to install, and its API is compatible with Stripe, a leading payment processor in the US. Because cross-border transactions are not permitted under international card transaction rules, WebPay aspires to fill card transaction needs for web payment services in the Japanese market.

In order to give developers an easy-to-install interface for payments, the startup has partnered with GMO Payment Gateway, one of the oldest and biggest payment processing companies in Japan. Upon its official launch, the company also received an undisclosed amount of funding from CyberAgent Ventures, Architype, and GMO Payment Gateway.

In terms of use cases, Japanese startups such as accounting SaaS Freee and subscription-based Japanese sake delivery service Sakelife are using Fluxflex’s solution to fulfill their payment needs.

Startups

Japanese social network helps you find great souvenirs

Nail art startup puts Cute Japan at your fingertips

Japan’s ANA enlists Tokyo Otaku Mode to help revive tourism

Japanese social gifting startup launches purchase behavior analysis solution

Business reporting tool Gamba now integrates with GitHub, BitBucket, and more

Japanese web platform lets fans send gifts to college sports teams

NTT Docomo Ventures establishes a work space for its startups

Japanese team pitches game app engine at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

Japanese startup Fluxflex launches easy-to-install card payment solution

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