Wonderlust 
Junya Mori
We’ve seen many travel-focused online services from here in Japan. A reason why this space is on the upswing is because travel is a very attractive activity for most people. One of the latest travel-related solutions to spring up is from Tokyo-based startup Wonderlust. It has launched a new travel recording platform called Compathy.
This service lets users compose and publish a story about your travel experience simply by uploading snapshots during your travel. When you upload, the platform will place each photo at the appropriate sightseeing spot on a map, in accordance with the picture’s time-stamp and location data. In this way, it helps you sort out travel photos and your memories by routes and timeline [1].
In addition to collecting travel photos, the platform will add a feature that automatically creates sight-seeing spot pages. Photos taken by all users at a particular spot will be associated with that page. This resembles restaurant finder sites where photos give users an idea of what they can expect at a glance.
By accumulating photos uploaded by users, the company wants to create a sort of travel-focused buzz site. CEO Kentaro Horie explains:
No matter how many more more photos or comments we acquire, it would be pretty difficult to defeat TripAdvisor and its SEO tactics. We will focus on acquiring comments posted under real names.
At this point their strategy is very similar to Retty, which is collection of restaurant reviews and evaluations posted under real names.
The company also plans to add a new feature in January, where users can arrange travel plans using the platform. Horie added:
For our next step, we’d like to add a new feature that encourages users to link up with friends overseas. You will be able to arrange plans and take advantage of their advice.
Wonderlust was a member of Incubate Camp, an incubation program operated by Tokyo-based Incubate Fund. They have been improving their service, and now finally has received investment so they can launch the service.
