Japan Immersion | For Product and Creative teams looking to launch in Japan

FOR CREATIVE TEAMS

Gain insights and  inspiration from the everyday experience and dynamic culture of your users.

Equip your team with direct experience of the cultural forces shaping Japan.

Your bespoke 2–4 day program includes conversations and workshops with creative leaders and entrepreneurs, customer field visits, and expert-led explorations of Tokyo.

We help you see what others overlook, connect the dots, and turn inspiration into direction.

Confidence through lived knowledge

Understanding Japan secondhand can only take you so far.

To make bold, confident moves in how you design and market products, your team needs lived knowledge of how people work, play, shop, and make decisions in their everyday lives.

Immersion invites your team not just to observe, but to participate—bringing their perspectives, questions, and assumptions into contact with the real world. Those interactions create shared, durable knowledge to inform your most important decisions.

Mosaic of illustrated Japanese icons: kotatsu table, suica-like IC transit card, conbini, can, dango or Japanese confectionary, square watermelon, instant ramen, furoshiki wrapping, and a train wicket,

Confidence through lived knowledge

Understanding Japan secondhand can only take you so far.

To make bold, confident moves in how you design and market products, your team needs lived knowledge of how people work, play, shop, and make decisions in their everyday lives.

Immersion invites your team not just to observe, but to participate – bringing their own perspectives, questions, and assumptions into contact with the real world. That contact and the conversations it sparks, creates shared, durable knowledge to inform your most important decisions.

Who is this for?

We design immersions for cross-functional teams working to bring products or services to the Japanese market.

Immersions are valuable for everyone from designers, engineers, and product managers to marketers and executives. Diversity of discipline, background, and perspective expands the field of vision and deepens learning.

Scenarios

ENTERING THE
JAPANESE MARKET

You’re expanding into Japan and need grounded insight to align design, product, and marketing efforts.

seeking
fresh perspective

You know the product too well and need real voices to shift perspective and move past old assumptions.

serving niche or underserved users

You’re targeting audiences with specific cultural or lifestyle contexts and want to build understanding.

tackling
under-performance

Your offering isn’t landing and you need to know why—from cultural mismatches to unmet user needs.

Entering the japanese market

You’re expanding into Japan and need grounded insight to align your design, product, and marketing efforts.

Seeking fresh perspective

Your team knows the product too well and needs real voices to break old assumptions, shift perspective and move forward.

Serving niche or underserved users

You’re targeting audiences with specific cultural or lifestyle contexts and want to build understanding.

Tackling under-performance

Your offering isn’t landing and you need to understand why—from cultural mismatches to unmet user needs.

How we support
successful immersion

A photo of 3 people brainstorming planning at a table with notebooks, pens and a waterbottle

PREPARATION

Goal setting
Itinerary design
Cultural sensitivity training
Scheduling and coordination

A photo of a guide pointing and explaining the history of a Harajuku vintage apartment on the right. On the left two designers are listening to the history of the building.

IN FIELD

Liaison with local partners
Facilitation and translation during interviews and activities
On-the-ground logistical support

A photo of a hand placing ideas written on a post-it on a colorful whiteboard filled with more post-its

AFTER IMMERSION

Reporting
Connecting with partners
Strategy and execution support in follow-up projects

sample itinerary #1

Photo of a hand placing japanese ¥1000 bill and some coins at a cashier

DAY 1

Getting
started

Orientation
Introductions and itinerary overview.

Getting started
"What's in my wallet."

Learning lunch
Purchase lunch cashless at busy lunch spots.

Photo of a hand moving aside a noren curtain to reveal a sign saying "cash only"

Field visit
Visit lifestyle stores to learn about specialized products and rituals around carrying, giving and receiving cash.

Day debrief
Confirm and clarify findings.

DAY 2

Inspiration & experience

Media Scan
Review Japanese media to map themes and narratives around how finance is marketed.

Demo
Guided walk through of local payment platform signups.

Learning lunch
Visit local cash-only restaurants to experience "only in Japan" analog order flows.

Field visit
Shop, buy and observe at local shopping arcades with various payment methods (QR code, credit, cash).

Photo of a phone showing a Suica transit card mobile payment at a Japanese vending machine

Day debrief
Confirm and clarify findings.

DAY 3

Contextual
interviews

Home visits
"What does budgeting look like for you during inflation?"

Group interviews
"How do you split dinner bills amongst friends, colleagues, and non-work functions?"

Photo of a client interviewing a local business owner as a part of a group interview

Expert deep dive
"What does the future of personal finance look like?" with finance influencers and advisors.

Day debrief
Confirm and clarify findings.

DAY 4

Sense
making

Collective processing
Review memorable story snapshots and artifacts, supported with subject-matter expertise.

Connecting insights with project goals
Discuss what findings and observations seem most relevant to the project, team, or goal.

Wrap
Define next steps and create a follow-up plan.

sample itinerary #2

A table of Japanese health snacks. A woman is showing with her hand the yogurt used at home

DAY 1