By 2020, the Japanese government anticipates that 20 million people will be visiting Japan each year. Most people visiting Japan use a combination of Lonely Planet, the Japan Guide website, and pure luck to navigate their way through the country. Yuya Haraguchi believes that people who visit his new website, Japanese Info will get to embrace a more genuine, less touristy side of Japan.
“People go to places where there are English menus, or they just get a recommendation from someone walking around the area,” Haraguchi says, explaining the haphazard way adventures in Japan can go for foreigners. After spending time in airports and approaching potential users about his service he became convinced that tourists want a better experience but are unsure how to get it.
The data from those user surveys paints a very clear picture. When asked if they would prefer to go to a restaurant recommended by someone from their home country, or by a Japanese person, over 90 percent of tourists said they would choose the latter.
Haraguchi does not bother worrying about a competitor like the popular Lonely Planet guidebook. “Even with Lonely Planet, people are going to look things up online,” he says. His real competitor is the world leader in Japanese tourist info provided in English – Japan Guide. That website gets 80 million page views a year. Haraguchi is setting his goal for 100 million by the end of 2015.
Adding new content daily means the site remains fresh and can quickly highlight trends in Japan. Haraguchi is also betting on the success of his “Japanese recommended” business model. For now the tips on Japanese Info are offered only by his staff, but they are showing a strong knack for good topics. Safe places to stay in Tokyo for less than US$30 a night, the best spots to capture Japan’s scenic winter, and a selection of fine Kyoto cafes are all explained on the website.
As might be expected from a travel website, monetization will come from native advertising, Google AdSense, and tie-ups with hotels.
Lessons in serial entrepreneurship
Though the goal with Japanese Info is high, Haraguchi’s track record suggests he can weather the battle ahead. As a serial entrepreneur, Japan Info is the second service to be launched by his company, Grood. The first, a voice-over crowdsourcing firm is still going strong after two and a half years. With a network of 7,000 voice actors, it has become a stable stream of income for him.
Haraguchi has built himself up along the way. He started studying programming in college and showed a gift for it, one that got him hired by Voyage Group, a well-established Japanese firm. This sort of promise is what led East Ventures to invest an undisclosed amount in his company. (Disclosure: East Ventures is an investor of Tech in Asia. See our Statement of Ethics for more details.)
His journey starts today, the first official day for Japanese Info. Overcoming entrenched market leaders is no easy feat but there is at least one promising indication that Haraguchi can outflank Japan Guide. That website has thousands of pages of explanations and recommendations but not a single one of them has a social network share button. Over at Japanese Info, every single page is primed and ready to be shared with the world.
See: This startup uncovers hidden gems in Japan’s hotel network
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Would you trust a non-Japanese to recommend sushi in Tokyo? This startup says no
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