Visit Nara
Promoting the diversity of Japan’s ancient capital
Client
JR Tokai Agency Co., Ltd.
Year
2015
The challenge
Nara City has long been a popular daytrip destination for international visitors to Kyoto and Osaka. However, few travelers stay overnight and even fewer venture beyond the city center. The government of Nara Prefecture asked us to make a website that encourages multi-day journeys outside the main tourist center, so we set out to give the world a brand-new understanding of Nara.
Highlighting Nara beyond deer and temples
Discovering the undiscovered
Building a website that encourages overnight stays and prefecture-wide exploration in Nara was not an easy task. The area has plenty of travel appeal, but it was hard to find information outside the main tourist areas — even in Japanese.
So, we went to Nara, set up a satellite office, and discovered the area for ourselves. All up, our researchers, writers, and photographers spent over three months exploring the area. The writing, photography, and design exude authenticity because the website documents our real experiences.
Authentic advice
We turned extensive, on-the-ground research into strategic content planning; sharp, honest writing; and evocative photography. It is this interactive, creative process that gives the Visit Nara website its human feel. The site is filled with real recommendations and articles based on our own experiences, and the travelogues and mini-guides reflect our genuine sense of exploration.
A seamless experience
We researched, planned, wrote, and designed the website to present our positive Nara experience to the world. Our love for every corner of Nara shines through on a visually stunning, mobile-optimized site with fully modern infrastructure (API-ready CMS, Python, Amazon Web Services). The Visit Nara site responds to travelers’ needs while encouraging them to discover content from around the whole prefecture.
We created a modern digital experience for the cradle of Japanese culture and society.
Visit Nara
The results
Int’l visitors (2017)
+26.4
Int’l visitors overnight stays (2017)
+26.3
Next project
Dazaifu Tenmangu
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