Tokyo Otaku
Discover cool spots for anime, manga, and gaming
Idea to Launch: App Design, Branding, Development
![](../images/tokyootaku-phone-collage.png)
Background
Japan attracts many a traveler who first gained interest in the country through popular media. For them, the country can be a treasure trove of fun things to see, shop, and experience. We created Tokyo Otaku to allow subculture fans to tour Tokyo based on their own specific interests.
![](../images/tokyootaku-concept-sm.jpg)
Finding spots to visit
The initial idea was simply to have a map showing nearby otaku spots to visit.
Typically, a traveler can look at spots near their current location, or plan for a future visit to another location. Showing nearby spots catered to the former, while a saved spots feature would cater to the latter.
![](../images/tokyootaku-map.jpg)
![](../images/tokyootaku-map-item-1.jpg)
![](../images/tokyootaku-map-item-2.jpg)
![](../images/tokyootaku-map-item-3.jpg)
![](../images/tokyootaku-hearts.jpg)
![](../images/tokyootaku-rate.jpg)
Are these spots worth visiting?
Other ideas included "liking" a place, such that a user would be able to gauge the quality of a spot based on the number of likes. Since reviews require more effort, we imagined "likes" as a possible alternative.
Light gamification
We imagined that users might also gain levels based on their app activity and earn fun titles.
![](../images/tokyootaku-user.png)
![](../images/tokyootaku-user-stats.png)
Branding
Our typography and color scheme is derived from The Best Japan, our travel site. We also drew an original character named "Sakura" to act as a tour guide.
![](../images/tokyootaku-branding-1.jpg)
![](../images/tokyootaku-branding-2.jpg)
App Development
We developed the iOS app in-house. Although we didn't execute all of our original designs or features, we prioritized launching an MVP and iterating afterwards.
![App designs](../images/tokyootaku-app-collage.png)