Delivering a storytelling “experience” to the streets of Nakanoshima, Osaka — A roaming project combining 15 stories and AR illustrations
STYLY Inc. Press Release: August 28, 2025 Delivering a storytelling “experience” to the streets of Nakanoshima, Osaka — A roaming project combining 15 stories with AR illustrations STYLY is in charge of the overall XR production for the Creative Island Nakanoshima Special Program
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illustrations of the story created by artists, creators, and even participants in a public contest while touring Nakanoshima. View 15 original stories, blending historical culture from the past to the present with a futuristic sci-fi feel, overlaid on real-world scenery on your smartphone. Enjoy a new narrative experience where the real and virtual intersect. This project is available in both Japanese and English.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-29afa6f68c0ee8f8ee1d30cc0eaa886f-783×521.jpg *Image is for illustrative purposes only.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-1e4ce4d051f309e50a1e14603924a592-2048×1365.jpg Background and significance STYLY has been developing XR/spatial computing businesses in real-world urban spaces and commercial facilities, working with a wide range of creators and businesses. We envision a future where STYLY is installed in cities, replacing various urban content, including advertisements, with digital content, seamlessly integrating with physical space. • Visitors to the city will view a variety of information optimized for them, and the physical city will transform into a simple one that eliminates waste. • We promote environmentally friendly urban development. Furthermore, the content provided through STYLY is developed and provided through co-creation with creators from around the world, overflowing with information, culture, art, and more, inviting people to cities and encouraging interaction and exploration. This initiative is a co-creation project between STYLY, which has the vision of
“sustainable urban development” as described above, and Creative Island Nakanoshima, which aims to rebrand Nakanoshima as a “creative town that attracts people from all over the world” by rebranding the city as sustainable, leveraging both culture and the economy. Look forward to a creative future where anyone can share and enjoy stories in the city. Outline of the roaming project “Exploring ‘Stories from 15 Locations in Nakanoshima’ with AR” Name: Roaming project “Exploring ‘Stories from 15 Locations in Nakanoshima’ with AR” Dates: Saturday, September 27, 2025 – Sunday, November 30, 2025 Location: 15 meeting points (Nakanoshima Center Building / Grand Cube Osaka / Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka / Osaka University Nakanoshima Center / Osaka Nakanoshima Museum of Art / The National Museum of Art, Osaka / Osaka Science Museum / graf studio / Nakanoshima Festival Tower / Nakanoshima Festival Tower West / Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library / Osaka City Central Public Hall / Osaka Museum of Oriental Ceramics / Nakanoshima Children’s Book Forest / Art Area B1) Time: According to the opening hours of each facility. *See the website for details. Admission: Free Artwork created by: Teppei Kaneuji, Ayumi Kanno, Kenta Kobayashi, contact Gonzo, MANTLE (Shū Isaka Takeshi Nakamura), STYLY creators, and participants in the public call for entries. XR Overall Production/Platform Provided by: STYLY Inc. Creative Island
Nakanoshima Project Page: https://nakanoshimalab.jp/creative/3559/ Organized by: Creative Island Nakanoshima Executive Committee, Japan Arts Council, and Agency for Cultural Affairs Co-organized by: Nakanoshima Pavilion Festival 2025 Executive Committee Special cooperation: STYLY Co., Ltd. / Yoshidayama (floating alps)
Commissioned: 2020 Japan Expo 2.0 Project (Commissioned Type) Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-dae788dd5d1946422bab900d01c96c8b-426×89.png About the venue and works You can view each work at meeting points set up in 15 facilities scattered around Nakanoshima.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-db80f40da871be8921bf2e9edb0cfdfd-2000×838.jpg 1. Nakanoshima Center Building “31st Floor” | STYLY Creator 2. Grand Cube Osaka “Plaza.” | MANTLE (Isaka Shu Nakamura Takeshi) [Artist] 3. Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka “Reach Bar” | STYLY Creator 4. Osaka University Nakanoshima Center “From the Former Ogata Koan Residence (Tekijuku)” | Kanno Ayumi [Artist] 5. Osaka Nakanoshima Museum of Art “Vacant Lot” | Kobayashi Kenta [Artist] 6. National Museum of Art, Osaka “B4F” | contact Gonzo [Artist] 7. Osaka Science Museum “Which One Is Me?” | Open Call Participant 8. graf studio “Koko” | STYLY Creator 9. Nakanoshima Festival Tower “Nishikibashi” | STYLY Creator 10. Nakanoshima Festival Tower West “Alternative Jichiyuki” | STYLY Creator 11. Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library “Spatializing the Book Reading Experience” | STYLY Creator 12. Osaka City Central Public Hall “OMM Building” | Teppei Kaneuji [Artist] 13. Osaka City Museum of Oriental Ceramics “Painted Female Figurines” | Open Entrance Participant 14. Children’s Book Forest Nakanoshima “The Mysterious Boat” | Open Call Participants 15. Art Area B1 “Underground Passage in Front of Art Area B1” | Open Call Participants What is a Meeting Point? To encourage people to wander around and explore Nakanoshima, which stretches 3.3 kilometers east to west, starting in 2021, we have installed Meeting Points (sign stands) in the lobbies of 15 facilities on Nakanoshima. These locations feature printed materials about the 15 stories and museum maps, allowing visitors to encounter cultural information about Nakanoshima. This time, the 15 stories are presented in AR, combining virtual visuals with realistic, real-life scenery for a new artistic experience. By exploring each story, visitors can discover the diverse charms of Nakanoshima, creating a walking trail. Participating artists Profile Teppei Kaneuji
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-11f303a828d2fe2462c563ee6e6e55a0-1290×1711.jpg Work: “OMM Building” | Osaka City Central Public Hall Born in 1978. Artist and sculptor. Associate Professor, Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts. Using everyday objects as materials, he creates works using a collage-like technique, cutting out and reassembling parts to reinterpret existing contexts. He has held solo exhibitions at the Yokohama Museum of Art (2009), the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing, 2013), and the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (2016), among others. He has also exhibited his works in special exhibitions and international exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. Since 2011, he has worked on numerous stage art projects, and in recent years has also been involved in the production of stage productions. He received the Kyoto City New Artist Award in 2012, the Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award Encouragement Award in 2015, and the 29th Takashimaya Cultural Fund in 2018. Ayumi Kanno Kanno
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-987428aff122227ccaa2a7fdf0a3c75a-1800×2700.jpg Photo by Kaori NISHIDA Work in charge: “From the Former Ogata Koan Residence (Tekijuku)” | Osaka University Nakanoshima Center Every place has its own stories, legends, and ghost stories. Through video installations, he expresses “alternative folklore,” which is born from imagining the history and personal emotions behind what people have woven together as folklore. Through the creation of his works, he is researching what folklore reborn as media art can bring to us. Kenta Kobayashi Cobayashi
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-c05b5a0a03dd88d5ed83f0d4af654277-1800×2700.jpg Current work: “Vacant Lot” | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1992. Currently based in Tokyo and Shonan. He works across multiple mediums, including photography, digital media, sculpture, and installation. contact Gonzo
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-cd6dcf2006aa586e94f2fd8b9537d523-3900×2600.jpg Photo by LiekoShiga – Takuya Matsumi Work: “B4F” | The National Museum of Art, Osaka Formed in 2006. The group’s name is the name of the methodology they practice, focusing on human contact and physical collisions to develop a unique theory of the pastoral sublime, which they use to create numerous improvisational performances. Based on the ideas and materials derived from this, he has produced and presented games, installations, photographs, video works, booklets, and more. MANTLE (Shu Isaka Soshi Nakamura) MANTLE (Shu Isaka Soshi Nakamura)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-ad60f5f5274a7d8f447952ecf2e3040c-2362×1574.jpg Responsible work: “Plaza. 』 | Grand Cube Osaka An art collective formed by Shu Isaka and Takeshi Nakamura. They explore and simulate global phenomena, from the creation of landforms and crustal movements to the transition of biological communities and even meteorological phenomena like lightning, on a scale that transcends human perception and time. They access various site-specific environments and incorporate detected long-term and short-term changes, accidental events, and even system errors as components of their works, exploring the intersection between the present and uncharted space-times with a playful and experimental approach. Their goal is to visualize the order and coincidences hidden in nature through poetic imagination. About “15 Stories from Nakanoshima” Playwright, novelist, and chelfitsch director Toshiki Okada has spent multiple visits to Nakanoshima to conduct extensive research and create stories for each of the 15 meeting points located on the island. Starting in the fall of 2024, the stories will be displayed at each meeting point. The text, written to be read on the spot, is based on history and events, but also greatly expands the possibilities and imagination of each spot. Toshiki Okada
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-8bf8f554481953add15a73e8419d4b4b-3000×2250.jpg (C)Kikuko Usuyama He is a playwright, novelist, and founder of the theater company “Chelfitsch.” In 2005, he won the 49th Kishida Kunio Drama Award for “Five Days in March.” Since Chelfitsch’s international debut with this play in 2007, the company has continued to perform in over 90 cities worldwide. He actively collaborates with artists from a variety of fields, including musicians, visual artists, dancers, and rappers. Since 2016, he has been continuously writing and directing works for the repertoire of German public theaters, with his plays “The Vacuum Cleaner” (Munich Kammerspiele) in 2020 and “Donut(s)” (Thalia Theater, Hamburg) selected for the Berlin Theater Festival in 2022. As a novelist, he published “The End of the Special Time Allowed to Us” (Shinchosha) in 2007, and won the 2nd Oe Kenzaburo Prize. In 2022, he won the 35th Mishima Yukio Prize and the 64th Kumamoto Nichinichi Literature Prize for “Broccoli Revolution” (Shinchosha). From 2025, he will become the artistic director of the Tokyo Festival, and from 2026, he will become the artistic director (performing arts division) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. In addition, Creative Island Nakanoshima will be hosting a variety of special programs from Saturday, September 27th to Sunday, November 30th, including symposiums, talk programs, and cruise events. Further details will be announced on Creative Island Nakanoshima’s website and social media in the future. About Creative Island Nakanoshima
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-5ed961884182a73f5b840508dbbe5d32-844×932.png Nakanoshima, a symbol of the water city of Osaka, is home to art museums, concert halls, This unique urban island is home to a variety of cultural facilities, including science museums and international conference centers, historical buildings, and high-rise corporate buildings, coexisting with parks and waterfront areas. It’s filled with world-class cultural assets, like Paris’s Île de la Cité and Berlin’s Museum Island. “Creative Island Nakanoshima” is Japan’s largest creative network, comprised of 13 organizations. The entire Nakanoshima area will be transformed into a unique venue known as a “creative experimental island,” where a variety of creative content will be developed and produced. Website: https://nakanoshimalab.jp/ About Nakanoshima Pavilion Fest 2025
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-1e87d412ddfe3f811258c2fdd116d3f4-1371×750.jpg This festival offers new learning and discoveries as you tour world-class cultural facilities scattered around Nakanoshima, such as art museums, science museums, and concert halls, as well as events taking advantage of the island’s waterfront and office areas. Various events are held during core periods in spring and autumn. The Autumn Festival core period runs from Saturday, September 27th to Monday, October 13th. Website: https://www.nakanoshima-pf.jp/ About STYLY Co., Ltd.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/23281/278/23281-278-4bf79683a24025f528001e0ad19a3c02-2137×2700.png STYLY Inc. is a company that provides “STYLY,” a spatial layer platform that connects the digital and physical worlds. With a mission to “unleash humanity’s superpowers,” we use XR/spatial computing technology to produce spaces and provide solutions to landowners and those involved in urban development. We aim to continue working with creators and businesses around the world to unleash the creative power and creativity of people and companies, and to contribute to the evolution of humanity by creating new cultures and industries. ・Head office location: 4F, 24th Sky Building, 1-34-3 Shinjuku,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo ・Representative: Representative Director Masahiro Yamaguchi ・Website: https://styly.inc/ For more information about this release