What once began as a very small personal project that I started alone 6 years ago has become a product that is now used by millions of people in Japan and around the world.

When Bespoke was first established in 2015, it started as a company that wanted to provide a community to connect travelers with locals. There is something truly fascinating about discovering the non-touristy hidden gems with local residents, as these are what always make our trips the most memorable and leave us longing for a revisit. Our first project, LEVART, was born from this sentiment because there was no service in existence that could help us achieve authentic experiences the way we wanted. The focus at the time was: What could possibly be better than experiencing a little local bar in a back alley or appreciating a tiny art gallery that would never have been featured in the popular guidebooks?

In 2016, we launched a new chatbot, named Bebot. Bebot started as a bot to warmly help travelers who visit Japan at international airports, cities, railway stations and hotels. Bebot is also deployed in airports around the world. More recently with the Coronavirus pandemic, the Bebot chatbot has emerged as the leading chatbot in the digital transformation of the Japanese government. Government agencies trust Bebot to smoothly help their citizens with permits and benefits, and they trust Bebot to help them effectively respond to earthquakes, floods, volcanoes and missiles.

We are infinitely grateful for our journey thus far. We could not have achieved any of it without the people in our community. Even our company logo and Bebot logo used today were made by one of our members who visited Japan in 2016. With this motivation, we continue to help make meaningful experiences for everyone.

Akemi Tsunagawa