Transforming Philosophy into IP: Moe Murakami's PICNIC MOTEL Wins Excellence Award at Tokyo-Sponsored IP Business Contest
Moe Murakami's lifestyle brand "PICNIC MOTEL" has won an Excellence Award at the "TCIC IP INNOVATION AWARD 2025" organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The brand develops its "philosophy of living" as intellectual property, expanding its worldview through accommodation facilities and product development.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 17:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 00:02 (6h 32m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 06:43 (6h 41m after Collected)
Garten Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Moe Murakami)'s lifestyle brand "PICNIC MOTEL," through its affiliated company Picnic Studio LLC, has received an Excellence Award at the "TCIC IP INNOVATION AWARD (TIIA) 2025" organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
In recent years, as expectations for the content industry to drive Japan's economic growth accelerate, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held this program to support startups aiming for growth with business ideas based on unique IP. Among various new business ideas utilizing intellectual property (IP) such as anime, games, XR, AI, and lifestyle brands, "PICNIC MOTEL" presented a structure for IP development starting from a "philosophy of living," expanding into spaces, experiences, and products. Its originality was highly evaluated, leading to the IP Business Domain Award, an Excellence Award.
Leveraging this award, we will proceed with preparations for opening an experiential accommodation facility, and further expand the world of PICNIC MOTEL through licensing and product development.
What is PICNIC MOTEL?
PICNIC MOTEL is a lifestyle brand based on the philosophy of "making everyday life a movie, and living a picnic." By expanding into providing experiences as accommodation facilities, licensing for housing and spaces, and developing products and content, it develops its philosophy as IP. It proposes "living itself" as a business, traversing different domains of experience, scale, and revenue, all under a consistent worldview.
IP Business Model
PICNIC MOTEL Brand Site: https://picnicmotel.gar-ten.com/
Experiential Base "PICNIC MOTEL #slowmorning" Scheduled to Open in Yamanakako in 2027
(Image material)
Preparations are underway to open a single-unit rental accommodation where guests can experience the philosophy of PICNIC MOTEL, located in the Yamanakako Hirano area, approximately 90 minutes from central Tokyo.
It aims to be a place like "another home" that guests want to return to every season, rather than a large villa.
Furthermore, in collaboration with local businesses, we will offer a quiet, unhurried stay experience that focuses on "how to savor time as an extension of everyday life," rather than special productions. This includes enjoying mornings by the lake and incorporating plants grown in the garden and forest into meals, embracing the local nature and way of life.
Product and Licensing Development
Projects underway include "PICNIC MOTEL House Project," a standardized housing project in collaboration with housing brand Dolive, and the development of loungewear based on the concept of "one hour of undisturbed morning" in collaboration with UNITO, an organic cotton brand operated by textile trading company Yagi.
About TCIC IP INNOVATION AWARD (TIIA) 2025 Final Selection Committee
・Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026
・Format: In-person event
・Venue: Tokyo Innovation Base 2F STAGE (3-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005)
・Details: https://tcic.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/event/1244/
Comment from Moe Murakami, Representative Director of Garten Co., Ltd.
"Through 12 years of operating magazines and web magazines as media, I have realized that even with a strong worldview and passionate fans, a weak business model cannot sustain itself. I want to prove with this challenge that instead of relying solely on client work, we can treat the 'philosophy' at the heart of media as IP and develop new businesses around it. I am extremely pleased that this approach itself was recognized with the Excellence Award at the 'TCIC IP INNOVATION AWARD (TIIA) 2025.' I will continue to take on challenges with confidence."
■ About Garten Co., Ltd. and NEXTWEEKEND
With "Life is a Picnic" as its motto, the company develops its own brands and communication design businesses that maximize the emotional value of client brands. It is a lifestyle production company that consistently designs the "story" through which consumers come to love a brand, from concept planning to spatial design, and planning/production of online and offline communication content.
■ Company Overview
Company Name: Garten Co., Ltd.
Location: Rosa Bianca 105, 3-42-11 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director
Keywords:
In recent years, as expectations for the content industry to drive Japan's economic growth accelerate, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held this program to support startups aiming for growth with business ideas based on unique IP. Among various new business ideas utilizing intellectual property (IP) such as anime, games, XR, AI, and lifestyle brands, "PICNIC MOTEL" presented a structure for IP development starting from a "philosophy of living," expanding into spaces, experiences, and products. Its originality was highly evaluated, leading to the IP Business Domain Award, an Excellence Award.
Leveraging this award, we will proceed with preparations for opening an experiential accommodation facility, and further expand the world of PICNIC MOTEL through licensing and product development.
What is PICNIC MOTEL?
PICNIC MOTEL is a lifestyle brand based on the philosophy of "making everyday life a movie, and living a picnic." By expanding into providing experiences as accommodation facilities, licensing for housing and spaces, and developing products and content, it develops its philosophy as IP. It proposes "living itself" as a business, traversing different domains of experience, scale, and revenue, all under a consistent worldview.
IP Business Model
PICNIC MOTEL Brand Site: https://picnicmotel.gar-ten.com/
Experiential Base "PICNIC MOTEL #slowmorning" Scheduled to Open in Yamanakako in 2027
(Image material)
Preparations are underway to open a single-unit rental accommodation where guests can experience the philosophy of PICNIC MOTEL, located in the Yamanakako Hirano area, approximately 90 minutes from central Tokyo.
It aims to be a place like "another home" that guests want to return to every season, rather than a large villa.
Furthermore, in collaboration with local businesses, we will offer a quiet, unhurried stay experience that focuses on "how to savor time as an extension of everyday life," rather than special productions. This includes enjoying mornings by the lake and incorporating plants grown in the garden and forest into meals, embracing the local nature and way of life.
Product and Licensing Development
Projects underway include "PICNIC MOTEL House Project," a standardized housing project in collaboration with housing brand Dolive, and the development of loungewear based on the concept of "one hour of undisturbed morning" in collaboration with UNITO, an organic cotton brand operated by textile trading company Yagi.
About TCIC IP INNOVATION AWARD (TIIA) 2025 Final Selection Committee
・Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026
・Format: In-person event
・Venue: Tokyo Innovation Base 2F STAGE (3-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005)
・Details: https://tcic.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/event/1244/
Comment from Moe Murakami, Representative Director of Garten Co., Ltd.
"Through 12 years of operating magazines and web magazines as media, I have realized that even with a strong worldview and passionate fans, a weak business model cannot sustain itself. I want to prove with this challenge that instead of relying solely on client work, we can treat the 'philosophy' at the heart of media as IP and develop new businesses around it. I am extremely pleased that this approach itself was recognized with the Excellence Award at the 'TCIC IP INNOVATION AWARD (TIIA) 2025.' I will continue to take on challenges with confidence."
■ About Garten Co., Ltd. and NEXTWEEKEND
With "Life is a Picnic" as its motto, the company develops its own brands and communication design businesses that maximize the emotional value of client brands. It is a lifestyle production company that consistently designs the "story" through which consumers come to love a brand, from concept planning to spatial design, and planning/production of online and offline communication content.
■ Company Overview
Company Name: Garten Co., Ltd.
Location: Rosa Bianca 105, 3-42-11 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director
Keywords: