Turning the City into a Story with AI x Smart Glasses: 'Local Lens AR' Trial Conducted for a New Tourism Experience Unraveling Harajuku
Tokyu Land SC Management, STYLY, and XREAL conducted a proof-of-concept trial of the 'Local Lens AR' tourism guide using smart glasses at Harakado.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: March 30, 2026 at 22:56 (3h 56m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 05:39 (582h 43m after Collected)
Tokyu Land SC Management Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Jiro Okubo; hereinafter "Tokyu Land SC Management") and STYLY, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Masahiro Yamaguchi; hereinafter "STYLY"), in cooperation with XREAL, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Chi Xu; hereinafter "XREAL"), conducted a demonstration experiment of the AR tourism guidance solution "Local Lens AR" utilizing smart glasses for four days from March 19 to 22, 2026, inside Tokyu Plaza Harajuku "Harakado".
This demonstration was conducted with the aim of not only allowing visitors to experience the deep charm of Japan, such as the culture and history of the city in AR through multilingual guides powered by AI and AR, but also simultaneously solving the "language barrier" faced by inbound foreign tourists. In the questionnaire, users reported that they felt a greater sense of immersion than traditional smartphone-based guides while simultaneously overcoming "lack of guidance" and the "language barrier," and evaluated that they could understand the city's history and culture in a new way, thereby verifying future business potential.
■ Background of the Demonstration
With the evolution of XR*1 devices such as smart glasses and the rapid spread of generative AI, interest in experiences connecting real space and digital is growing further, marking a major turning point in how information is presented in cities. On the other hand, along with the increase in foreign tourists visiting Japan, challenges such as "lack of guidance" including multilingual support where signs and notices do not convey enough information, the "language barrier," and safety issues caused by moving while looking at smartphones still exist.
Harajuku is an urban tourism hub gathering diverse visitors from Japan and abroad, making it an optimal environment to verify the social implementation of new tourism experiences. In this project, we explore the potential to fundamentally change the quality of the city walking experience through AR tourism guidance where information can be received without lowering one's gaze.
*1 XR: A collective term for VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality)
■ About "Local Lens AR"
"Local Lens AR" is a next-generation tourism solution themed around local information, allowing users to experience regional culture and history in AR with a sensation surpassing map apps. Simply by wearing smart glasses, it overlays the past appearance of Harajuku with the modern cityscape, explaining historical backgrounds and cultural significance in real-time, and intuitively presents spatial information unique to AR, such as recommended stores and menu displays inside the facility.
■ Providing the Origins and Cultural Background of Harajuku in Cooperation with Local Media "OMOHARAREAL"
In this demonstration, the real-world views projected through the smart glasses...
This demonstration was conducted with the aim of not only allowing visitors to experience the deep charm of Japan, such as the culture and history of the city in AR through multilingual guides powered by AI and AR, but also simultaneously solving the "language barrier" faced by inbound foreign tourists. In the questionnaire, users reported that they felt a greater sense of immersion than traditional smartphone-based guides while simultaneously overcoming "lack of guidance" and the "language barrier," and evaluated that they could understand the city's history and culture in a new way, thereby verifying future business potential.
■ Background of the Demonstration
With the evolution of XR*1 devices such as smart glasses and the rapid spread of generative AI, interest in experiences connecting real space and digital is growing further, marking a major turning point in how information is presented in cities. On the other hand, along with the increase in foreign tourists visiting Japan, challenges such as "lack of guidance" including multilingual support where signs and notices do not convey enough information, the "language barrier," and safety issues caused by moving while looking at smartphones still exist.
Harajuku is an urban tourism hub gathering diverse visitors from Japan and abroad, making it an optimal environment to verify the social implementation of new tourism experiences. In this project, we explore the potential to fundamentally change the quality of the city walking experience through AR tourism guidance where information can be received without lowering one's gaze.
*1 XR: A collective term for VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality)
■ About "Local Lens AR"
"Local Lens AR" is a next-generation tourism solution themed around local information, allowing users to experience regional culture and history in AR with a sensation surpassing map apps. Simply by wearing smart glasses, it overlays the past appearance of Harajuku with the modern cityscape, explaining historical backgrounds and cultural significance in real-time, and intuitively presents spatial information unique to AR, such as recommended stores and menu displays inside the facility.
■ Providing the Origins and Cultural Background of Harajuku in Cooperation with Local Media "OMOHARAREAL"
In this demonstration, the real-world views projected through the smart glasses...