What Mikey does

Mikey Corporation (株式会社マイキー) is a privately-held Japanese "Think and Do Tank" founded in 2013 by Representative Director Takuhiro Kusumi and headquartered in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture. The company designs and implements community revitalization projects, with a primary methodology of using its own neighborhood of Nishi-Chiba as a living laboratory for placemaking experiments. Its portfolio of in-house experimental projects includes HELLO GARDEN (an experimental public square launched in 2014), Nishi-Chiba Workshop (a community maker space with 3,500+ users offering woodworking, sewing, electronics, and digital fabrication tools), Tunnel Library (a micro-library), and Children's Creative Room (an educational initiative discontinued at end of FY2024).

The company's core service offering is project production and consulting for external clients, spanning survey and research, concept planning, project management, tangible (physical space) and intangible (programs, content) design, art direction, human resource development, and PR support. Client engagements span local governments (Asahi City, Sumida-ku), real estate developers (Nomura Real Estate Holdings), housing corporations (Japan General Housing Corporation), and major corporates (ZOZO Inc.). Mikey generates revenue through professional services fees on these consulting projects, supplemented by recurring membership and workshop fees from Nishi-Chiba Workshop operations.

Mikey employs only 4 named full-time staff, supplemented by approximately 10 part-time workers, ~40 local staff/partners, and ~100 volunteers supporting project work. The company has earned six notable design and community awards between 2016 and 2021, including the Good Design Award (2016) and Good Design Award Best 100 (2018), establishing reputational credibility in the Japanese placemaking space. Operations are concentrated in the Kanto region of Japan, with no disclosed outside funding.

Name

Mikey

Legal name

株式会社マイキー

Website

https://mikey-inc.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Mikey is a Japanese community design firm that uses its Nishi-Chiba neighborhood as a living laboratory for placemaking experiments, providing consulting and project production services to municipalities, real estate developers, and corporations on community revitalization initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Placemaking Services

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Community placemaking services
• Placemaking consulting
• Community revitalization
• Urban design consulting
• Maker space operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Chiba

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Project Production and Consulting: Mikey generates revenue through project production and consulting services for community revitalization, including survey and research, concept planning, project management, and designing work across both tangible (physical spaces) and intangible (programs, content) domains. They also earn from art direction and creative production work, as well as space and store planning and operation.
2. Space and Facility Operation: Operating owned or affiliated community spaces such as the Nishi-Chiba Workshop (community maker space) generates revenue through membership fees, workshop fees, and facility usage charges. The workshop has over 3,500 users.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mikey is a "Think and Do Tank" that designs, produces, and operates community development projects for municipalities, real estate developers, housing corporations, and community organizations. Services span the full project lifecycle — research, concept planning, project management, space and store planning, content development, art direction, human resource development, and PR support — for both tangible (physical spaces) and intangible (programs, content) deliverables. The firm also runs its own experimental hometown projects in Nishi-Chiba, including HELLO GARDEN, Nishi-Chiba Workshop, and Tunnel Library, which double as living laboratories and community engagement venues.

Product overview

Mikey is a 'Think and Do Tank' that designs and practices projects to improve communities and people's daily lives. The company operates a portfolio of experimental projects from its hometown of Nishi-Chiba, including: HELLO GARDEN (an experimental square for discovering new ways of living), Nishi-Chiba Workshop (a community workshop for sharing tools, space, ideas, and skills for craftsmanship), Children's Creative Room (a children's creativity education space, ended in 2024), and Tunnel Library (a private micro-library). Mikey also provides client project services including research, project production, consulting, space planning, content development, art direction, and PR support for community development initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HELLO GARDEN: An experimental square in the community where local residents can discover new ways of living, launched in spring 2014.
• 西千葉工作室 (Nishi-Chiba Workshop)
• トンネル図書館 (Tunnel Library)
• 子ども創造室 (Children's Creative Room)

Products and services

• HELLO GARDEN Experimental public square in the Nishi-Chiba community where local residents can discover new ways of living. The space serves as a platform for relaxation, entertainment, commerce, and expression, supports people in realizing their ideas, and operates as a media outlet proposing new values and questions about daily life.
• Nishi-Chiba Workshop (西千葉工作室) Community workshop in Nishi-Chiba providing shared access to tools, space, ideas, and skills for craftsmanship, including woodworking, sewing, electronics, and digital fabrication (3D printers, laser cutting machines). Served by over 3,500 users, it enables people to update their lives by making, fixing, and remaking things.
• Tunnel Library (トンネル図書館) Small private library in Nishi-Chiba where books owned by Mikey as research materials are opened to the public and lent to the community. It functions as a communication tool to share and learn about interests and as an experiment in micro-libraries in response to the declining number of bookstores and public libraries.
• Client Project Services Project production and consulting services for community revitalization, including research and study, concept planning, project management, space and store planning and operation, content development, art direction and creative production, human resource development and education, and PR/media partnership support. Delivered to municipalities, real estate developers, housing corporations, and community organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,500 users have incorporated 'making of things' into their daily lives at Nishi-Chiba Workshop
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AEON TOWN Co., Ltd. (イオンタウン株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEON TOWN was the planning and project management partner for the Ohisama Terrace Craft Room project in Asahi City, Chiba Prefecture. Mikey worked alongside AEON TOWN to produce the crafting space within this public multigenerational facility.
• Ribita Corporation (株式会社リビタ)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRibita provided operational support for the Ohisama Terrace Craft Room project. The company specializes in repurposing and managing real estate for community-oriented uses.
• Snow Peak, Inc. (株式会社スノーピーク)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSnow Peak cooperated with the ZOZO's Plaza project, providing expertise in outdoor and lifestyle products that aligned with the project's community-oriented vision.
• ON Design Partners (オンデザインパートners)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerON Design Partners served as project management, space design, and planning/operation partner for the Kichijitsu School and JS×Inage Kaigan projects. Mikey collaborated with them across concept-making and operational advice while ON Design handled the physical space design and project management.
• Chiba University (千葉大学)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChiba University, through Professor Takeshi Ueno (Emeritus) and the Suzuki Laboratory, is an academic partner in UDC Sumida. The university and Sumida Ward collaborated to launch the Urban Design Center Sumida, with Mikey supporting the organization's formation and activities.
• Sustainable Smart City Partner Program (digital-is-green.jp)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMikey's Nishi-Chiba community development work is featured in the Sustainable Smart City Partner Program on digital-is-green.jp, a platform showcasing human-centered community initiatives.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gehl Architects: Copenhagen-based urban design consultancy applying people-centered research and design to public spaces. Comparable to Mikey's research-plus-practice model that translates community insight into tangible placemaking projects.
• Project for Public Spaces (PPS): Global nonprofit dedicated to placemaking and community-based public space activation. Highly comparable to Mikey's mission of turning community spaces into living, resident-driven venues for civic life.
• Field Operations: Landscape architecture and urban design firm known for community-driven public space masterplans. Comparable to Mikey's blend of research, stakeholder engagement, and tangible community space design.
• SCAPE Landscape Architecture: US-based landscape architecture and urban design studio that integrates research, planning, and built work for public realm projects. Comparable consulting-plus-project delivery model applied to community spaces.
• greenz (People Design Lab): Japanese sustainability and community-design media and consulting platform. Comparable as a Japanese organization translating community-engagement and social-design thinking into practice and content.
• Studio-L: Japanese community design firm focused on citizen-led town planning and social design. Closely parallels Mikey's 'Think and Do Tank' approach and municipality/developer client base in Japan.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design consultancy with a social innovation practice that engages communities and municipalities on placemaking and civic challenges. A broader incumbent with overlapping service categories but a much wider portfolio.
• Hassell: International architecture and design firm with urban design and public space practices. Comparable in design-led community and public-realm work, but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Mori Building Co. Major Japanese urban developer (e.g., Hills series) with internal placemaking and community-engagement functions. Overlaps with Mikey's developer client base and community-integration methodology, but from the developer/owner side.
• Toyo Ito & Associates: Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architecture practice with significant public and community-space work. Overlaps with Mikey's space planning and design services but at a fundamentally different scale and architectural breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mikey