What Chihounomikata does

Chihounomikata (地方のミカタ) is a Tokyo-headquartered community and recruitment platform that helps regional Japanese students overcome the financial, informational, and physical barriers of job-hunting in Tokyo, structured as a portfolio of integrated services including subsidized sharehouse accommodation (23 properties, 304 rooms via a Smart Campus partnership), a physical and online career-counseling cafe, a bidirectional direct recruitment marketplace capped at 100 corporate clients serving approximately 5,000 active students, an OBOG alumni visit service, an internship aggregation portal, and a mobile app with IOT sharehouse integration. The company makes money through per-hire placement fees starting at 300,000 yen, Mikata Point redemption tied to corporate scout messages, sharehouse subscription fees, and corporate professional services; the underlying technology is a web platform plus iOS/Android app, IOT sharehouse sensors, and a planned cryptocurrency (Mikata Coin) loyalty layer. Following the April 28, 2020 transfer of operations to JAIC Corporation (株式会社ジェイック, founded 1991, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange), corporate sales, recruitment contracts, and operational infrastructure now sit under JAIC, while 地方のミカタ continues to operate the student-facing community and platform. The service is targeted at regional university students (98%+ of registered users originate outside Tokyo) who face average job-hunting costs of 260,000 yen versus a national average of 80,000 yen, and at companies seeking motivated regional talent with reduced event/travel costs.

Name

Chihounomikata

Legal name

株式会社地方のミカタ (Chihounomikata Inc.)

Website

https://chihounomikata.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Chihounomikata is a Tokyo-based platform serving regional Japanese university students job-hunting in Tokyo via subsidized sharehouse accommodation, a physical/online career-counseling cafe, and a bidirectional direct-recruitment marketplace capped at 100 corporate clients, now operated under JAIC Corporation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)

Keywords

• Student recruitment platform
• Graduate employment services
• Regional talent matching
• Shared student housing
• Career counseling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Recruitment placement fees: Companies pay per hire for direct recruitment matching services. Fee structure starts at 300,000 yen per successful placement. The platform limits access to 100 companies to maintain quality of matches per employer.
2. Sharehouse accommodation fees: Discounted sharehouse accommodation for job-hunting students in Tokyo. Properties managed in partnership with Smart Campus across 23 properties with 304 rooms. Free stay plans offered for up to 7 days as promotional entry points.
3. Career counseling and professional services: Online and in-person career counseling sessions, OBOG visit coordination services, and internship matching provided free to students, with corporate partners bearing costs.
4. Mikata Point redemption: Companies purchase Mikata Points to attach to scout messages for student engagement. Points can be redeemed by students for gift tickets and daily necessities, creating a closed-loop incentive economy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Chihounomikata operates a two-way direct recruiting service connecting rural Japanese students with Tokyo-based companies seeking to hire them. The company bundles a bidirectional recruitment platform with subsidized Tokyo sharehouse accommodation (23 properties / 304 rooms), a physical and online job-hunting cafe, alumni (OB/OG) visit booking, and free career counseling — addressing the financial, information, and physical barriers faced by regional students job-hunting in Tokyo. Corporate clients pay per-hire recruitment fees (starting at 300,000 yen) with platform access capped at 100 companies, while student-facing services are provided free or at heavily subsidized rates.

Product overview

Chihounomikata is a multi-service platform supporting rural Japanese students with Tokyo-based job hunting, structured as a portfolio of interconnected services addressing financial, information, and physical barriers. The core offering consists of three main pillars: (1) 就活シェアハウス (Shukatsu Share House) — low-cost shared accommodation in Tokyo; (2) 就活カフェ (Shukatsu Cafe) — a physical and online cafe with free power/WiFi for in-person and remote career consultations; and (3) 地方のミカタキャリア (Mikata Career) — a bidirectional direct recruitment platform connecting companies with 5,000+ registered rural students. Supporting services include the OBOG訪問 alumni mentorship portal, a dedicated internship aggregation site with Skype interview listings, a mobile app for IoT share house residents, and the 地方的ミカタ news portal. The company has also launched health-support and cryptocurrency initiatives (健康のミカタ and ミカタコイン respectively), and a social-impact mineral water project called LIFE. The service is operated by 株式会社地方のミカタ (a subsidiary of 株式会社ジェイック, established May 2014, headquarters Shinjuku, Tokyo).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LIFE: A project combining regional revitalization and animal welfare, where purchasing mineral water products donates one meal for pets per bottle purchased.

Products and services

• Chihounomikata Career (地方のミカタ キャリア) Bidirectional direct recruitment platform connecting companies directly with regional Japanese students job-hunting in Tokyo. Companies send scout messages (with attached Mikata Points) to ~5,000 registered students. Platform access is capped at 100 companies to maintain quality of matches. Corporate clients pay per-hire fees starting at 300,000 yen.
• Chihounomikata Job Hunting Cafe (地方のミカタ 就活カフェ) Physical cafe in Shinjuku, Tokyo providing free power outlets and Wi-Fi as a base for regional students conducting job-hunting activities in Tokyo. Also serves as a venue for in-person career counseling. Operations temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 impact.
• Online Job Hunting Cafe (オンライン就活カフェ) Free online consultation service for job-hunting students in rural areas, offering remote career counseling via online platforms as an extension of the physical Job Hunting Cafe. Launched in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Job Hunting Sharehouse (就活シェアハウス) Low-cost shared housing in Tokyo for rural students conducting job hunting, providing 'good morning' and 'welcome back' community atmosphere to reduce the financial burden of Tokyo-based recruitment activities. 23 properties with 304 rooms operated in partnership with Smart Campus; 7-day free promotional stays offered.
• OBOG Visit Service (地方のミカタ OBOG訪問) Alumni networking service connecting current rural students with senior alumni (OB/OG) from the same hometown working in Tokyo, enabling direct mentorship, career guidance, and informational interviews.
• Health Mikata (健康のミカタ) Mental health and return-to-work support service targeting corporate employees. Offers Touch Care Communication consulting (foot massage combined with sympathetic nerve stimulation and listening-based counseling) and a health management community for HR professionals. Consultants provided by Pay Forward Inc.
• Internship Aggregation Site (地方のミカタ インターンシップまとめサイト) Internship aggregation portal listing companies actively recruiting rural students. Includes features such as Skype interview support, accommodation and transportation subsidies, and online counseling.
• Skype Interview Platform (Skype面接.com) Listing platform of companies offering Skype-based interviews for rural students, reducing travel costs and the physical burden of Tokyo-based recruitment activities. Developed in partnership with the NPO Online Interview Promotion Association.
• Chihounomikata Mobile App (地方のミカタアプリ) Mobile application for IOT-equipped sharehouse residents featuring rent deadline notifications, job-hunting event notifications, point earning through reviews and surveys, part-time job matching, and chat-based housing support. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98%+ of platform users are regional (non-Tokyo) students
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• 株式会社ジェイック (JAIC Corporation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2020JAIC Corporation became the operating company of 地方のミカタ services as of April 28, 2020. JAIC is a human resources and education services company founded in 1991, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. JAIC provides the operational infrastructure, sales team, and corporate client relationships that power the 地方のミカタ recruitment platform. Parent company manages all corporate inquiries and recruitment service contracts.
• 株式会社スマートキャンパス (Smart Campus Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2018Strategic partnership for IOT-enabled sharehouse management and co-development of the Chihounomikata app. Smart Campus operates 23 properties with 304 rooms in Tokyo under the Smart Campus House brand. The partnership provides subsidized accommodation for job-hunting students and integrates IOT facility management with the Chihounomikata mobile app for rent notifications, maintenance requests, and community features.
• ペイフォワード株式会社 (Pay Forward Co., Ltd.)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2018Pay Forward provides consultants trained in Touch Care Communication (touch-based mental health support combining foot massage and counseling) for the 'Kenkou no Mikata' (Health's Mikata) service. This service addresses employee retention and return-to-work support for companies, targeting mental health-related turnover prevention.
• 特定非営利活動法人オンライン面接普及推進協会 (NPO Online Interview Promotion Association)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2017Partnership to provide online career counseling for regional students using the Online Interview Room system. The platform enables students to have video-based career counseling sessions with HR professionals without traveling to Tokyo. The system uses one-time passwords for enhanced privacy and requires no app installation.
• MIJS (Made In Japan Software & Service) ConsortiumsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-organized 'Japan's Fastest Joint Company Information Session 2019' with MIJS, a consortium of Japan's leading IT companies. Delivered virtual company information sessions to regional students across Japan, enabling equal access to Tokyo company information regardless of location. The partnership was repeated for the second consecutive year.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wantedly, Inc. Japanese bidirectional direct-recruiting platform where companies send scout messages to candidates, structurally analogous to Chihounomikata's Mikata Career. Targets job seekers with company-driven outreach, though focused more on tech/creative talent than regional new graduates.
• BizReach, Inc. Major Japanese direct-recruiting and headhunting platform. Comparable as a bidirectional matching platform connecting employers with candidates, though it skews toward experienced professionals rather than regional new graduates.
• Mynavi Corporation: Japan's largest new-graduate (新卒) recruitment and job media company. Directly comparable to Chihounomikata's core new-graduate regional recruitment offering, with much broader scale across major Japanese employers.
• en Japan Inc. Japanese recruitment agency operating across permanent placement and new-graduate hiring. Comparable business model with mid-career and new-graduate focus, with strong employer relationships across Japanese corporates.

Emerging players

• Givery, Inc. Japanese HR-tech company offering referral-based recruiting and direct-matching tools. Comparable emerging competitor in direct-recruiting technology with narrower enterprise focus.

Others

• JAIC Corporation: Parent operating company since April 2020 and Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed HR/education services firm. Provides enterprise sales infrastructure and corporate client relationships; not a direct competitor but a strategic controlling party.
• Smart Campus Co., Ltd. Strategic partner operating the 23-property, 304-room IoT-enabled sharehouse portfolio that underpins Chihounomikata's accommodation pillar. Provides enabling infrastructure rather than competing for the same end customer.

Broad incumbents

• Indeed (Japan operations): Global job-search engine with major Japan operations. Competes broadly in the recruitment space, including new-graduate job listings, but does not specialize in regional student support or bidirectional direct recruiting.
• LinkedIn (Japan): Global professional network with a Japan presence. Competes in direct-recruiting and talent matching, particularly for experienced hires; overlaps less on new-graduate regional recruitment.
• Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Japan's largest HR/staffing conglomerate operating Indeed, Rikunabi, and Staffmark. Parent of the dominant new-graduate recruitment media (Rikunabi) and a broad incumbent competitor across all of Chihounomikata's service lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chihounomikata
• Facebookfacebook.com/地方のミカタ-就活シェアハウス就活カフェキャリア-470800382968953

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Chihounomikata