I want to connect with you. With avatar. January 16 at 15:25

"Cheers!" With beer in one hand. But the toast is "Avatar". A restaurant featuring an “Avatar Clerk” who speaks with customers as the CG character moves according to the gesture of the clerk in a remote location has appeared in Tokyo.
"What kind of feeling do you have when you talk to your avatar? Is it fun in the first place?" When I interviewed him, I discovered a new possibility of connecting with people. (Takayo Nakano, Director of Image Center)

Avatar contains people from all over Japan

One day, I was drinking in Nakano, Tokyo. When I was walking along the street where restaurants were lined up, a stand bar was crowded.

But the customer is talking to the wall ...? There is a monitor on the wall and a CG character on the screen!

The introduction of the store states that you can easily talk to your avatar.

Later, when I came back for the interview, I met a regular customer who had visited many times. This man has enjoyed talking with the avatar clerk for more than 5 hours.

A regular customer "I'm nervous about being shy and talking while looking directly at my face, but I can talk casually through my avatar."

Well, is that so? I also had an avatar clerk serve customers immediately.

This is "Hakata Marco". As the name suggests, they live in Fukuoka and Hakata.

I ’m “Age…?”
Marco "Secret! But pensioners!"

The avatar moves according to Marco's light talk and gesture. When I talked, they hit each other well.

So that's it. When talking with a person who is new to you, you often think about the topic and look at the other person's complexion, but if you are a comical character, the conversation hurdle will be a little lower ... This may be a feeling that you will not understand unless you experience it.

The point of conversation with the avatar clerk is "real voice". Even though it looks like a CG, talking without changing your voice leaves the feeling of "talking to people".

I can't talk to people around me, but I want someone to ask. There were customers who consulted about such troubles, and there was a woman who shed tears after consulting about love.

Avatar × Communication

I asked the owner of this store. Yuki Takasaki (48). After working for a major advertising company, he established a venture company in 2017. Currently, we are developing communication tools using avatars to enhance people's lives using IT technology.

Yuki Takasaki: "I wanted to be a doctor when I was a student when I wanted to create a society where everyone can live healthily. I believe it is important for people to live alive and not be lonely. But as more people become socially isolated, as a social designer, I want to create opportunities for people to connect with each other. ''

It seems that this shop is also a place to verify "How much can you beat an avatar?"

Takasaki who told me that withdrawal and single-person households are increasing. Certainly, a survey published last year by the Cabinet Office revealed that the number of people with "hikikomori" between the ages of 40 and 64 reached an estimated 610,000. Some people have been withdrawing for more than 30 years, highlighting the prolonged trend.

In addition, the number of people who have difficulty in talking to someone, such as single households and the elderly living alone, is increasing.

Mr. Takasaki's wish is to propose a means of communication that eliminates barriers such as appearance and age, and to eliminate even one lonely person.

Work style reform with avatars? !

By the way, the following avatar clerk appeared on the monitor of the store.

"Usually ... I'm a fisherman in Susaki, Kochi!"

How! This is an avatar clerk who works with a fisherman. At the store, there are fish actually landed in Susaki City. It seems that she sometimes sells over-the-counter as an avatar clerk.

Customers also enjoy a conversation with fishermen who can not usually speak, using sashimi as a knob.

Ask me what you think of working as an avatar clerk.
"I can talk to customers in Tokyo even if I don't live in Tokyo, and it's so much fun to be with them, no matter how I dress!" Says Norinori.

Currently, about 40 people are registered as avatar clerks. He is between 19 and 70 years old, and his career varies from students and office workers to housewives.

I live in Tokyo, Osaka, Kochi, Fukuoka and other parts of Japan.

"I can go on a side job even after I get home from work and take makeup"
"Even if you are an elderly person or live in Fukuoka, you can enjoy customer service with people in Tokyo without worrying about the appearance."

After hearing the story of the avatar clerk, a new form of remote work became apparent.

Avatar x realizing welfare

Based on verification at Avatar Bar, the owner, Mr. Takasaki, will collaborate with a social welfare corporation in Hokkaido to encourage elderly avatars living in special elderly nursing homes to talk to the younger generation. This means that we will also provide avatar counseling at high school.

In addition, they are planning to connect elderly people and children around the country using the avatar dialogue app developed for smartphones.

If you read this article and think, "It's a lonely world to talk face-to-face directly," you might come across. However, through my interview, I had a positive impression that "new technology has the potential to make living people enjoyable and lively."

Drink as a customer at the avatar bar or become a clerk and enjoy a conversation with a stranger. Do you feel a little excited about the new form of communication?

Image center Takayo Nakano Joined in 2009 Miyazaki bureau, Fukuoka bureau, and in charge of news production at the news bureau video center

It is an extra video.
Talk with avatar. There seems to be a love consultation.