New Tourism Experience Utilizing the Avatar Robot OriHime
OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour to Launch on September 11
Addressing Social Issues such as D&I and Labor Shortages in the Tourism Industry

September 11, 2025
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
OryLab Inc.

Key Points of this Press Release

• Mitsui Fudosan and Ory Laboratory will launch a tourism guided tour in Nihonbashi on September 11 using the avatar robot OriHime.
• The initiative addresses challenges including promoting D&I, labor shortages in the tourism industry, and the growth of inbound tourism. By enabling remote hospitality, it creates employment and social participation opportunities for people with limited mobility, while also developing a new tourism resource.
• In Nihonbashi, the project will present a new model of a city where robots and people thrive together, aiming to realize Nihonbashi as an inclusive neighborhood where everyone can visit with peace of mind and play an active role.

Tokyo, Japan, September 11, 2025 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, and OryLab Inc. (hereafter “Ory Laboratory”) announced today that they will officially launch a new tourism experience utilizing the OriHime avatar robot, the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour, in the Nihonbashi area starting September 11, 2025.

OriHime is a remotely operated robot that enables a pilot (operator) to be present at a location as an avatar, allowing real-time communication with speech and gestures through the robot.

The OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour is an initiative in which a pilot operates OriHime to provide guided tours of the city. Participants share the pilot’s perspective through the OriHime robot mounted on their shoulder and, by walking and conversing together, can enjoy an immersive sightseeing experience as if they were touring the city side by side. The pilot can also provide guidance in English. OriHime has already attracted significant attention overseas, and through the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour, the project will both create a new tourism resource for inbound visitors and address the social issue of labor shortages in the tourism industry arising from the rapidly increasing demand for inbound tourism by enabling remote guidance.

In the Nihonbashi area, a spirit of mutual support dating back to the Edo period and a culture of co-creation in which companies, shops, and people respect and collaborate with one another have long been rooted. By sharing the knowledge Mitsui Fudosan has gained through neighborhood creation with Ory Laboratory, the field of OriHime’s application will expand significantly, from specific places to the Nihonbashi neighborhood as a whole. Carrying forward this culture of co-creation into the present day, Mitsui Fudosan and Ory Laboratory will work together to realize Nihonbashi as an inclusive neighborhood where everyone can visit with peace of mind and play an active role.

Scenes from the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour

OriHime Avatar Robot

About the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour

In the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour, participants carry the avatar robot OriHime on their shoulder and walk through the Nihonbashi area guided remotely by a pilot. The tour starts from the Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β operated by Ory Laboratory, with highlights including visits to landmarks such as Fukutoku Shrine and shopping at long-established specialty stores unique to Nihonbashi. By sharing the pilot’s perspective through the robot and receiving guidance enriched with conversation and gestures, participants can enjoy an experience that goes beyond ordinary sightseeing, offering both immersion and interaction.

The pilot can also guide and communicate in English. As such, the initiative can be used to serve inbound visitors, enabling smooth hospitality that transcends language barriers.

Scenes from the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour

It is said that there are 34 million people in Japan who face difficulty going out due to illness, disabilities, child-rearing, or caregiving.

Since OriHime pilots can provide guidance remotely without physical movement, even those with limited mobility are able to take on the role. Through the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour, the initiative seeks not only to create diverse employment opportunities and expand social connections—thereby contributing to the promotion of D&I—but also to address the social issue of labor shortages in the tourism industry.

Mechanism of the OriHime Avatar Robot

Neighborhood creation in Nihonbashi and Ory Laboratory

Since 2009, Ory Laboratory has been working to address the issue of loneliness among people with limited mobility by proposing avatar robots that function as “another body” and advancing research and development in communication technology. By enabling remote operation via the internet, the company has removed restrictions on mobility, made it possible to enjoy an “outing of the heart” that is unaffected by distance or physical disabilities, and opened up opportunities to take on a wide range of roles such as customer service in cafés and physical work—tasks that were difficult with conventional telework.

Mitsui Fudosan, meanwhile, has been promoting the Nihonbashi Revitalization Plan, to bring together public and private sector participants and the local community in neighborhood creation in the Nihonbashi area, the birthplace of the Company. Based on the principles of empathy, co-creation, and co-discovery, the Company collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders to realize an inclusive neighborhood where everyone can visit with peace of mind and play an active role, and it is implementing a variety of initiatives toward this goal.

Within this context, Mitsui Fudosan, empathizing with Ory Laboratory’s corporate philosophy of “solving human loneliness,” has supported the company since 2021 by providing its headquarters in the Nihonbashi Life Science Building 3 and the opening of the Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β, thereby helping promote social participation for people who face difficulties going out or working.

By applying the neighborhood creation expertise Mitsui Fudosan has accumulated to the OriHime Nihonbashi Guided Tour, the scope of OriHime’s use will expand dramatically—from specific indoor venues such as restaurants and shops to the Nihonbashi neighborhood as a whole. This initiative will create further opportunities for OriHime’s use, enhance public recognition, and present from Nihonbashi a new model of a city where robots and people thrive together. Moreover, with the number of inbound visitors to Japan expected to reach 60 million by 2030, the project also aims to establish a new tourism resource for these visitors.

Scenes from the Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β

■About Ory Laboratory

With the philosophy of “solving human loneliness,” Ory Laboratory researches, develops, and provides services that expand the options available to people with limited mobility, who face difficulty going out due to reasons such as disabilities, illness, caregiving, or child-rearing.

Services offered:

• OriHime, an avatar robot that, while remotely operated, allows the user to share a real sense of presence at a location.
• OriHime-D, an avatar robot that enables physical participation in society through telework.
• OriHime eye+Switch, a communication device that allows people with severe disabilities to communicate using only minimal movements such as those of the eyes or fingertips.
• Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β, where people with limited mobility can work as “pilots,” remotely operating OriHime and OriHime-D to take orders, serve food, and converse with customers.
• FLEMEE, a job placement service specializing in telework for people with disabilities.

For more information, please visit the official website of Ory Laboratory: https://orylab.com/en/

■Reference Information: Overview of Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β

■ Sustainability in the Mitsui Fudosan Group

Based on the meaning of its “& mark,” “to generate new value with society through cooperation, coexistence and co-creation, we forge ahead, innovating,” the Mitsui Fudosan Group views the “creation of social value” and the “creation of economic value” as two wheels of a cart. Accordingly, we believe that the creation of social value leads to the creation of economic value, and that this economic value then creates even greater social value.

Moreover, we identified six Group Materiality priority issues when formulating our new management philosophy in April 2024. These Group Materiality priority issues are (1) Contribute to industrial competitiveness, (2) Coexist with the environment, (3) Health and Vitality, (4) Safety and security, (5) Diversity and inclusion, and (6) Compliance and governance. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will work to address each of the materialities through its core business activities and contribute to the promotion of sustainability.

(References)
・ Group Management Philosophy and Long-Term Vision
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/innovation2030/
・ Group Materiality
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/esg_csr/approach/materiality/