Toward the Deaflympics, will open “Miru Cafe”, a Cafe That Visualizes Sound with Digital Technology, Planned and Operated by University Students From Thursday, February 6 to Friday, 14 at CAFE3 in Showa Women’s University
The concept cafe “Miru Cafe”, which uses digital technologies to make spoken languages, etc. visible so that anyone can connect, regardless of whether they can hear or not, opened in Harajuku in November 2023 and attracted approximately 4,500 visitors over 12 days.
This time, hearing and hearing-impaired university students will collaborate as the “Miru Cafe Executive Committee” to plan and operate the cafe, and will open “Miru Cafe” for a limited time from Thursday, February 6 to Friday, 14 at “CAFE3” of Showa Women’s University.
We look forward to welcoming you.
1. Overview of the Event
■ Period: Thursday, February 6 to Friday, February 14, 2025
■ Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
■ Location: “CAFE3”, 1F, Bldg. 3, Showa Women's University 1-7-57 Taishido, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-8533, Japan
*Please receive a pass from staff at the university Main Gate before entering the campus. Entering or leaving the grounds or buildings on the university campus for any purpose other than visiting “Miru Cafe” is strictly prohibited.
2. “Miru Cafe”
The “Miru Cafe” is a concept cafe that aims to create an environment where everyone can communicate comfortably, regardless of whether they can hear or cannot, by using technologies that converts speech and other languages into text and makes it “visible”, and to promote understanding of a symbiotic society through this experience. This time, the cafe will be organized and operated by the student members of the International Sign Language Promotion Project, Showa Women's University and deaf and hearing-impaired university students from the National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology.
At the cafe, visitors can interact with store staff, including university students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and members of the Miru Cafe Working Group by using digital technology for ordering and communicating with staff. Visitors can experience a variety of technologies that will lead to the realization of a symbiotic society, such as technology that can display content entered by voice or keyboard on a transparent display, technology that converts sign language into text, and digital technology that converts vibrations into sound and light.
Additionally, other exhibits in the store include the latest work by Hidehiko Kado*, who creates pop art based on sign language motifs under the concept of “TALKING HANDS". The store will also be showcasing footage from past Deaflympics, a tactile deaf emblem monument, and a display of sign language picture books, providing multifaceted information to encourage people to experience the world of the deaf.
*Hidehiko Kado: Born to deaf parents, he began drawing pictures from early childhood to express feelings that could not be conveyed through spoken or signed language. He has produced many sign language art pieces using sign language as a motif, and is involved in a wide range of activities, including animation, confectionery packages, restaurant interior art, and hotel room production.
3. Background of the Event
The holding of this event was triggered by the activities of 13 university students of the International Sign Promotion Project, Showa Women's University (certified by the Institute of Current Business Studies of the University) launched in April 2024. The project members are learning sign language and working to face the future advancement of a symbiotic society in Japan. The “Miru Cafe” was initiated by these students, together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, with the hope of spreading awareness of the importance and fun of communication using both spoken and signed languages.
During about three months of planning and consideration, we collaborated with deaf and hard-of-hearing university students from the National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology, who actually served customers at the “Miru Cafe” in Harajuku, to consider the operation, customer service, exhibits, posters, etc.
The State of the Miru Cafe Working Group
■ Menu
The following menus, created by members of the Miru Cafe Working Group, will be available for a limited time only. We also offer the regular "CAFE3" menu items such as coffee, tea, and lattes are also available. (All items are limited in number due to their limited availability. Please understand if they are sold out before the end of the period.)
*The photos are for illustrative purposes. |
Product name: Miru Cafe Special
Product description: A limited-time product that can only be found at Miru Cafe, a cocoa drink topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and "I LOVE YOU" cookie that expressed by International Sign! You can choose iced or hot cocoa. The "I LOVE YOU" cookie can also be purchased separately. Even in winter, you may feel warm just like the words “I LOVE YOU”.
Product name: “Friends” Cookies
Product description: Original cookies exclusive to "Miru Cafe" that are shaped like the sign for "friends" in Japanese sign language. If you purchase two or more cookies, you will receive a limited special gift! Please check the sticker on the back of the cookie package. If the “Sign” on the sticker of two or more cookies is the same, you will receive a free "I LOVE YOU" cookie! The limited special gift will end as soon as it runs out, so please purchase it early!
Product name: “Drawing” Cookies
Product description: This product is a set of 7cm round cookies and a chocolate pen for decorating. Why don't you draw your own original and personal design on the cookies with a chocolate pen, such as sign language words? They are also perfect as a Valentine's gift. The cookies you designed will be sold with a bag so you can take them home. The Working Group members will also prepare design patterns. Those who draw illustrations on the cookies will receive Deaflympics goods as a gift! Please show your illustrations to the Miru Cafe Working Group members!
4 Digital Technologies You can Experience in the Cafe
VoiceBiz® UCDisplay®(TOPPAN Inc.)
Enables face-to-face communication by displaying what is entered by voice or keyboard on a transparent display. Multilingual translation is also possible (other transparent displays by KYOCERA Document Solutions Japan Inc., Pixie Dust Technologies Inc. and KONICA MINOLTA, INC.)
Tablet (Conversation App)(TOPPAN Inc.)
In addition to converting voice to text on a smartphone or tablet, it also supports multilingual translation.
(Also uses apps provided by FEAT Limited)
SureTalk(The University of Electro-Communications, SoftBank Corp.)
Converts sign language and speech into text in real time
Ekimatopeia(Fujitsu Limited)
Sounds of approaching trains, etc. are displayed in onomatopoeia
SOUND HUG(Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc.)
ISeee TimeLine(National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology)
Hapbeat(Hapbeat LLC)
A device that converts sounds such as competition sounds and the cheers from spectators into vibrations, allowing users to “feel” the direction, strength, and rhythm of the sound with their bodies.
CONTACT & INQUIRIES
Email: S1120908@section.metro.tokyo.jp
International Sports Projects Division
BUREAU OF CITIZENS, CULTURE AND SPORTS
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
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