My Office Has No Walls

This week, Rakuten celebrated the opening of its new headquarters called Crimson House. I am already inspired and excited about the changes our new environment will bring.

This new office design and environment is unlike any other in Japan. The internal office is extremely open and I can see people communicating differently than ever before. I see more open discussions between people who ordinarily wouldn’t meet. And because my office has no walls, I’m communicating with many employees I otherwise wouldn’t see every day.

This open communication is helping Rakuten connect all the dots to our global business. The company is built on an ecosystem with membership at the center. We have members from Rakuten Ichiba and other e-commerce marketplaces, Viber, Kobo, Viki, Ebates, Rakuten Edy, and many others. The open design at Crimson House – as well as Crimson House West in San Mateo and Crimson House Singapore – is helping Rakuten bring together the best ideas from each business to we can bring better benefits to our members.

Crimson House is more than open communication, it also benefits all Rakuten employees.

We are bringing the best elements of Silicon Valley to Crimson House. All employees have height-adjustable desks, receive free breakfast and lunch, and even dinner if they’re working late. We have a fully-equipped fitness center and spa, which also provides training support. We have a large meeting space for our weekly company-wide Asakai, and a lecture hall that provides a university setting. We even have a power-nap space where employees can rest briefly to improve work efficiency, a childcare center, and a relaxation space which offers massage and other treatments.

But for all of this, what excites me most is the open design of the work areas. An open office space with a modern design to promote free discussion and stimulate innovative thinking.

With no walls, there is nothing to stand between us and our best ideas.

See below for more photos of Crimson House.