-Popular application customized for a local government to meet in-bound tourism demand-
Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Tadashi Ishii; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that the "72 Seasons Nara" mobile device application developed in collaboration with publisher Heibonsha (President: Mito Shimonaka; Head Office: Tokyo) under their joint project "Beautiful Living Research Lab" was released on October 23. This application, which was developed for Nara Prefecture, is the first in a series where content from the popular "Everyday Life Almanac" Japanese calendar app and its English version "72 Seasons" has been customized for a local government as a new business development in order to meet in-bound tourism demand.
"72 Seasons Nara" presents the charms of Nara on a seasonal basis in both English and Japanese, and is the perfect application to accompany people on their journeys around the prefecture. Based on the 72 seasons that have been used in Japan since ancient times, the calendar app offers a way to enjoy Nara that is unique to that season by introducing the ever-changing beauty of nature, the festivals and events based on Nara's long history and culture, and its wealth of seasonal foods. The calendar is updated approximately every five days. The "Seasonal Adventure" section gives trip suggestions for each of the four main seasons--spring, summer, autumn and winter. "72 Seasons Nara" is a free-of-charge mobile application that can be used on iOS and Android devices.
Looking ahead, the number of people visiting Japan is expected to increase. Under the auspices of the "Beautiful Living Research Lab" project, Dentsu and Heibonsha will continue to create and market proposals for customized content that is tailored to the needs of companies and local governments in response to the inbound tourism demand.
Overview of the "72 Seasons Nara" Mobile Device Application
Name: 72 Seasons Nara
Price: Free of charge
Languages: English and Japanese (selectable within the app)
Platforms: iOS and Android
Download URLs:
iOS
https://itunes.apple.com/app/nai-liangkoyomi/id1163139998?ls=1&mt=8
Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.heibonsha.app.nara_koyomi
Logo: 
Screenshots:
App Description:
http://www.kurashikata.com/72seasons-nara-koyomi/
1 Established in November 2010 by Dentsu and Heibonsha, the "Beautiful Living Research Lab" ("Utsukushii Kurashikata Institute" in Japanese) project proposes a beautiful lifestyle by focusing on how people in Japan have been living their daily lives from time immemorial, and on how this knowhow has been incorporated into modern-day life.
2 Released in November 2010, "Everyday Life Almanac" is a free-of-charge mobile phone application in Japanese for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The cumulative number of downloads as of October 11, 2016 is 379,000.
3 Released in December 2015 as the English version of "Everyday Life Almanac," "72 Seasons" is a free-of-charge mobile phone application for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The cumulative number of downloads as of October 11, 2016 is 22,000.
