Source: Peatix

"Hello, WORKER" is a place where you can meet people you want to work with, rather than just choosing a company. This time, it will be held by two companies: Smiles Inc. and Loftwork Inc.

Smiles was founded as a company that started with Soup Stock Tokyo, and has since expanded into the necktie brand "giraffe" and New Cycle Commons "PASS THE BATON." In recent years, the company has focused on consulting and producing, using its business knowledge to help clients in a variety of industries and sectors with their problems.

Loftwork Inc. is a creative company whose purpose is "Creativity within all" and which supports the creation of value that is open to society and the activities of people by solving problems faced by companies and local governments.

[What is Hello, WORKER?]
There is a limit to the information you can find online and the people you can meet at company information sessions and interviews.
It's not a company information session by a human resources representative, nor is it an interview. It's a meetup event, similar to an alumni visit. We named it "Hello, WORKER" and hold it frequently with the hope of creating a place where both companies and job seekers can find like-minded people on a more equal footing. You might end up working together in the future if you happen to sit at the same table. If you meet someone you want to see again, it could be the first step towards a new job.
*This event is not a selection process.

When moving a project forward, how do you share your intuition, such as "I think this is interesting," with your team or client?

If you rely too much on logic, it becomes boring. On the other hand, it won't work if you rely on intuition alone.
What do directors think about and what kind of ingenuity do they use to bring ideas to life while moving back and forth between these two genres?

In this talk, we will not be talking about project management theory with a set of correct answers, but rather we will be sharing the true feelings and pretenses of the directors from both companies who have made creative leaps by going back and forth between intuition and logic.

It's not a neatly organized formula for success, but a bit thrilling and raw, but it certainly stimulates creativity.

The event will be held at Loftwork COOOP10, a space where people and ideas come together on the 10th floor of Loftwork's headquarters in Shibuya. Why not come and interact with Smiles and the members of Loftwork?

Eligibility to participate
・People in their 20s to 40s with work experience (the purpose is to interact with people of the same generation)

〇Recommended for these people
・People who are interested in the people who work at Smiles and Loftwork
・People who are interested in Smiles and Loftwork
・Those who have experienced difficulty in figuring out how to share plans and ideas with clients
・People who find it difficult to verbalize and persuade others about something that they intuitively think is good.
・People who find it interesting to work between logic and creativity
・Those who are interested in the entire process from planning and development to delivering value to customers
・Those who are currently changing jobs or considering changing jobs

〇Image of the job openings
Project Manager (Planning and Development, Project Progress) / Director and Planner

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■Date and time: February 12, 2026 (Thursday) 19:30-21:30 (doors open at 19:15)
■ Venue: Loftwork Inc. Shibuya Office 10th Floor
Dogenzaka Pier, 1-22-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043
https://maps.app.goo.gl/9JUZPKoyTnBMakNRA
■ Capacity: 35 people
■Participation fee: 1,000 yen (including light refreshments)

<Time Schedule
19:15 Doors open and reception
19:30 Opening session (panel talk including company introductions from two companies)
"The director's true feelings and pretenses that cannot be spoken out loud"
Speaker | Loftwork's Yamada Reon × Smiles' Yoshida Takenari
20:20 Employee participation roundtable discussion
21:05 Closing (recruitment explanations from each company, etc.)
21:30 Closing
*Please send inquiries via peatix message.

<Employee roundtable participants (to be announced sequentially)>
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Loft work
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🔳Senior Director Reon Yamada
Born in 1985, he graduated from the Department of Information Design at Kyoto University of Art and Design. After working as a freelancer, focusing on conceptual design and working on graphic, editorial, and exhibition curation, he joined Loftwork in 2016. He has been in charge of creative direction for a number of large-scale projects that straddle the digital and physical worlds, including "NEWVIEW," "SHIBUYA QWS," and "Hiroshima's official tourism website, 'Dive! Hiroshima.'" He creates unique worldviews and new user experiences in a wide range of genres, from cultivating a global XR community to launching co-creation facilities. His motto is "Aiming for an unprecedented convergence together with creators." He regularly lectures at Yokohama University of Art and Design, Kyoto University of the Arts, and other institutions.
https://loftwork.com/jp/finding/loftwork_is_04

■Creative Director Moeka Yamazaki
Born in Osaka Prefecture. Aiming to become a teacher from an early age, she studied abroad in Finland for a year while at university to learn about education. After graduating, she worked as an education attractiveness coordinator at a local education venture in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, where she designed inquiry-based learning lessons and ran a third place for junior and senior high school students.
Wanting to go beyond the boundaries of education and put into practice the idea of being a "generator" who values curiosity, dives into the process himself, and involves those around him in creating things together, he joined Loftwork in 2023. He is skilled at planning and running events that involve a variety of players, and at designing and facilitating workshops for training programs.
Social educator/USA PMI® certified CAPM® holder.
My hobbies are cooking and occasionally working at a florist.

■Creative Director: Watanabe Miyu
Originally from Fukushima Prefecture, he graduated from the Department of Social Entrepreneurship at Kwansei Gakuin University's School of Human Welfare. Inspired by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear power plant accident, he set his life goal as "creating a society where each individual can live as they wish." Since high school, he has planned and implemented bus tours of disaster-stricken areas and residential programs such as "regional exchange studies." During his university years, he also worked as a "storyteller" sharing his experiences of the disaster, while also gaining practical experience in starting up and running NPOs and NGOs, while also coming into contact with a wide range of social issues, primarily in the areas of minorities such as disabilities and LGBTQ. This experience led him to join Loftwork, hoping to tackle unresolved problems by venturing into many fields and looking at them from a variety of perspectives. His hobbies include watching soccer and visiting cafes.

■HR Director Motoi Mariko
Originally from Hyogo, currently living in Kyoto. While working as a part-time worker, he became fascinated with the world of web design and began self-study. After working in web design at a department store credit card company, he joined Loftwork in 2018. As a director and PM, he is involved in large-scale web redesigns and event planning and management. He also teaches special PM classes at universities and is involved in "learning" design, such as KJ method study groups. In 2021, an illness prompted him to consider "healthy work," and he became HR Director. He is responsible for people-related tasks, from recruitment to training program development. In 2024, he obtained PMP® and PMI-ACP® certification. In 2025, he completed the ATD Instructional Design Certification Course. His motto is "ENJOY NOISE." He lives with a Japanese fire-bellied newt.

■Layout Senior Director Haruka Koshimoto
After graduating from university, she worked as a planner at an advertising agency before joining Loftwork in 2012. As a creative director, she handles upstream website design and workshop and event management. After maternity leave, she joined Layout Unit, where she was responsible for the launch of co-creation facilities such as "100BANCH" and "SHIBUYA QWS," as well as PR and branding activities. She is currently the general director of "AkeruE," which handles everything from planning and construction to operation. The AkeruE project won the Bronze Prize at the Japan Space Design Award, the Encouragement Prize at the Display Industry Awards, the iF Design Award, and the Kids Design Award in the Design category for Developing Children's Creativity and the Future. After dropping off her children, she usually takes the highway bus from Kisarazu (Chiba) and crosses the sea on the Aqua Line to get to work, which is known as an extreme commute.

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Smiles
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🔳Project Director: Takenari Yoshida
Joined Smiles in 2008. After working as a store manager at Soup Stock Tokyo and in the Human Resources Department as a recruiter, he was seconded to the Creative Industries Division of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2013 to 2015. He participated in the launch of the "MORETHAN PROJECT" and "The Wonder 500" programs for small and medium-sized enterprises to expand overseas, as well as the overseas information website "100 Tokyo." He is currently in charge of consulting, planning and producing external projects handled by Smiles.
https://smiles.co.jp/series/month-end-closing/

■Project Manager: Takeshi Nakayama
Originally from Fukui Prefecture, he joined NewsPicks as a new graduate in 2020 after graduating from Doshisha University. He participated in the launch of two businesses: "NextCulture Studio," which supports organizational culture change, and "NewsPicks Creations," which supports co-creation communities. He is responsible for a wide range of responsibilities, including business development, sales/marketing, and project planning. If he sees something interesting, he is the type to get involved. Attracted by the idea of creating value that will be loved for a long time, he joined Smiles in November 2024. He reads several hundred manga volumes a year. His favorite manga are "Space Brothers" and "Omoeba Tooku ni Obscura."

■Project Manager: Kota Hara
Born in Kyoto, he is a true Kyoto native who grew up touring temples and shrines with his parents. While studying architecture and urban design at university, he became absorbed in building treehouses. After graduating, he joined Okamura, an office furniture manufacturer. After working in design and consulting, mainly for offices and research facilities, he joined a startup launched as a new business as a founding member. His motto is "Try anything, from business planning to design!" Attracted by the idea of expanding value and creating business from personal delusions, he joined Smiles in February 2024. He currently lives in two locations, Shonan and Nishiizu, and is a big fan of the sea.

■Project Manager Liu Xiaoyu
Originally from China, after graduating from a Chinese university, he joined a venture company in its early stages and gained experience working as a jack-of-all-trades. Attracted by the comfort he felt there, he moved to Japan and studied service design at Keio University's Graduate School of Media Design. After graduating from graduate school, he joined the Creative Headquarters as part of the second batch of new graduates in 2022, wanting to further value what he loves. He is currently involved as a project manager in the development of a soy sauce brand and large-scale commercial facility development.

■Project Manager/PR Nikko Ito
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2000 and raised in Oita Prefecture. A love of theater from a young age led him to major in theater studies at university. He spent his time studying theater from a commercial and dramaturgical perspective at university and attending theater every day. He became interested in Smiles, as he felt there was something in common between their philosophy of "raising the temperature of the world" and theater culture. He joined the Creative Division in 2022 as part of the second batch of new graduates. He likes flashy things.

■Project Manager/Web Director: Ohno Hitoshi
Born in 2000, he spent five years of his childhood in China. While majoring in marketing at Waseda University, he became interested in design and decided to take a leave of absence. While working as an intern at a video production company, he graduated from the Tokyo Design Plex Institute with a major in Web Interaction Design. He then worked on individual client projects, mainly web and video production. Hoping to spend unpredictable days with unpredictable people, he joined Smiles as a new graduate in 2024. He is not good at introducing himself.

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