“Virtual Currency Offering Festival” is a project attempting to “update the Shinto rituals”. It is a new form of celebratory festival in which virtual currencies are collected from across the world for later redistribution, bringing “a good harvest” to the community. It is intended to expand, by way of technology, the sense of citizen participation, the essence of festive rituals, using virtual currency characterized by ability to transfer money across space instantaneously.

“Virtual Currency Offering Festival” was held in an actual living setting of a traditional shopping street in Tokyo supported by citizens. Residents in and around the area, corporations, local government as well as renowned experts, entrepreneurs and researchers made “offering” of various resources and technologies of their fields. The project created a large number of collaboration work which encompassed the following, among many others; “Yokai-monster-robot based on animatronics technology, “Kishu (peculiar sake), a liquor with extraordinary fermentation process by a fermentation professional”, and an “AI voice synthesys of Heart Sutra”. The citizens brought their own projects, musical instruments and fancy-dress costumes of their choice and enjoyed themselves. In the festival, approximately 16,000 people in total gathered at the shopping street over the course of two days. Men, women, young and old including the local residents took part in the “Virtual Currency Offering Festival Parade”.