JAPAN'S WORKPLACES
Concept
An office that circulates
“Even if AI writes you the perfect travel plan, there are things you only meet by actually going there.” That is how CEO Shintaro Yamada explains the new office. Precisely because so much can now be left to AI, a real place where people argue, laugh and make bold decisions together — Go Bold, the first of Mercari’s four values — matters more, not less.
CultureHub is not a floor with fixed uses. A loop walkway runs around the whole floor, small “places for dialogue” are scattered along it, and the furniture is upcycled. The idea is that exchange and inspiration keep circulating, and something unplanned comes out of it — a laboratory for the company’s mission and its four values: Go Bold, All for One, Be a Pro, Move Fast.
01 · Reception
The Mercari Wall greets you
Step off the lift and the first thing you meet is the Mercari Wall: a display of things actually bought on the Mercari app, collected by the company. Visitors stop, point, and start telling stories about their own finds — the app’s culture made physical, before anyone has said hello.
02 · Workspace
A floor you can walk all the way around
The work area is arranged along a walkway that loops the entire floor. You cannot cross the office without passing people, and the design counts on that: conversations start on the way to somewhere else. In front of each entrance, a graphic for one of the four values reminds staff what they are here to do.
Furniture is the other signature. Ten creator teams made upcycled pieces on the theme of junkan — circulation — and hid small Mercari logos in them for staff to find. Seating is free-address; there is a Focus Zone and individual booths for heads-down work.
03 · Meeting rooms
Places for dialogue, everywhere
Rather than a block of meeting rooms, CultureHub scatters places for dialogue around the floor — corners for a team huddle, spots where a passing chat can turn into a working session. Phone booths let people in the office join calls with colleagues working remotely without leaving the open floor.
04 · Cafeteria & events
A new café, and a place for All Hands
The café was rebuilt for the move: soft downlights, quiet tones, coffee in hand. A lounge and drink corner next to it serve for breaks and casual talk.
On the old 18th floor, staff remember sitting on the bare floor of an empty space for All Hands. CultureHub keeps that DNA: the company-wide All Hands meeting and internal events are held here, because being a place where people gather is the point of the office.
05 · Welfare
Sustainability and well-being, built in
Sustainability is one of Mercari’s stated values, and the upcycled furniture is how the office says it: pieces that gain attachment the longer they are used. “Well-being for Performance” is another; the company treats a healthy, sustainable way of working as the soil for performance rather than a perk. [to confirm: dedicated wellness room in the new office]
06 · How they work
Hybrid Workstyle
Mercari’s current policy is Hybrid Workstyle: at least two office days a week as the baseline, full flextime (with exceptions by role), and 10:00–16:00 as the recommended window for company-wide events. Slack and Google Workspace carry the rest. CultureHub exists to make the office days worth it.
Communication is deliberately staged: All Hands for leadership and dialogue, Lunch & Learn and Open Door for knowledge sharing, Offsite Meetings for long-term vision, and Workstyle Sync, where people share how they personally prefer to work. Clubs and team-building are encouraged. An in-house AI tool, Ellie, gives staff access to large language models; commuting allowance is paid up to the tax-free ceiling of ¥150,000 a month; side jobs are allowed within company guidelines.
