There are 253 million visually impaired people in the world and it will increase to 800 million by 2050. Especially Japan is facing an aging society which makes visual impairment accelerate even more.

Most visually impaired people suffer from depression because they feel “worthless.To challenge the long-held perception in Japan that visually impaired people lack abilities, it was important for them to discover the incredible value that can arise from being unable to see.

Actually, despite their lack of sight, visually impaired people have keener senses such as taste, smell, and texture. So we published a gourmet guide which all reporters are visually impaired. By not showing pictures of the food on all pages, it will make you wonder what the food is like and expands your delicious imagination.

Actually, scientific studies have proven that when human brain loses sight, the other senses (smell, texture, taste etc.) become keener instead.

We will change the perception of the visually impaired not as “people who lack sight” but as "individuals who have keen sense.”

We published “Unpictured Gourmet Guide" which is a restaurant magazine that all reporters are visually impaired people.By not showing pictures of the food on all pages, it will make you wonder what the food is like and expands your delicious imagination.

Target audience：

Visitors to Shibuya, known for having the most diverse range of restaurants in Japan. These visitors are highly conscious of the images. This is why they feel a strong sense of unease and curiosity regarding the absence of food photos.

Approach：

The guide tells from five senses that are keenly felt.

Since there are no bias from the picture, they are sensitive to ①smell, ②texture, and ③taste.As they can’t read the menu, they talk to ④staffs and get to know their personalities, and they even imagine the ⑤atmosphere by catching the sounds that we would miss.

Diverse and unique members participated in the campaign, from the President of the Japan Paralympics to a blind elementary school YouTube star.

The booklets were distributed at the city office, museums, and Scramble Crossing which has the most heavy traffic in Japan. In addition to the booklet, audio content(Podcast, Spotify, Youtube etc) is available so that variety of people can enjoy.

Impact：

Since it was published on World Sight Day, it has been widely covered by national broadcasters and competitive newspapers as an unprecedented food media.The campaign generated 12 million organic impressions.And the number of reservations of some listed restaurants also increased by 120% compared to previous year.

Consumer awareness：

In a survey of people who experienced the campaign, 93% of the readers found it more appealing than normal food guides, and 98% said it helped them to better understand the visually impaired.Furthermore the booklets is used as a teaching tool in public school.