JTB, Japan's travel company, ran an XR fencing experience at Shiodome Summer School in Tokyo on 2-3 August 2025, with Canon supplying the technology. The event was hosted by Nippon Television Holdings and held around the Nippon TV headquarters; admission was free and the experience was aimed at upper primary pupils and above.
Visitors held Canon's MREAL mixed reality display up to their eyes with both hands, rather than wearing a headset, and watched a roughly three-minute bout featuring fencer Kyosuke Matsuyama. Miniature volumetric fencers appeared on a tabletop piste, and the view could shift to life-size figures in the room. Matsuyama, a member of Japan's men's foil team gold medallist squad, also appeared on stage and answered children's questions.
How it worked
Canon digitised Matsuyama's technique with volumetric video and motion capture and delivered it through MREAL, which blends real surroundings with CG. Viewers could replay the bout in slow motion and change viewpoint, and coloured lines traced the blade movements so that exchanges too fast for the eye could be followed. Laptops on the booth table ran the system, and the handheld viewer was cable-tethered.
Aims and stage
JTB's stated aims were to spark children's interest in science and technology and promote minor sports. It also planned to use the XR content in its own branding and to explore new tourism and entertainment experiences, including sports tourism. A post-event JTB report says general practical use is still some way off, so this is treated as a pilot.
