Undokaiya began in 2007 as an NPO (Japan Sports Communication) by Takaki Yoneji, a former employee at a financial management firm. The working environment of his office convinced him that technology was exacerbating communication breakdowns and contributing to unhealthy lifestyles.

Believing in the positive effects Japanese sports festivals offer, he launched Undokaiya with the hope of connecting people. Yoneji waded into an uncertain future with an unproven idea and began amassing equipment needed to conduct a sports festival.

“I had no job, and the business was not planned well and failed during the first year.” Nevertheless, he forged on.

Lacking basic storage, he resorted to cluttering his second-floor balcony with deflated sports balls and bean bags while his wife toiled away inside making equipment by hand, raising the eyebrows of his neighbors.

“They must have seen me as a weird guy. There was no demand to do sports festivals and I was laughed at.”

Lacking the know-how to forge his fledgling effort into a service business, Yoneji sought advice from his junior high school teacher and formed a tight-knit group with friends and family to help.

Yoneji believed companies should strive to form groups that recognizes one another in an organized way to produce a result. In doing so, they form bonds and create happiness. His passion began paying off.

Undokaiya was incorporated in 2010, and companies finally responded out of a desire to form conduits for real communication in their office environments. The company has since grown to be the premier team- building company in Japan.