2,000 students stay in Kyoto for three days. We spoke with the operations team of SPIKES, which aims to become Japan's number one student event.
Hello. I’m Sunagari from IVS Public Relations.
In July 2026, alongside IVS2026, which will bring 13,000 people to Kyoto, another festival will get underway. It is SPIKES, which carries the banner "a festival for edgy students." Over three days, it aims to bring together more than 2,000 students, and offers a different kind of energy from the main IVS event, including a student entrepreneur pitch contest in which main partner Nacht Co., Ltd. provides the winner with an investment opportunity of up to 100 million yen, as well as a retreat-style program where participating students stay at students’ homes in Kyoto.
Onoda-san, who oversees SPIKES, says, "We want to make it Japan’s number one student event." SPIKES was born from the desire to create a place where students challenging themselves alone can learn what each other is doing nearby and help one another. This time, we spoke with Onoda, the project lead, and Matsuo, the content director.
Having branded ourselves as "a festival for edgy students," we have to go all-in with total commitment to being edgy
“You are promoting it as ‘a festival for edgy students,’ but what exactly is an edgy student?”
Onoda: We divide them into four layers. The truly edgy, those who self-identify as edgy, those who want to be edgy, and those who are not interested in being edgy. Assuming the last group won’t come, we want the first three groups to attend.
Onoda-san
The truly edgy layer consists of students who already have clear characteristics, strengths, and values and stand out even from the outside. They have well-defined interests, specialties, and styles, and do things that are different from others "naturally." They act according to their own standards rather than evaluation or trends.
Those who self-identify as edgy are students who think they’re cool compared to others. They feel they are different in terms of perspective, breadth of view, and amount of action, but they may not yet have achieved overwhelming results.
Those who want to be edgy are students with a strong desire to "become someone." They feel that being ordinary is boring and have a desire to stand out or be recognized for something. Their core often isn’t fully set yet, and their actions tend to be more "intentional" than not.
Since we chose to call it "a festival for edgy students" ourselves, it takes real resolve on our part to live up to the name.
Matsuo-san
Matsuo: Yes. It’s basically the same as us saying, "We’re edgy," ourselves, so we’re setting the bar high. We’re going to create content that clears that bar. Now that we’ve put that label on it, if we don’t take it seriously, it’ll fall flat, so as the person responsible for content direction, I’m very conscious of that.
Personally, I’m someone right in the middle of the self-identified edgy group, so I’m directing this while thinking, "I’m one of the target audience."
A college student who wanted to change is now leading the project
Onoda-san, you’re in charge of overseeing all of SPIKES, right?
Onoda: Yes, as the project lead I’m overseeing the whole project. As for my background, I’m a third-year student at Nihon University majoring in mathematics. I’m currently taking a leave of absence and learning engineering at the programming school 42 Tokyo, while also handling SPIKES operations alongside long-term internships at three companies and job hunting as part of the 2028 graduating class.
The message, “We want to reach edgy students,” seems to overlap with your own experience, too.
Onoda: Exactly. Until about a year ago, I was a completely ordinary college student, and I felt a lot of anxiety about that. Wanting to find value that only I could provide, I took lectures in information science while majoring in mathematics, studied for a library science certification at the same time, and commuted to university six days a week with a five-hour round trip, while also going to driving school and working part-time... Back then, all I understood was "just keep stepping up to the plate."
But beyond that relentless effort, there were several decisive turning points. From there, my world suddenly expanded, and before I knew it I was in the position of leading SPIKES. Even now, the farther I go, the more I feel unknown worlds opening up.
I think there are a lot of college students who think, "I want to change" or "I want to try changing." I was like that too, but I didn’t know what would trigger it. That’s why I think using the easy-to-understand word "edgy" might make people curious and think, "What is that?"
It’s not that I want to deny the path of going to university, working part-time, and then getting a job. But I wanted a place where people walking a different path could be nearby. For me, who used to grope around in the dark, a place where students can connect side by side with people thriving in different fields is also the place I wanted most.
Connecting the leading edges side by side. What will happen with an investment opportunity of up to 100 million yen and the retreat program?
What kind of place is SPIKES aiming to be?
Onoda: I think it’s about bringing together the leading edges in one place. In today’s student world, each "leading edge" is fragmented. In job hunting, the students called "edgy" are the ones aiming for Goldman Sachs or McKinsey, and they’re competing only within that circle. Researchers are only with researchers, engineers only with engineers, entrepreneurs only with entrepreneurs. The top students in each field are all in separate places.
So each world is closed off.
Onoda: Yes. Once you’re past your student years, life starts depending on it, so there are very few chances to broaden your perspective. That’s why we want them to realize now that they might be able to thrive in another field too. SPIKES is an event for connecting the leading edges of each field side by side.
We want to create a situation where students who take on challenges don’t end up as isolated individual battles, but can see each other’s moves beside them and help fill in each other’s gaps. If everyone is connected side by side, inspiration, opportunities, and new encounters will naturally emerge. That is the kind of place SPIKES aims to be.
Please tell us about the featured content.
Onoda: First is the student entrepreneur pitch contest, "SPIKES Student Startup Pitch in IVS2026." Main partner Nacht Co., Ltd. is providing the winner with an investment opportunity of up to 100 million yen (note: the investment is not guaranteed and is subject to individual review and discussions). Since it’s a scale of investment opportunities rarely seen in student pitch events, I think it will serve as an easy-to-understand pillar.
Another thing I want to push is the retreat program. It’s a system where participating students stay at the lodgings of students living in Kyoto, so in a sense it’s forced matching. A night bus from Tokyo costs about 10,000 yen, and if you don’t have to pay for lodging on top of that, it becomes much easier for students to come. Staying at someone’s house is truly a powerful way to meet people.
I think gathering 2,000 people in Tokyo and gathering 2,000 people in Kyoto are completely different. In Tokyo, you can go home in one day, but in Kyoto, you pay for transportation and stay for three days. The fact that IVS is bringing together 13,000 people in Kyoto itself is no small feat, but when students stay there for three days, I feel it carries a different kind of weight.
We also heard that the way content is being gathered is unique.
Matsuo: Yes. There are currently about 10 content directors, and each of them has one "strength line" of their own. Deep tech, global, engineers. The structure is for each person to think up what they believe is the most edgy and interesting content.
Onoda: To add to that, the staff itself is already edgy. Since the content is being thought up by those members, I feel pretty confident about it.
How complete is the content at this point?
Matsuo: Honestly, it’s still very much in progress. I think we’ll be able to share various pieces of content in the latter half of May, so please look forward to it.
What would you like the students who participate to take away with them?
Onoda: I think there are three things, depending on the group.
For those who come thinking, "I’m seriously edgy," I want them to be humbled into realizing, "I was only at this level." For those in the self-identified edgy group, I want them to get even edgier. For those who want to be edgy, I want them to take that first step. If we can exceed our target of 2,000 and get 3,000 people to come, I’d be happy, and I hope this edgy event will remain as a brand. I don’t want it to end as a one-time festival; I want it to become an event people say, every year, "This is the one thing I have to go to."
Another thing we want to value is human connections. I feel that the biggest reason I’m able to be involved with SPIKES now is the chance encounters I’ve had with people. If even one more person leaves having made a new friend, that would be the happiest outcome for us as the organizers.
SPIKES is only open to students
SPIKES is an event that only students can participate in, right?
Onoda: Yes. Adults cannot enter the actual SPIKES venue. As a festival for students, we’ve clearly divided off the zone.
How does SPIKES appear to adults attending IVS?
Onoda: I think it will change the whole atmosphere of the venue. For three days in Kyoto, the main IVS event is taking place, and right nearby, 2,000 students are staying overnight and working seriously. I’d like the adults attending IVS to catch sight of SPIKES and feel the excitement. They can’t come inside, but just knowing that student energy is in motion will surely change the meaning of the IVS venue itself.
From the students’ side, the adults attending IVS are, I think, like a glimpse of what we ourselves will be like in a few years. Being in the same place and spending the same time together is probably bigger than we think.
As we continue next year and the year after, I’d like to create a flow where students who graduate from SPIKES eventually come back as speakers at the main IVS event. For SPIKES, 2026 will be the first year of the challenge.
Thank you very much for today.
SPIKES
SPIKES | A festival for edgy students
