[Report] Inter BEE 2025 — Walking the Final Day at Makuhari Messe: A Look at the Eye-Catching, Hands-On Exhibits
Held at Makuhari Messe from November 19 to 21, 2025, Inter BEE 2025 is one of Japan’s largest events where media and entertainment professionals gather. This year, which the organizer JEITA positioned as “the start of a new phase of evolution,” we visited on the final day, November 21. From doors opening to just before closing, the venue remained bustling without a break in attendees.
Venue Snapshot: Engaging Exhibit Design—Industry Technologies Converge at One of Japan’s Largest Events
Diverse Conferences Making Effective Use of a Vast Venue
Arriving at Makuhari Messe at the 10:00 opening, streams of visitors continued to enter despite it being the third day and a weekday. Visitor badges are printed on-site, with six pickup counters across the venue. At the counter in front of Hall 6, nearly 100 people were lined up, yet the flow was smooth thanks to ten printers in operation. The badges are punched cardstock with the strap attached directly, reducing waste by avoiding disposable polypropylene pouches—an environmentally conscious setup.
Across the halls, conferences, seminars, and sessions were held everywhere. Notable film directors and leaders from industry-driving companies took the stage, with about 90 sessions across three days. Some talks filled 200 seats and still drew standing audiences. For attendees, a new “AI real-time translation and captioning system” supporting over 60 languages was introduced this year, implemented in collaboration with Wordly, a company headquartered in California, USA.
Many visitors paused for company-run mini-seminars held at individual booths. When speakers presented in English, Japanese interpretation or translated screens were provided, and vice versa, reflecting strong multilingual consideration. Scheduling also appeared carefully timed to capture traffic flowing out of the main conferences, which contributed to solid attendance.
Pop-up events such as a “Location Bento Grand Prix” and an AR stamp rally were held in addition to the core exhibits. Mobile charging lounges, telework lounges, and coffee markets were placed throughout the venue, allowing visitors to take their time and comfortably explore over the course of a day.
Another notable aspect was the large number of overseas visitors and exhibitors, as well as many attendees appearing to be women and students. The strong interest from both Japan and abroad felt characteristic of this long-running show, which has nearly 60 years of history.
Four zones, each with its own character: see, hear, and touch—hands-on experiences that convey the appeal
The halls are divided into four zones by category:
- Professional Audio
- Video Production / Broadcast Equipment
- Entertainment / Lighting
- Media Solutions
Professional Audio: where sound is everything
More than showing, it’s about letting people listen. Some booths recreated the atmosphere of a live house with full band performances; others built spaces that suggested quietly enjoying music indoors. The level of build quality—dismantled after just three days—was striking.
At the booth of Second Stage Co., Ltd., a large black “box” was installed to demonstrate the immersive audio system “L-ISA.”
Stepping into the sealed black box revealed live-house lighting and a live band; nearly 100 audience members listened intently to a saxophone melody.
At BOSE PROFESSIONAL, a ring-shaped listening layout encircled the booth to demonstrate the performance of new pendant-type full-range speakers. The wall-side product lineup made for a distinctive presentation style.
Spanning Halls 2–8, the Video Production / Broadcast Equipment zone dominates the show
While the exhibits vary widely, a common thread is the ingenuity of the presentation methods. Visitors can freely photograph models, watch green-screen footage be keyed and edited right before their eyes, and even strap on cameras to walk around—hands-on setups that make the technology intuitive.
The eye-catching SONY booth features an enormous screen estimated at nearly 4 meters tall. The vivid color reproduction drew crowds who stood, absorbed, gazing up at the display.
Entertainment / Lighting Zone
The lighting is intentionally kept dim to showcase imaging technologies. Vivid colors create a sense of excitement—like a nighttime parade at a theme park.
Media Solutions Zone
We found ideas relevant to MICE and emerging technologies that are likely to become future standards.
In addition, many booths adopted unconventional methods to make visitors stop by—for example, raffles for novelties and artisans building “hakouma” platforms in elevated locations.
Booths That Captivated and Stood Out Across the Venue: Immersive “Hands-on” Exhibits Enhanced Engagement
Inter BEE is an exhibition where media professionals gather, so it may be natural that exhibitors excel at presentation. Even so, the ways in which domestic and international technologies converged and competed to showcase themselves were overwhelming. Simply walking around each booth was genuinely enjoyable, and time flew from opening to closing. I also realized that hands-on experiences lead to a high level of immersion.
I believe that the reason many people lost track of time and became absorbed was precisely because exhibitions enable “experiences.” Even if you search on the internet, there are countless things you cannot understand without seeing, hearing, and touching them. Classic methods—such as layouts that leverage the vastness of Makuhari Messe, deliberately creating dark areas, and building closed booths that draw visitors in—remain highly effective.
