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riff
raff

Don't read the room. Read the street.

We are Riff-Raff: a new research outfit driven by an obsession with the extra mile that most agencies refuse to walk. We trade the boardroom for the back alley, the focus group for the dive bar, the cliches of the expat for the wisdom of locals. Through narratives written with ambition and precision, we translate the overwhelming reality of social life in Japan into actionable insight to guide your decisionmaking process. We don't just give you findings; we give you the Japan that exists when the meeting ends.

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Gritty Japanese alleyway at night with neon reflections

The truth isn't polite. Neither are we.

We don't sugarcoat the data. We deliver the hard truths that refined research smooths over, giving you the raw reality of the market.
Shibuya crossing with motion blur and skyscrapers

Politeness is a performance. We go backstage.

Western brands often crash against the rocks of Tatemae — the polite, public face. We dig deeper to find the Honne — the raw, unpolished truth. The real show happens behind the curtain. We bypass the rehearsed answers to find the unscripted motivations driving consumer behavior.
Lone vending machine in a dark urban corner

Don't read the room. Read the street.

Boardrooms are echo chambers. We hit the pavement to capture the chaotic, unfiltered voice of the culture as it actually happens.
Train passing through dense Japanese urban housing

Japan is designed to keep you out. We get you in.

Access is everything in an insular market. We are cultural safecrackers -- the skeleton key that unlocks doors usually bolted shut to outsiders. We know exactly how to pick the lock of social etiquette to unravel the priceless insights inside.
Textured asphalt and manhole cover in Tokyo

Japan is a fortress of politeness. We breach the walls.

Politeness is a defense mechanism. We scale the walls of social convention to capture the data that lives in the protected inner sanctum of routine and habit.
Izakaya entrance with paper lantern and rain

Something about strong writing

You have data. You have charts. You have a 100-page deck telling you that 'Japan is unique'. But you don't have the pulse.

We uncover what gets buried under layers of assumption, and rifle through the cultural debris to find the truths that are hard to get—the uneven, profound realities that run-of-the-mill research smooths over. We scavenge for the minute clues hidden in the cracks of daily life, willing to venture into the strange, overlooked corners of this archipelago to bring back data that bleeds.

The Word on the Street

RiffRaff didn't give us what we wanted to hear—they gave us what we needed to know. Their fieldwork in Osaka completely changed our product roadmap for Japan.

@Meta APAC Strategy

Most agencies handed us sanitized focus group transcripts. RiffRaff brought back raw voice memos, photos from convenience stores at 2am, and insights we could actually use.

@Google Consumer Insights

We hired RiffRaff to understand why our Japan launch failed. They spent six weeks in the trenches and came back with answers no consultant ever found. Worth every yen.

@Spotify Global Markets

Finally, a research partner that doesn't just regurgitate the same 'Japan is collectivist' nonsense. They went deep, got dirty, and delivered insights that moved the needle.

@Airbnb Experience Design

RiffRaff's ethnographic work in Tokyo gave us a window into consumer behavior that traditional surveys never could. They don't just report—they interpret.

@Nike Innovation Japan

We were about to launch a campaign that would have flopped. RiffRaff's street-level research saved us from an expensive mistake and gave us a better path forward.

@Uber Expansion Team

Ready to get your hands dirty?

Most agencies will tell you what you want to hear. We'll tell you what you need to know. We're ready to breach the walls if you are.