SCENTMATIC's "Scent Class" Held for the First Time at Mikata Elementary School in Wakasa Town

Children at Mikata Elementary School concentrating on the scent of plum blossoms with their eyes closed.

SCENTMATIC Inc. (CEO: Shunji Kurisu, Headquarters: Tokyo), which proposes new customer experiences through scent, held its "Scent Class," a sensitivity education program where participants create their own stories by weaving words from scents, for 46 fourth and fifth graders at Wakasa Town Mikata Elementary School in Fukui Prefecture on June 23, 2026 (Tuesday).

Third time holding the class in collaboration with the town's Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Division! This year's scent is "Ripe Plum."

The "Scent Class" has been held in collaboration with educational institutions nationwide since 2021, providing opportunities to explore the potential of the sense of smell, which is not reached by existing school education, and fostering a deeper attachment to one's hometown through local scents.

This is the third year of holding classes in collaboration with the Wakasa Town Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Division. The previous two classes were held at Ume no Sato Elementary School under the town ordinance "Umeiku" (Plum Cultivation), which promotes the town's specialty, plums, with the cooperation of the entire community. This was the first time it was held at Mikata Elementary School. This year, we deliberately waited for the ripe plums, adopting the scent of fully ripened plums, which emit a more rich aroma. The experience of weaving words and expanding imagination through scent (olfaction), without being confined by the color or roundness of the fruit (sight) or its temperature or hardness (touch), seems to have brought fresh insights to the children.

"Scent Class" Program Flow

1 Close your eyes and try to concentrate only on the scent. 2 Freely write down the scenery and images that come to mind. 3 Create a story by choosing favorite words from your notes. 4 Present your original completed stories to each other.

A Unique Educational Program Focused on "Olfaction" - Utilizing New Findings from Joint Research with the University of Tokyo

SCENTMATIC has been conducting joint research with the Kazunari Tokohara Laboratory at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, a leading researcher in olfactory science, since 2020. The "Scent Class" is a unique educational program that utilizes new findings on "olfaction" and "brain activity" obtained from this research.

About the Joint Research Between the Tokohara Laboratory at the Graduate School of The University of Tokyo and SCENTMATIC

https://scentmatic.co.jp/news/20240209

"Scent Class" Implementation Results - Using Scents Tied to the Region -

https://scentmatic.co.jp/kaorium/school

Comments from Children Who Participated in the "Scent Class" (4th and 5th Graders at Wakasa Town Mikata Elementary School)

It was fun to smell the scent and imagine freely. I could hear the sound of the wind and thought of cosmos flowers. I felt very relaxed and came to like the scent of plums even more!

When I smelled the plum scent, I heard the rhythm of the shuttle run in gym class. What I wrote was a story about a boy named Umekun who made a promise to go out with his crush if he got first place in the shuttle run for his grade. It was funny when I presented it, and everyone liked it.

A commemorative photo after class with the gently spreading sweet scent of plums, unique to this season.

Comments from Staff at the Wakasa Town Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Division

Mr. Takahashi and Ms. Iwasaki from the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Division, in charge of "Plums."

Thank you for holding the "Scent Class" in Wakasa Town again this year. We hope this experience remains in the children's memories and that they will cherish the scent of their hometown even as adults. We also feel this is a valuable opportunity to let people from outside the prefecture know that this town is a major plum-producing area in western Japan. We hope you will visit Wakasa Town again for next year's class.

【SCENTMATIC Inc.】

SCENTMATIC is a company that creates new "scent experiences" with its AI for verbalizing scents, "KAORIUM." The "digitalization of olfaction" we provide appeals to human senses and is utilized in various business scenes. KAORIUM received a Silver Award at the international design award "A' Design Award." We are also conducting joint research with the Graduate School of The University of Tokyo on "the influence of words on how scents are perceived" (Note 1).

(Note 1) https://scentmatic.co.jp/news/20251119

Representative: Shunji Kurisu, Representative Director

Location: 3F, 4-22-7 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013

URL: https://scentmatic.co.jp