- Compact city where new ideas and tech are tested in the real world.
- Woven City residents comprise Inventors and Weavers.
- Open now, general public can visit in 2026.
Toyota Woven City is now a place where people can live and work. Following completion of the town earlier this year, Toyota Motor Corporation and Woven by Toyota (WbyT) made an official launch announcement in September.
Five years ago, then-CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda, announced that Toyota would be building a living laboratory at the base of Mt Fuji in Japan: a compact, sustainable city where ideas and technologies, such as autonomous electric vehicles and reticulated hydrogen providing energy for homes, could be tested in real life.
Toyota says there are two resident profiles central to the sucess of Woven City: Inventors and Weavers.
Inventors are enterprises, startups, entrepreneurs, research institutions, and other innovators developing and testing products and services: "By combining Toyota's manufacturing expertise, WbyT's advanced software capabilities, and the unique strengths of each Inventor, Woven City seeks to foster Kakezan―a Japanese concept of multiplication, where new innovation and societal value emerge from the convergence of different ideas and capabilities."
Among the Inventors, singer-songwriter Naoto Inti Raymi has joined. He produced the Woven City Anthem and the project's audio logo, and his participation brings the total number of Inventors to 20.
Woven City has also launched an accelerator programme with an open call for Inventors, beginning with the Woven City Challenge: Hack the Mobility competition. The programme invites startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and research institutions worldwide to propose ideas for Kakezan co-creation, with applications open until October 14, 2025.
The second profile consists of residents and visitors, known as Weavers. By experiencing the products and services first hand and providing feedback, Weavers will play a role in shaping new innovations.
Starting in September, several Toyota Group employees and their families have begun living in Woven City as the first Weavers, with Phase 1 ultimately expected to accommodate about 300 residents. General visitors will be admitted in 2026.