In 2022, POAP became the de-facto tool for conference organizers seeking to drive traffic around sponsor venues. The classic POAP Scavenger Hunt invites guests to explore the venue and sponsor offers by completing an official conference POAP Collection. Prizes are typically allocated to the top of the leaderboard.

I believe the popularity of this concept has been in large part due to the simplicity of the value proposition: simple is easy to explain, which is a winning formula in noisy environments. POAP’s unique technology, designed for easy making and delivery of NFTs in physical spaces, contributed to the successful recipe.

Of course, this experience leaves the hardcore POAP aficionado wanting much more. Simple may be easy to explain, but it also creates limited surface area for story telling, and we believe in 2024, the web3 community may be ready for us to attempt something much richer. Every POAP is a precious digital collectible, meant to remind you of a memory you hold dear: we wanted to re-imagine the POAP Scavenger Hunt as a one-of-a-kind experience that collectors would treasure. Something that can connect the inherently global, web3 native community with the history and culture we find ourselves immersed in through the calendar year.

The inaugural POAP Rally, hosted at DAO Tokyo and Ethereum Tokyo during Tokyo Blockchain Week, is modeled after the Japanese stamp rally: complete with locations that are both scenic and significant, artwork designed to be thoughtful and precious, and highly covetable prizes. Our hope is to create a model for crypto-native tourist experiences that connect the Ethereum community to a time and place in space, while connecting well with locals or tourists; one that bridges minting memories to the blockchain with leaving your mark on history.

What is a POAP Rally?

Stamp rallies have a long and treasured tradition in Japanese culture. The idea is quite simple: over a limited time period, ralliers visit different locations (often, train stations) to collect limited edition stamps, which are only available during the rally.

There is a significant challenge organizing an experience like this: printing, installing and staffing physical locations is operationally fraught, and navigating local regulations around installing physical infrastructure (NFC devices), permits, and licenses can make this kind of project fundamentally non-viable, or at least extremely cumbersome.

We re-imagined the time-honored stamp rally tradition with POAP. Using POAP Home, the mobile app brought to you by POAP Inc, guests will tour curated locations in Tokyo, mint via GPS, and gather precious digital collectibles minted with the Proof of Attendance Protocol. The POAP Rally will token gate participation in order to avoid the issue of GPS spoofing.

Aside from minting POAPs by an enormously talented local artist, ralliers will share media and mementos with everyone who had minted the same locations, and are invited to connect with others at local attractions. At the end of the week, we will gather to award three hand made prizes to the victors, to share memories, and to celebrate the memories of the week together.

Creating the POAP Rally

While we set out to make POAP Rally an authentic tourist experience, powered by POAP — much in the vein of the experience we recently released in collaboration with the City of Rosario — the inaugural POAP Rally is more than this: it is a labor of love created between friends. The experience could not have been possible without the contributions of Ed, Yuki, and the Checkin team; and of Senspace and Frankie Cihi.

Checkin enables new experiences built on composable, location-centric activities. With their collaboration, the POAP Rally has grown beyond a simple Scavenger Hunt, and into a dynamic social experience where guests can find each other at curated local cafes, bars, and other local attractions — all while maintaining its integrity as fundamentally, a tourist experience that optimizes for being memorable.

POAP Rally would never have become what it is today without the vision and guidance of Frankie Cihi, a Japanese-American visual artist specializing in murals, live painting performances, ethereal pastel dream scapes, and the traditional custom paper mache dolls known as darumas. With Frankie on board the project, we discovered the story that the POAP Rally was meant to bring to life for the Ethereum community: a story where an eye for beauty and harmony, perseverance, and a little bit of luck is enough to bring you good fortune for the challenges that lie ahead. A very special thank you goes out to Senspace, a true pillar of the Tokyo crypto community, for making the connection.

Shrines and temples in Tokyo

Frankie Cihi’s work is inspired by traditional Japanese art and cultural heritage, by mystical themes, and by the supernatural. In particular, sacred shrines, temples, mountain summits, and darumas show up as recurring themes in her body of work. Her experiences, unique perspective, and the rich canvas of Japanese culture and history gave shape to the inaugural POAP Rally in Tokyo, bringing it from a vision in our minds to a vivid, colorful reality.

The island nation of Japan is home to over 150,000 Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Shinto shrines are places of worship, and are dwellings of the kami: Shinto spirits that are hidden everywhere and in everything around us. The shrines store sacred objects of worship, which are seen by no one, and guarded by komainu (lion-dogs) and Nio (temple guards). These sacred shrines are a deep source of pride, and hold enormous cultural heritage. We knew we wanted to help visitors to Tokyo and locals alike see the gems hidden among the myriad shrines and temples in Tokyo.

Since the Edo period, many shrines and temples have produced darumas for sale: round, hollow, painted paper mache dolls with blank eyes given as totems of prosperity, good luck, and perseverance. A daruma is a gift that is given to tell some one, “I believe in you!”.

Darumas are sold fully painted, except for the eyes which are left blank for the recipient to paint. One eye is to be filled in when a goal is set, while the other will remain blank until the goal is met. This way, Daruma-san will watch his owner with one eye until the goal is accomplished, as a reminder to stay on task.

When the goal is accomplished and both eyes are filled in, the daruma should be returned to his home to be burned, usually the day after New Year’s Day, or else disposed of with reverence. However, many keep their darumas as souvenirs or reminders of their accomplishments.

The narrative we wanted to bring to life became clear: guests of DAOTokyo and EthTokyo are to go around nine of the most fascinating, historic shrines and temples in Tokyo on a POAP Rally to collect beautiful POAPs created by Frankie. Throughout the experience, we would love for you to share photos and videos via POAP Moments, and to Checkin at the local attractions while you stop for a bite with old and new friends alike. At the end, three lucky collectors will take home custom darumas as a testament to their fortune and perseverance, so that the darumas may see them through whatever challenges might be ahead.

Find POAP at Tokyo Blockchain Week!

We look forward to seeing you at DAOTokyo and EthTokyo in late August!

To learn more about the inaugural POAP Rally, and to discuss partnership opportunities, feel free to reach out to us via email, Telegram, or Warpcast. We are looking for sponsors as well as for community partners who want to be part of the fun, because occasions like this are better together.

With love,
Isabel

Warpcast: @iz
Telegram: t.me/izgnzlz
Email: isabel@poap.io