Rakuten Announces Top Rankings
Across Services for 2015

Tokyo, November 26, 2015 – Rakuten, Inc. today announced the “Rakuten 2015 Annual Rankings,” the compiled rankings for Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Books, Rakuten Kobo, Rakuten Travel, Rakuten GORA, and Rakuten Recipe.

For Rakuten Ichiba, the plant-derived Botanist hair care product line won first spot in its debut year. The Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Hibana, by comedian Naoki Matayoshi, was the top seller at Rakuten Books, and second among eBooks for Rakuten Kobo. Boasting natural attractions and a large number of special events, Atami Hot Spring took the number one spot for the second year running in Rakuten Travel’s hot spring destination rankings. Rakuten GORA’s golf course rankings were led for the second year in a row by Kazusa Country Club, for its ease of access from Tokyo and the overall quality of its maintenance. In the Rakuten Recipe search keyword rankings, “onigirazu,” (rice sandwich) was the top search term for the first half of the year and again in the second half.

The year’s rankings for each service are provided below.

- Botanical shampoo/conditioner hit no. 1 on debut
URL→ https://ranking.rakuten.co.jp/yearly/

1st    Botanist botanical shampoo/treatment/SALONIA official site
2nd   Colored contact lenses - Ever Color One Day Natural/Queeneyes Rakuten Ichiba store
3rd    Wondercore Smart gym equipment /Shop Japan Rakuten Ichiba store
4th    Cosmic Enzyme diet drink /Enzyme beverage specialist
5th    1-DAY ACUVUE MOIST 90-pack two box set /@Contact
6th    99% Water Super Baby Wipes　100-pack x 16 /Akachan Honpo Rakuten Ichiba store
7th    SCALP-D for Oily Skin Shampoo/Angfa store
8th    Medalist One Day Plus 30-pack  6-box set /Sigma Contact
9th    200 cups of coffee Lucky Bag/ Sawai Coffee Beans & Leaf
10th  Extra Large Boiled Red King Crab / Uminosachi Nanoni YAMATO

Calculation period: September 25, 2014 to September 24, 2015

◆Observations◆
The annual rankings for Rakuten Ichiba are dominated by products that suggest a growing awareness of health and beauty. The plant-based Botanist hair care product line won first place in its first year, joined by Wondercore Smart fitness equipment (3^rd) and the Cosmic Enzyme diet beverage (4^th), which are also convenient health products at a good price. Their popularity was driven by TV and other media coverage and celebrity endorsements. Outside the top ten, Eyelash Serum (17^th), Coconut Oil (18^th) and the Placenta enzyme drink (20^th) and other health and beauty products placed highly. Following on from last year, the typical bulk buy items such as contact lenses (5^th and 8^th) and the coffee lucky bag (9^th) continued to show their popularity.

- Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Hibana by comedian Naoki Matayoshi takes no. 1 spot -
URL→  http://books.rakuten.co.jp/event/best-ranking/

1st    [Book] Hibana / Naoki Matayoshi
2nd   [Book] ONE　PIECE vol. 79 / Eichiro Oda
3rd    [Book] ONE　PIECE vol. 77 / Eichiro Oda
4th    [CD] DREAMS COME TRUE THE BEST! Watashi no Dricam / DREAMS　COME　TRUE
5th    [DVD] ARASHI BLAST in Hawaii / Arashi
6th    [Book] ONE　PIECE vol. 78 / Eichiro Oda
7th    [DVD] ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2014 THE DIGITALIAN / Arashi
8th    [DVD] Kanjanism LIVE TOUR 2014≫2015 / Kanjani∞
9th    [Book] [Daily calendar] Shuzo Every Day! Messages of support to cheer you up / Shuzo Matsuoka
10th  [Blu-ray] ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2014 THE DIGITALIAN / Arashi

Calculation period: January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2015

◆Observations◆
In first place is Hibana, the debut novel from Naoki Matayoshi of the popular comedy duo Peace and winner of the 153rd Akutagawa Prize. It is the first time an active comedian has won an Akutagawa Prize, a remarkable feat attracting wide attention that has translated into sales of over 2 million books. The popular One Piece manga claimed second, third and sixth places. With more than 300 million copies sold, the continually popular series has been awarded the Guinness World Record for the bestselling comic series by a single author. Shuzo Matsuoka’s ninth-ranked [Daily calendar] Shuzo Every Day! with its enthusiastically supportive messages was a big hit, selling over a million copies – unprecedented for a calendar.

- Three titles from the Shingeki no Kyojin - Attack on Titan series make top 10 -
URL→  http://books.rakuten.co.jp/event/best-ranking/

1st    Shingeki no Kyojin - Attack on Titan No. 16 / Hajime Isayama
2nd   Hibana / Naoki Matayoshi
3rd    Shingeki no Kyojin - Attack on Titan No. 17 / Hajime Isayama
4th    Things to know in your 20s - 50 pieces of encouragement to turn worries into confidence / Yuji Okayama
5th    30 study techniques to change your life in just 30 minutes / Yuji Okayama
6th    Hanashi no neta ni naru! Origin of Words Dictionary / ISMPublishingLab.
7th    Shingeki no Kyojin - Attack on Titan No. 15 / Hajime Isayama
8th    Shitamachi Rocket /Jun Ikeido
9th    Kingdom 36 / Yasuhisa Hara
10th   Kingdom 37 / Yasuhisa Hara

Calculation period: January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2015

◆Observations◆
Following on from last year, the popular Shingeki no Kyojin - Attack on Titan manga series claimed first, third and seventh places. Naoki Matayoshi’s Akutagawa Prize winning novel Hibana, first in the Rakuten Books annual ranking, was second in the overall eBook rankings and first in the novel genre for eBooks. Kingdom, which was introduced on a variety show at the end of May, saw a sudden rise in sales of the entire series immediately following the broadcast. One of the advantages of eBooks – that they cannot be sold out and can be read immediately – came to the fore in purchasing trends.

- Atami Hot Spring no. 1 for second year – Furusato coupon drives popularity of trips to hot springs -
URL→ https://travel.rakuten.co.jp/onsen/ranking/

Ranking    Hot spring                    Location
1st     Atami Hot Spring                 Shizuoka Prefecture
2nd    Beppu Hot Spring                Oita Prefecture
3rd    Kusatsu Hot Spring              Gunma Prefecture
4th    Nasu Hot Spring            Tochigi Prefecture　
5th    Kinugawa Hot Spring                    Tochigi Prefecture
6th    Shirahama Hot Spring          Wakayama Prefecture
7th    Ito Hot Spring                   Shizuoka Prefecture
8th    Akiu Hot Spring                        Miyagi Prefecture
9th    Dogo Hot Spring                    Ehime Prefecture
10th  Gero Hot Spring         Gifu Prefecture

Calculation period: November 1, 2014 to October 31, 2015

◆Observations◆
Atami Hot Spring in Shizuoka Prefecture retained its top spot from last year. Not only does it boast easy access from Tokyo, bountiful seasonal nature and gourmet delights from its seas and mountains, it maintains popularity by holding events throughout the year, such as the Atami Beach Fireworks Festival. This year, Rakuten Travel ran a promotion aimed at women in conjunction with the Atami City “Unexpectedly Atami” campaign, resulting in a large number of trips to Atami by female travelers. Kusatsu Hot Spring jumped from sixth place last year to third, the result of strong publicity for Netsu no Yu, an attraction famous for yumomi, or stirring of the waters; and the reopening of the spacious 500m² Nishino Kawara outdoor bath. Gunma Premium Accommodation Coupons to encourage overnight stays proved popular. Gifu Prefecture’s Gero Hot Spring, which has been a feature of the top 10 since 2011, has good access to Shirakawa-go, the traditional village of steep roofs that just celebrated its 20^th anniversary of receiving UNESCO World Heritage status. It has also become known as a hot spring for beauty. It hosted more overnight stays this year on the back of the “Seiryu no Kuni Gifu Furusato Travel Coupon” promotion.

- Access from Tokyo key to high placing -
URL→ https://gora.golf.rakuten.co.jp/doc/special/2015/rank/
Ranking    Golf course                                                                    Location
1st           Kazusa Country Club                                                     Chiba Prefecture
2nd          Sanda Lakeside Country Club                                     Hyogo Prefecture
3rd           Tokyowan Country Club                                                  Chiba Prefecture
4th           Higashi Tsukuba Country Club                                     Ibaraki Prefecture
5th           Central Golf Club                                                             Ibaraki Prefecture
6th           Manago Country Club                                                    Tochigi Prefecture　
7th           Seta Golf Courses: East Course / West Course      Shiga Prefecture
8th           Shinmusashigaoka Golf Course                                Saitama Prefecture
9th           Chiba Shinnihon Golf Club                                           Chiba Prefecture
10th         Hanao Country Club                                                      Chiba Prefecture

Calculation period: January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2015

◆Observations◆
For the second time running, Kazusa Country Club in Chiba Prefecture topped the rankings. Its prime location, seven minutes’ drive from the Metropolitan Intercity Expressway Ichihara-Tsurumai interchange, and the highly appraised overall maintenance of the course, are attracting an increasing number of tournaments. Second-placed Tokyowan Country Club (Chiba Prefecture) also traded on its location, at under one hour from Tokyo using the Aqualine. The Sanda Lakeside Country Club (Hyogo Prefecture) took third spot for a unique fairway design and superb cost performance including meal-inclusive plans. Higashi Tsukuba Country Club (Ibaraki Prefecture) made fourth place on account of its challenging fairway, as well as excellent reviews on Rakuten GORA for the quality of its dining options and customer service. In general, golf courses with good access and highly-regarded fairways rose in the rankings.

- “Onigirazu” way out in front in yearly rankings
Topical “Chigiri bread” also makes top 10 as nutritious products ranked highly-
URL→ https://recipe.rakuten.co.jp/

Ranking    Keyword
1st             Onigirazu
2nd            Izakaya menu
3rd             Dashi soy sauce
4th             Thick-cut pork roast
5th             Tofu cream
6th             Kid-friendly
7th             Cabbage
8th             Japanese pepper leaves
9th             Delicious cold
10th           Potluck

Calculation period: January 1, 2015 to October 30, 2015

◆Observations◆
“Onigirazu”, the unrolled onigiri rice sandwich, grabbed first place, as it did in the first half of 2015, far ahead of second place and below. Second spot was taken by “Izakaya menu”, which has ranked in the top 10 since last autumn. Third-placed “Wild sesame leaves” made the top 10 for the first time. “Shiso seeds” (7^th) and “Malabar spinach” (9^th) were other searches in the ranking that show the current focus on nutritious vegetables. Chigiri bread (4^th) rose dramatically as a product easily adapted to “deco-bread”, or decorating bread with animals and cartoon characters, for example – with completed batches a prime subject for the posting of photos on social media platforms such as Instagram.