Enthusiasm of 1000 tickets sold out…Report on the 1st Keyboard Market Tokyo

On March 2, 2024, the first keyboard exhibition and sales event in Japan, Keyboard Market Tokyo (Key Kett), was held.

Despite being the first event, the 1,000 tickets prepared in advance were sold out.

This article will introduce the day’s events from a “home-built keyboard enthusiast’s point of view.

• Official website: https://keeb-market.jp/
• Information reference and image reference source: Web Catalog (PDF file )

This article has received permission for publication from the Keyboard Market Management Office prior to publication.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Keyboard Market Management Office for granting us permission to cover the event.

Interviewed and written by GreenEchoes Studio Kawamura, a self-made keyboard enthusiast himself.

Keyboard Market Tokyo Overview

• Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024 11:00 – 16:00
• Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Taitokan 7F Exhibition Room (North), 2-6-5 Hanakawado, Taito-ku, Tokyo
• Official website:https://keeb-market.jp/

The venue for the first keynote was the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Taito Kan, located in Taito-ku, Tokyo.

Half of the 7th floor exhibition space was rented out for the event.

It is located about 7 minutes on foot from Tokyo Metro Asakusa Station, not far from Sensoji Temple.

The weather that day was fine.

It was a perfect “keyboard day” for the memorable first event.

Keyboard Market Tokyo Report

The author, on the side of the press, still wanted to actually purchase his own keyboard, so he purchased an advance admission ticket and got in line.

When the lineup for the advance admission began at 10:30 a.m., 100 people gathered in the blink of an eye.

The atmosphere was at once event-like.

From here to here are numbers 11 through 20!

The voice of Yukari, representative of moimtate and the Kequet management, echoes.

The pre-admission people were numbered from 1 to 100, presumably in the order of purchase, and after lining up, the staff read the QR code on the smartphone screen and handed out the pre-order bonus novelty with the admission pass on the left hand side… It was a very efficient process, and everyone was accepted in no time at all.

Don’t push.” Don’t run!”

11:00 pm.

The doors slowly opened with the voice of the staff.

Very popular booths where the old-timers of the homebrew keyboard community gather, “A-11 Swamp People’s Association” and “A-12 Jiki Hot Spring Town Sales Office.”

The most noticeably crowded area immediately after the opening was the “Numahin no Kai” and the “Jiki Hot Springs Town Sales Office” alongside it.

According to Mr. Salicylic Acid, who runs the “Jiki Hot Springs Sales Office,” “Jiki Hot Springs is a subordinate organization of the Numamijin no Kai,” so the accounting was the same.

As for Mr. Salicylic Acid, he is also the operator of the blog ” Homemade Keyboard Hot Spring Town Walking ” and is actively working to promote homemade keyboards to the world.

The booth sold a prototype of the “7sPro Max,” the second 60% layout keyboard that can be split left and right in a happy layout, as well as many new 40% keyboards, and it was impressive to see how each one felt in their hands.

Five members of the Swamp People’s Association, who have been making the Homebrew Keyboard Association a success, jointly opened a stall.

Amidst a lineup of many great machines, we were able to ask zinc creator Mons. of Funk about the features of his improved zinc.

ZINC is a 40% layout keyboard in a left-right split row staggered style.

We have repeatedly made updates to the board, such as making it compatible with tabbed LEDs for easier mounting.

In this improved version, they have put special emphasis on modifications around the microcontroller.

The microcontrollers with “USB Type-C” connection terminals, which have become mainstream in recent years, differ greatly in the length and thickness of the terminals protruding from the board compared to the conventional Micro-B terminal type.

Because previous models were designed based on Micro-B, some Type-C microcontrollers interfered with the board.

In addition, there are multiple “variants” of Type-C microcontrollers, with slightly different shapes, making some cases difficult to deal with.

The “new board” was designed to address these issues.

The 3D printed “middle plate” specially prepared for this project was modified to extend slightly beyond the outer frame to address the length issue.

Booth Name	Swamp People’s Association
manager	yohe ⁽⁽(ʃ( ‘ㅅ’))₎₎⁾⁾ foostan Mark Box Key Cap monsters of funk desolate
Sales Site	External site (yohe) External site (MARK) External site (BOXXX KEYCAP) External site (Mons. of Funk) External site (desolation)
genre	keyboard Artisan Keycap
masterpiece	M0ii0 Series treadstone/LEFTOVER corne/cornelius THINK_Series zinc,MDA Future Suzuri
Sales List	See post below Also, please take a look at the sales list made by Salicylic Acid.

Booth Name	Jiki Hot Spring Resort Sales Office
manager	Salicylic Acid Jiki Onsen Guide
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	7sPro Max etc.
Sales List	External Sites

B-1 Usaki-Bodo” is filled with various specialties.

The left-right split column staggered 60% layout keyboard was sold by Usakibodo.

The thumb cluster (the part operated by the thumb) is very distinctive in that it is one step lower.

Looking at the structure, the system was designed to be physically stepped by making terminal connections from the board where the microcontroller is installed to the two boards.

Particular attention was paid to the “Win” and “alt” key areas in the above image.

According to the production designer, Gikurabito, “I wanted to enhance the operability with the little finger, while allowing blind key presses as well.

Well, it is true that when typing, the pinky part of the finger can type without looking at the hand.

The terminal area is also very user-friendly, and the white button can be set to any button you like.

They “assume that the keys will be set to keys that are not used on a daily basis but are needed in an emergency.

He also designs and sells his own keycaps.

When the legend portion of a plain 3D printed keycap is colored with Posca and sanded off, the print appears as shown in the figure on the right.

In addition, the shape of the integrated palm rest has been carefully selected.

He seems to be preparing new works, and is one of the creators we cannot take our eyes off of.

https://twitter.com/geek_rabb1t/status/1764655436043866533

Also lined up next to it were many cute animal keycaps created with wool felt.

Haruka, the creator of the event, said that she decided to open the store at the last minute.

Booth Name	Usakibodo (name of a temple building)
manager	geeky Haruka
Sales Site	External Sites External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	Timothy Fluffy Animal Key Cap
Sales List	External Sites External Sites

Exhibitor Ichi Long Keyboard “B-2 1U Cat Key Shop

One thing that particularly caught my eye at the 1U Cat Key Shop was the very long, horizontal “KeeBar”.

When asked about the concept behind the development of the product, we heard comments that many could relate to.

According to developer ymkn, one of the most common obstacles for people who normally use keyboards such as 60%/65% to transition to a 40% keyboard is the difficulty in hitting the number keys and the “symbols” located on the shift layer of the number keys.

The 40% keyboard, which eliminates the number line, by its very nature has to move to a “back layer” with no printing for numbers and symbols, which inevitably results in a very large switching cost of “memorizing the number and symbol positions on the back layer”.

This unit was created to solve this problem.

The numeric/symbol keys, arranged in a numeric keypad-like fashion in the center, make this keyboard a good choice for 40% beginner users.

We also found the independent directional keys to be very usable.

A number of other products were also on display that also support JIS layouts.

Booth Name	1U cat key shop
manager	YMKN
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	KeeBar
Sales List	External Sites

A-5 alglabnet,” a low-profile “A-5 alglabnet” with “that array” that never seemed to exist.

The new “Teihai70H” caught our attention at the alglabnet booth.

From its appearance, it looks like it could be mistaken for the Keychron K3, but if you look closely, you can see that it has a “happy Japanese” layout.

In order to comfortably achieve the so-called “sonji style,” in which the keyboard bridge is placed on top of the laptop computer, a conventional mechanical keyboard with a normal profile is a bit high, forcing the wrists to dorsiflex.

With this Teihai70H, the extremely thin profile enables comfortable typing with minimal wrist strain.

The split space bar portion of the re-bottom line is another consideration unique to home-made keyboards.

Thus, at first glance, ALG’s low-profile keyboard looks like a 3D printed case, but according to him, “I put black masking tape on the sides of the acrylic laminated case to make it look like one.

The masking tape looked like a solid black bookbinding tape.

This is a great idea.

We were also impressed by the many other low-profile keyboards and other pieces for sale.

Booth Name	alglabnet
manager	alg
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	Keyboard/Keycaps
masterpiece	Taihei70,shaved ice,ice
Sales List	External Sites

 

Super-heavyweight body satisfies even the hardest hitters: “A-9 Royal Magic Keyboard Factory”.

At the Royal Magic Keyboard Factory operated by “Maou,” three types of their signature work, “SilverBullet,” including new colors, were on display and for sale.

In addition to the distinctive left-right split column staggered 40% layout, the ultra-heavy aluminum body was particularly impressive.

As for the dedicated palm rest, a balance weight for car tires can be installed, and perhaps the biggest “selling point” of this keyboard is that it will not be affected by any heavy hitter.

The “Nirupoke” by Nirupo, which sells TRRS cables and was located in the same building, was already sold out.

He showed us a sample of his work, and the beauty of the finished product was so elaborate that it was hard to believe that he had made it himself.

According to Mr. Kikuchi, “It is quite difficult to produce because you have to be very careful about the heating time, etc., because too much solder will melt the nylon.

We were also told that many skilled people in the home-built keyboard community have also given up.

Booth Name	Royal Magic Keyboard Factory
manager	DemonKing/Nirupo
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard TRRS Cable
masterpiece	Silverbullet null pointer exception (in the Java programming language)
Sales List	External Sites External Sites

A-8 kbd.aarashike.com,” with its meticulously crafted aluminum case

Arashi will be working on a full aluminum case designed exclusively for the world famous “corne” keyboard designed by “Numahinkai” foostan.

The gasket-mounted structure, in which the board “floats” within the case, resulted in a very soft key feel.

Another significant feature of this case would be the so-called “tenting angle,” which slopes from the center to the edges, whereas a normal keyboard slopes from the back to the front.

In order to find the ultimate in keystroke feel, various prototypes of forms and tenting angles have been studied, giving the impression that this is truly the “ultimate corne case”. (Reference: 40% gasket mount keyboard (case) Corchim in GB (advent calender 2023) )

The author is also a CORNE user and was able to participate in the GB.

Booth Name	kbd.arashike.com
manager	raising havoc
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	Corchim
Sales List	External Sites

Ultra-compact to reduce fingering burden! C-1 Narrow Pitch Keyboard Association

The “Narrow Pitch Keyboard Association,” which was impressive for the constant flow of customers, is run by tahashicompany.

I couldn’t help but say “wow” at the cool business card made of PCB board.

This business card can actually be used as a keyboard.

Generally speaking, the center-to-center distance of a keyboard = 19.05 mm, which is the “standard” pitch.

This “narrow pitch keyboard” is probably developed based on the concept of reducing this spacing to make it as compact as possible and reduce the distance of fingering.

Most of the keyboards designed by takashicompany had a pitch of 0.8u = approximately 16mm.

In this case, it was necessary to prepare original keycaps as well, and he was thorough enough to manufacture the keycaps himself.

I have also purchased one and would like to put it together at a later date.

(Reference blog: [Narrow Pitch] 3D data of 0.8u keycap of Kailh Choc v1 is now available )

Booth Name	Narrow Pitch Keyboard Association
manager	takashicompany, etc.
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	miniDivide/miniZone
Sales List	External Sites

A-6 Shimane University Monozukuri Club Pim” for easy portability

A red banner caught the eye of the “Shimane University Monozukuri Club Pim”.

ErgoGridGo developer Shiitake is the “former head” of the department and is now in graduate school.

The design concept was inspired by the idea of an easy-to-carry keyboard. “I saw a friend of mine bringing a full-size keyboard, and I wanted to design a keyboard that was more compact and easier to type on,” he said.

ErgoGridGo is a column-staggered 40% layout keyboard with an integrated and centered numeric keypad.

To prevent the key switch from being disconnected during transportation, a solder board is used instead of a socket.

The newly developed palm rest cum trackpad is also an excellent keyboard lid.

Due to the power supply, the use of the system is based on the assumption of a wired connection, but “we would like to consider whether the system can be used wirelessly as well”.

Booth Name	Shimane University Monozukuri Club Pim
manager	shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes)
Sales Site	nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia, esp. var. culta)
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	ErgoGridGo
Sales List	External Sites

A-7 YMG Works” with double trackball personality

YMG WORKS’ “The Endpoint” fascinated us with its flashy lighting with double trackballs that attracted our eyes.

As expected, the most notable feature is the large ball trackballs placed in different positions on both hands.

The design was very flexible, with a trackball on the right hand side for index finger operation like the Kensinton SlimBlade and a trackball on the left hand side for thumb operation like the Logitech MX ERGO, allowing the user to choose the mounting position of the unit according to his/her preference.

Booth Name	YMG Works
manager	YMG WORKS
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	The End Point
Sales List	External Sites

C-7 5z6p Instruments by Dm9Records” with retro looks and typewriter-like sound

One of the standouts at the 5z6p Instruments by Dm9Records booth was this 40% orthographic (grid array) keyboard named “Frannel”.

The retro look of the spacecraft cockpit, as if it were straight out of a sci-fi movie, stood out from the crowd at this year’s keynote.

Even more distinctive is the “ticking” sound when the toggle switch in the upper right corner is turned on.

https://twitter.com/hsgw/status/1761740771722735818

This ticking sound is the true nature of the sound of a “sonoraid,” a device that generates a magnetic field by passing electricity to move an iron core, operating.

Reference: Takaha Kiko Co.

Keyboards with sonoraids have been increasingly adopted in recent years.

(Recently, GRIN ONE released by policiumand leneko52R released by Darakuneko are also equipped with Sonoraid)

According to the designer, hsgw, “It sounds like an old typewriter, which is interesting. However, I would go crazy typing in my room with a sonorous sound”.

Other keyboards on display and for sale included Meias, a 40% left-right split layout orthogonal keyboard.

Booth Name	5z6p Instruments by Dm9Records
manager	hsgw
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	Frannel
Sales List	External Sites

Artistic marble paint job “A-1 Fuji Parmesan Claft Works

One of the most eye-catching and colorful booths near the entrance to the Kiket was that of Fuji Parmesan Claft Works, the organizer of the “Fuji Parmesan Claft Works”.

The coloring is done by a technique called marble painting, and as for the pattern, it is “one of a kind,” so it is very attractive to be able to enjoy different atmospheres even with the same color.

Some paint bases seem to be difficult to get the color on, and in the painting of KPrepublic’s aluminum case “PSD40” compatible with the “Trident40 PCB,” which was already sold out that day, it was necessary to spray “primer,” a primer that makes it easier for the paint to get on, in addition to the usual treatment. The process was very time-consuming and labor intensive.

All marble paint products have an even clear coating, and you can enjoy the beautiful luster no matter what angle you photograph them from.

Booth Name	Fuji Parmesan Claft Works
manager	Fujikko
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keycap
masterpiece	Marble coating
Sales List	External Sites

Alice layout and aluminum lumpiness are irresistible “A-10 Kuriya”

The Yak40 (Yak-Yon-Ju), designed by Sasa Kuriuki, stood out for its unique key layout.

The case was made in a two-piece upper and lower configuration, with the top case made of CNC aluminum and the bottom lid created with acrylic panels.

This layout, in which the left and right sides are separated and slanted toward the center, is called the “Alice layout,” and while it is a normal rowstaggered layout, the keys are arranged from an ergonomic perspective, allowing typing at a more natural arm angle.

(The original Alice sequence is presumably TGR-Alice. See here ▷▷▷ for reference)

Another feature of Yak40 is that the connection terminals are independent of the main board in a part called a daughter board.

When the board is fixed in the case with movable manufacturing (burger mount) to improve the keystroke feel, as in Yak40, the keystroke feel near the terminals may be impaired if the terminals are fixed in the case.

I had the impression that independent daughter boards were used to avoid this and to increase design flexibility.

(The latest Unified Daughterboard S1 was used for the daughterboard.)

When we visited the booth, the kit with the case was already almost sold out.

According to Mr. Kuriakisasa, “After all, most of them have never ordered aluminum cases themselves, so they seem to prefer the ones with cases.

I personally know the advantage of being able to order a case relatively easily with 3D model data, and being able to specify my favorite color. We are very pleased with the results of the survey and would like to thank you for your support.

Booth Name	chestnut shop
manager	Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis)
Sales Site	nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia, esp. var. culta)
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	Yak40
Sales List	External Sites

New Dimension 3D Keyboard “C-11 Hayashitaro

The “Killer Whale” column-staggered layout 3D keyboard, which was released last year and became a hot topic of conversation, was placed in the center of Hayashirou’s booth.

The parts attached under the main board are modular and can be customized according to the user’s preference.

When asked about the degree of difficulty of assembly, including soldering, he replied, “The individual soldering operations are almost the same as for ordinary self-made keyboards. However, since there are many parts and procedures, it is necessary to assemble with more patience than usual”.

Along with the Monkey Pad, which will be discussed later, keyboards that take a “three-dimensional” approach are rare among key kits, and we have a strong impression that they are pioneering a new genre.

In addition, the new ON THE 15, an orthogonal keyboard that boasts a variety of layouts, and the new ON THE 17, which comes with a trackball module, were also on sale.

Booth Name	tumbler
manager	tumbler
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	ON THE GO, etc.
Sales List	External Sites

C-10 ozsan” with flexible tenting angle

Designed by ozsan, the Monkey Pad is an orthographic layout keyboard.

The independent thumb section is an excellent feature that can be customized in function by replacing modules.

Trackballs, joysticks, rotary encoder knobs, and other parts can be replaced as desired.

What caught my personal attention was this variable tenting mechanism.

No matter what the angle, the left and right edges are designed to be level, so there will be no rattling.

According to OZSAN, “This mechanism can be achieved by designing it so that the extensions of the three axes intersect at a single point at any angle. If these are parallel on the left and right sides, it is easy to keep them always grounded, but if they are angled, it requires a little ingenuity,” he says.

Booth Name	ozsan
manager	ozsan
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	Monkeypad
Sales List	External Sites

Jewel-like beauty “A-2 Marine Products

Artisan keycaps were sold at the “Marine Products” booth, where nori and Shachi’s Fish Tank were selling their products.

Since most of the pieces were sold out when the author visited, he was unfortunately unable to photograph the keycap featuring a large ore, which is a representative work, or the keycap with a humpback whale enclosed in it.

He told us that the stainless steel keycaps in the prototype stage were inevitably difficult to make the cross bearing part precise, and that in the end, “we had to steadily sharpen them by hand.

Booth Name	marine products
manager	Nori. Shachi’s tank
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keycap
masterpiece	Sea creatures
Sales List	External Sites External Sites

(postscript)

We have corrected the following two points pointed out by the author.

• Orca enclosed -> humpback whale enclosed
• Aluminum keycap -> Stainless steel keycap

The C-5 U40, a simple, ultra-compact and ambitious product

 

The two machines exhibited at U40 were the Potato38 and Mono38, both with 38-key configurations.

Both have a minimalist configuration with a row-staggered layout, but they differ in whether they can be divided into left and right sides.

The very thin profile even though CHERRY MX keyswitches are used, and the TRRS cable around the left-right split section are very beautifully made and very impressive.

Booth Name	U40
manager	u27a4
Sales Site	–
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	–
Sales List	External Sites

S-4 Basekeys” for superb keystroke feel with CERACOAT

The company we interviewed at their booth was Basekeys.

We spoke with masro about his new “IO Dualshot2”.

This model is inspired by the “GMK Dualshot2” keycap and is the newest addition to the “IO Series” with the same color tone base color and splash paint.

The greatest feature is a special film coating called ” CERACOTE,” which Masro says is “so tough that it will not get scratched even if dropped.

CERACOTE also “changes the feel and sound of keystrokes a lot (Masro).

When we tested the difference in key feel between the IO without CERACOTE and the CERACOTE model, we found that the CERACOTE model had less metallic reverberation, and the high notes were attenuated, resulting in a so-called “thocky” key strike sound.

As for the IO, the commercialization of the product is still undecided. “If we are satisfied with the finished product, we may sell it (Mr. Masro),” he said, and his commitment to the product could be clearly felt.

Booth Name	Basekeys.
manager	KS Japan [masro] (Japan)
Sales Site	External Sites
genre	keyboard
masterpiece	input-output
Sales List	–

summary

The “Key Kettle” closed after a great success despite being the first event.

The fourth image in the official X post after the closing of the meeting shows…

キーボードマーケット トーキョーはただいまをもって閉会しました。
たくさんのご来場ありがとうございました。#キーケット #keeb_market pic.twitter.com/ftJHe3ZDHH

— キーボードマーケット トーキョー（キーケット） (@keeb_market) March 2, 2024

The words “See you next year.” were hidden.

This seems to be a promising “second” event.

We will continue to focus on the “home-built keyboard” area, which is becoming more and more exciting.