Our story
An interest in websites became an agency in Tokyo
HosonoDE did not start with a business plan for an agency. It started much earlier: with Ryusei's interest in programming, first self-built websites, practical e-commerce work in Germany and later the decision to become self-employed in Tokyo.
Clients
Experience from relaunches, rescue projects, B2B shops, migrations, campaigns and ongoing e-commerce support.
DACH
The largest share of our clients comes from Germany: 65%. Another 19% are from Switzerland and 6.1% from Austria.
Years building the agency
Freelance projects gradually became an agency with a team, processes and a clear specialization in the DACH market.
Origin
We did not start with packages. We started with problems.
Ryusei was already interested in programming and websites during his final school years and built his first own websites back then. Later he started an apprenticeship as a media designer for digital and print and worked in Hesse as an e-commerce manager. That experience on the client side still matters today: he saw where collaboration with agencies and freelancers worked well and where it slowed companies down unnecessarily.
When Ryusei came to Japan, the question was simple: what now? The answer was not a big agency setup at first, but self-employment as a freelancer. Then more and more projects came in, more than one person could reasonably handle. Individual projects became a small team. The team became HosonoDE. And HosonoDE became an agency that deliberately bundles German-speaking e-commerce and marketing competence in Tokyo.
Why do clients come to us? Usually not because of a polished claim, but because something actually needs to be solved: server issues, plugin errors, updates, Shopware setups, marketing strategies, tracking, AI processes or operational workflows that cost too much time. Many come from other agencies or freelancers. And many stay because we do not think in campaigns or quarters, but in five to 20 years of shared development.
The story started with one path, today a team carries the work
Almost 20 people across e-commerce, development, marketing, operations and AI deliver the work that grew from Ryusei's start as a freelancer.
CEO & Gründer
Backoffice
Backoffice
Backoffice
E-Commerce
Development
Marketing
Development
Development
E-Commerce
Marketing
E-Commerce
Marketing
AI
1.
From freelancer to team
The start in Tokyo was personal and hands-on. First came individual clients, then too many projects for one person, then a team connecting e-commerce, marketing and technology.
2.
DACH understanding from Tokyo
Ryusei is Japanese, but grew up in Düsseldorf and worked in Germany. That is why our market understanding is not rooted in Japan, but in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
3.
Tokyo as a real advantage
The time difference is not a disadvantage. While clients in Europe sleep, we can prepare updates, maintenance, plugin work and technical changes so fewer interruptions happen in the morning.
This is how Ryusei's personal path became an agency with a clear focus: supporting German-speaking SMEs in e-commerce for the long term, working cleanly on the technical side and improving projects year after year.
