note
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
note (ノート, "nōto") is a Japanese publishing platform where text, images, audio and video sit in one feed and an author can sell access to any post. The operator describes the service as a "media platform where creators post texts, images, sound and video, and users enjoy this content and support the creators", adding that it looks after "a reassuring atmosphere and diversity".
The practical difference between note and a blog host is the built-in store. Inside the service there is a currency of its own and a contract with the author as a merchant: to sell, you conclude a separate agreement with the operator and go through a document check. This is closer to a marketplace for digital goods than to a blog.
The second difference is the corporate layer. Besides personal accounts the operator sells note pro — "an information distribution platform for legal entities" that lets a company easily assemble a media outlet inside note. That is, a company gets not a "brand page" but its own section on the same audience.
Who's here
The publicly accessible pages of note give no audience figures — how many creators, readers or posts. The operator is a public company, note株式会社 (note Inc.), and it has a reporting section, but the audience metrics themselves are not given on the open pages.
The platform's language is Japanese: the interface of the home page, the terms sections and the corporate site are served in Japanese, and there are no links to an English-language version in the markup.
An indirect sense of the content comes from the trending block on the home page: on the day of the check the "on the rise" list held an animated film based on "Chiikawa", Claude Opus 5, the game Splatoon and the model Kimi K3 — pop culture and technology mixed together. Another cross-section is the operator's news: it reports joint projects with the TBS television network, Netflix and the film studio Shochiku, which have joined note's "AI context network", where fan responses and official information are collected in one place, and its own analysis of 910,000 posts about travel over four years. Both figures are claims by the company itself, not an independent measurement.
Getting started
Registration is ordinary: an account is created from the home page, and for reading and free publishing nothing more is needed. Separate roles come later.
Paid sales require the status of a merchant (加盟店, *kameiten*). The rules describe the procedure like this: the applicant agrees to the terms, registers, provides documents at the operator's request, and the operator runs a check against its own criteria; the contract is deemed concluded from the moment of the notice of acceptance. The company is not obliged to disclose the reasons for a refusal: «in case of refusal the operator bears no obligation to state the grounds». There is also a simplified route: starting paid sales may in itself substitute for the application and the notice of acceptance.
For companies there is a separate paid subscription, note pro, and for creators noteプレミアム (note Premium). The platform advertises both in the footer of every page, but their landing pages are assembled by a script, and we saw no prices there.
What you can publish
Formats. The operator lists them in its description of the service: texts, images, sound and video. The service keeps adding embeddable blocks — for example, the team reports that Apple Podcast shows and episodes can now be embedded in a note post, and that readers' questions from the "question box" can be answered with a separate post.
Limits on text volume, file size and the duration of audio and video are not published on any publicly accessible page: they live in the help centre, which is closed off by a bot check.
The operator sets out the rules of conduct not in the language of bans but as a separate guide for creators. It says outright: «material published without any reworking of someone else's cannot be called created independently — it is simply plagiarism»; the same guide reminds you that spreading knowingly false information and demeaning people can lead to a defamation claim, and advises against publishing your date of birth, address and phone number. For someone else's material in other authors' posts the guide suggests using the "report" button under the post.
How to grow
The platform publishes no description of its feed algorithm. The open mechanisms visible on the platform itself are the "on the rise" block on the home page, thematic collections and contests: the official account constantly announces post contests, including jointly with publishers and magazines (for instance a contest with the magazine "Bungei Shunju" and a book review contest), as well as "themes of the month" — set hashtags around which posts are gathered.
A separate showcase of growth is making it into a book: the operator maintains a collection of «books that grew out of note», which on the check date held 259 items. That is the collection's counter, not the number of published books.
The publicly accessible pages show no built-in statistics and no advertising dashboard.
Path to monetization
Money on note moves through its own points, and their legal status is described in detail — because under Japanese payment services law this is a prepaid means of payment.
Rate and ceiling. The operator states: 1 point equals 1 yen; points are bought by card or through in-app purchases; the limit on a single purchase and the limit on the account balance are 300,000 yen.
Validity period. The mandatory disclosure under the payment services law says: the validity period of points is unlimited, but on leaving the service or losing user status the points are annulled.
Protection of the user's money. In the same place the operator reports that by law it must deposit with the justice authorities a security of at least half of the unused balance as of 31 March and 30 September each year, and that it does so in money; in the event of bankruptcy, point holders are satisfied out of that security in priority over other creditors.
Compensation in case of fraud. The company takes on compensation only where it is at fault, and in the case of an unlawful purchase of points against the rights holder's will it promises full compensation jointly with the card-issuing bank.
The platform's commission. It exists and is given a separate term in the rules — the "note usage fee rate" (note利用料率), but the percentage itself is set in the rules for creators, which do not open from the outside.
Money-related sanctions. The merchant rules warn: in the event of violations the operator may refuse to pay out the sum due and convert it into a penalty, additionally issuing an invoice for processing, and demand the return of what has already been paid.
Tools and automation
There is no developer section on any publicly accessible note page. The feed of the official account is served in machine-readable form — note.com/info/rss — and can be used to track service updates.
Among in-house tools the operator lists only the help centre and a feedback form; both links sit in the footer of every page.
Limits and rules
- Points. 1 point = 1 yen; the purchase and balance ceiling is 300,000 yen.
- Annulment. The validity period is unlimited, but on leaving the service the points expire.
- Admission to selling. A document check, refusal without a stated reason.
- Commission. It exists as the "note usage fee rate"; the amount is set in the rules for creators, which are closed off by a bot check.
- Withholding of payouts. In the event of violations — refusal to pay, a penalty and the return of what has already been paid.
- Language and jurisdiction. All documents are in Japanese; the operator is note株式会社 with an address in Kojimachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Who it's for
It suits you if you work for a Japanese audience and want to sell access to material without a separate store: the money, the tax plumbing and the protection of balances are already built in and described under Japanese payment services law — a rare degree of transparency for a blogging platform.
It suits companies that need a Japanese corporate blog with a ready-made audience: a separate product, note pro, is made for that.
It does not suit you if you do not read Japanese: the interface, the rules and the help are in Japanese only, and the help centre is additionally closed to automated reading. It does not suit you if you need an exact calculation of the economics before you start: the platform's commission is not stated on any publicly accessible page. And it does not suit you if you are counting on programmatic access: the platform announces no public API.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as: «クリエイターが文章やマンガ、写真、音声を投稿することができ、ユーザーはそのコンテンツを楽しんで応援できるメディアプラットフォームです。だれもが創作を楽しんで続けられるよう、安心できる雰囲気や、多様性を大切にしています。»
Self-description: this is the platform's claim about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
Sources diverge: DISCREPANCY WITH THE DATABASE: in facts.tsv the self-description lists «文章やマンガ、写真、音声» (texts, comics, photos, sound); on the check date the operator's corporate site lists «文章や画像、音声、動画» (texts, images, sound, video)
Both wordings belong to the platform; the sets of formats differ
source, checked 2026-07-28
Getting started
paid sales require a merchant contract: the applicant provides documents on request, the operator runs a check against its own criteria and is not obliged to disclose the reason for a refusal
Starting paid sales may substitute for the application and the notice of acceptance
source, checked 2026-07-28
Business terms
the operator is note株式会社 (note Inc.), address: 〒102-0083 Tokyo, Chiyoda, Kojimachi 6-6-2
Stated in the mandatory disclosure under the payment services law
source, checked 2026-07-28
a separate product for legal entities, note pro — «an information distribution platform for companies» that allows a media outlet to be assembled inside note
The price on the landing page pro.lp-note.com cannot be read without a browser
source, checked 2026-07-28
Content
the platform's guide for creators: material published without any reworking of someone else's is called plagiarism; it is recommended not to publish your date of birth, address and phone number; someone else's material should be reported with the «report» button under the post · the source is dated 2020-05-01
An entry dated 1 May 2020, addressed primarily to teenagers
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
1 point equals 1 yen; the limit on a single purchase and the limit on the account balance are 300,000 yen
Points are bought by card or through in-app purchases
source, checked 2026-07-28
the validity period of points is unlimited, but on leaving the service or losing user status the points are annulled
A mandatory disclosure under the Japanese payment services law
source, checked 2026-07-28
in the event of violations the operator may refuse to pay out the sum due and convert it into a penalty, additionally issuing an invoice for processing, and demand the return of what has already been paid
The section on non-payment and penalties in the merchant rules
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform's commission exists and is given the term «note usage fee rate» (note利用料率), but its size is set in the rules for creators and is not published on any publicly accessible page
The rules for creators at terms.help-note.com are closed off by a bot check
source, checked 2026-07-28
Legal
the operator is obliged to deposit a security of at least half of the unused balance as of 31 March and 30 September each year and does so in money; point holders are satisfied out of the security in priority over other creditors
Protection of users' funds under the payment services law
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: ja-JP
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
Japanese; there are no links to versions in other languages in the footer of the pages
Matches the database record (ja-JP)
source, checked 2026-07-28
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · region: Japan · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions