We are excited to bring the DiGRA 2019 conference in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. This is the 2nd time we welcome you to Japan since the DiGRA 2007 conference which was held in Tokyo. Much has changed since then as various books, papers, and findings have been made public by researchers and scholars from multiple academic disciplines, and we are excited to emphasize that numerous members of DiGRA have been major contributors to these efforts. People now have not only come to realize the importance of this media as a form of mainstream entertainment but also enrich our social relationship, learning experience as well as enhancing healthy living. We hope that this conference will further extend our endeavors in uniting the voices, both from the academic as well as industry, that games in all forms can truly enhance the human experience. Kyoto, being a home for the emperors and aristocracy for centuries, has been the places where various forms of plays were nurtured and developed. We hope that following this tradition, creative and innovative concepts as well as ideas can be introduced during the conference with full of ‘playfulness’.