Tokyoites now have another way to escape their mundane day-to-day lives with the opening Saturday of an indoor amusement park featuring virtual reality technology in the city’s Shibuya district. Shibuya VR Land, located in the Shibuya Modi shopping complex, offers an hour’s worth…<\/b>
\nTokyoites now have another way to escape their mundane day-to-day lives with the opening Saturday of an indoor amusement park featuring virtual reality technology in the city’s Shibuya district.
Shibuya VR Land, located in the Shibuya Modi shopping complex, offers an hour’s worth of content for an admission fee of 2,200 yen ($20) . Theme park operator Huis Ten Bosch Co. created the facility in the hope of drawing visitors to its Dutch-inspired park in southwestern Japan’s Sasebo, which also features VR attractions.
\u00ab\u00a0We see it as a way to boost name-recognition across Japan and globally, \u00a0\u00bb a public relations official said.
Shibuya VR Land offers five different sets of content. Ultra Reverse Bungee uses headsets and moving seats to give the sensation of being shot into outer space by a giant catapult, while Impending Whisper of Love puts you on the receiving end of a declaration of love from one of three handsome young men or a young woman.
Other content include a game where you battle hoards of enemies with a weapon of choice, a music game, and an escape from a haunted hospital.
The popularity of VR has soared in recent years as headsets such as Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation VR and the Oculus Rift have become available to consumers.
Video game publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. will open its own VR amusement park in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area next month, where visitors can jump into the world of anime such as Gundam and Dragon Ball.
Competition among theme parks in Japan is heating up as the industry enjoys strong ticket sales due to a shift in consumer preferences toward spending on experiences rather than products. A steady inflow of tourists from China and other parts of the world has also provided a tailwind.
In a bid to draw visitors, Tokyo Disneyland operator Oriental Land Co. has begun construction of a new area based on \u00ab\u00a0Beauty and the Beast, \u00a0\u00bb set to open in 2020.
USJ Co., operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, western Japan, is building a more-than 60 billion yen area inspired by Nintendo Co.’s Mario video game franchise.
In central Japan’s Nagoya, Legoland Japan, a theme park based on the Danish block toy, opened in April, while renowned animation house Studio Ghibli has plans for a theme park in neighboring Nagakute to open in the early 2020s.<\/p>\n