Travel Tech Tokyo:
VR x Tourism: 360-Degree Videos Stoke Desire for Travel

Promoting Tama's Tourist Attractions, from Nature to Local Cuisine

The Tama area of Tokyo is home to many famous sightseeing spots where visitors can get in touch with nature and enjoy seasonal views, from Akigawa Valley in Akiruno City, to Hossawa Falls, a 60-meter waterfall located in Hinohara Village. Another attraction of the Tama area is its local cuisine, which includes the kate udon (chilled noodles served with warm stock and boiled vegetables) in Musashimurayama City, and various other dishes made with local ingredients.

In order to promote these many tourism resources to visitors both from Japan and abroad, the Tama Council for the Promotion of Tourism used VR technology to produce the "Tokyo Tama 360 VR Tours." But how could VR be used to promote the area's many attractions? We asked Mizuno Takuhiro, Founder & Director CTO of the company that handled the video production, Alpha Code Inc., his thoughts on this very question.

"VR as a technology digitalizes experiences. Experiences up until this point have been communicated through text, photographs, or 2D videos. But with these, the most you get is an indirect or objective view into what others have experienced. VR videos, on the other hand, have a three-dimensional feel that makes the experience much more realistic and immersive."

The 360-Degree Experience of VR

Put on your special goggles, and spreading in all directions in front of you will be the rushing water of the Hossawa Falls, and other incredible sights that will make you want to reach out and touch what is happening in front of you. The VR video for the Nippara Limestone Caves in Okutama Town, the largest in the Kanto region, gives you a 360-degree view of an absolutely mystical sight—making you feel as if you are walking around in the caves yourself.

Suzuki Shuto, who works in the company's Business Development Division, explained what makes VR and 2D videos different.

"The big difference is that with VR, you can experience the space in 360 degrees. You can look in the direction you want and see what's there, which means you can look up at a waterfall, or really feel like you're there rolling dice with a Hachioji geisha, a type of geisha named after a major neighborhood located in the Tama area. There's a simple narration going on in the background of the video, but unlike with 2D video we don't put any subtitles/captions or effects on it. We want the experience to be as realistic as possible."

These VR videos can be viewed with special goggles at the Inagi Information Center Pear Terrace and at Tachikawa Green Springs, which are both in the Tama area. There are English versions available as well, and the videos have been popular amongst overseas tourists who want to experience and sightsee a Tokyo that is not just the central city.

Said Suzuki, "We could be watching the same VR video, but the images we see will be different depending on where we look. That's what makes it so experiential, makes you think, 'Wow, I really want to go here!' Watching these back after actually visiting these spots can also make you recall more experiences more vividly, and make you want to go back as well."

Experience Tama through Your Browser or Smartphone

Alpha Code has also developed a smartphone app, Blinky, that will let you experience VR videos even without special goggles. While these videos do not include the "Tokyo Tama 360 VR Tours," they do include VR videos of, for instance, the Cape Toi Wild Horse Guided Tour and Kojima Island, with its bunka-zaru (cultured monkeys), both in Miyazaki Prefecture. Just use your mouse on PC, or swipe on your screen on mobile, to see what you want to see.

"Our company has a metaverse (virtual space) platform as well, so our next step will be to use the metaverse in tourism. Imagine being able to share the experiences you want to have with your travel companions before the trip, in the metaverse. That would get you even more excited about the trip, and I think there's a lot of potential for tourism demand there."

It seems demand for VR—as something that can offer experiences that guidebooks and TV travel shows cannot—is definitely on the rise in the tourism sector.