Tokyo Welcomes Tourists Through VR Metaverse Experience On Roblox
In a bid to encourage tourism, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government just launched an interactive portal titled HELLO! TOKYO FRIENDS on Roblox, which allows users to do some virtual sightseeing of the city, play games and meet other visitors.
The immersive experience on HELLO! TOKYO FRIENDS uses augmented reality photography, blending real images with the metaverse version of Tokyo, so tourists can explore the city and visit its famous landmarks – including Tokyo Tower and Tokyo National Museum.
Users can enjoy different games, from a treasure hunt where they get to learn Tokyo trivia, to completing quests for rewards that take them to iconic sights throughout the city.
The web app version allows users who are physically located in Tokyo to enhance their experience of exploring the city’s streets by gamifying it.
By visiting 9 of Tokyo’s popular sites, turned into special checkpoints in the web app, they can collect ’emblems’ to be rewarded with unique Roblox items. They also have the ability to capture photos through an AR camera feature to create new memories in the city.
To mark the launch of the new tourism experience, created in partnership with the Tokyo Convention And Visitors Bureau, the results of a survey of 3,000 Tokyo residents were also released.
The Tokyo residents aged 15-49 were asked about what they are proud of and what they want to see in the virtual world, if Tokyo were to become a metaverse space.
Among 15-19 year olds, their main wishes were to “to talk about common interests (38.2%)” and “to play games together (32.3%)”.
By contrast, older respondents’ key interests were to “let people know about Japanese culture,” “show Tokyo to people from overseas”, and “tell people about Tokyo in detail”.
While it’s too early to tell just how popular HELLO! TOKYO FRIENDS will be, could this innovative social metaverse experience grow into a new kind of tourism?
You can learn about HELLO! TOKYO FRIENDS by visiting its website here.
